Living a Diver's Life

Image: Pixabay By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Special Edition - Cylinder Summary and Answer Key All right, BoN Crew, how did you do on the cylinder markings quiz?  I'm sure you passed with flying colors!   Cylinders 101 & 202 - Summary Now that we've covered cylinder markings you can stay away from sketchy cylinders you may find at yard sales or online. Invest in quality equipment that - with TLC and regular maintenance - will give you decades of reliable service. You might even be more vigilant when renting cylinders during dive trips. If it looks, smells or feels wrong (no VIP sticker, out of date hydro, diesel odor present when you crack the valve, etc.), ask for different cylinders. If the staff look at you sideways, find a more reputable dive shop. Avoid buying used cylinders made from 6351 alloy. If you have 6351s and just can't part with them, remember to include the price of eddy current test...

Single cylinder photographed using iPhone Panorama setting By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com It's summer!  Time to fill your cylinders and head to the water.   But first, let's build on what we learned last month in Scuba Cylinders 101.  I promised more details on valves, those cryptic cylinder markings, and safety issues with 6351-T6 aluminum alloy. Deciphering Cylinder Markings Think of the markings stamped into a cylinder's shoulder like a baby's birth certificate, and hydrostatic retesting stamps and annual VIP stickers like a child's vaccination record. Divers "adopt" their cylinders from the manufacturer, which is like the birth mother whose name likely will be Luxfer, Catalina, Faber or Worthington. The birth date is the original hydro date (e.g. 06 18 is June 2018). The cylinder's material, size, and service pressure are like a baby's height, weight and eye color.  The governing agency...

Image: Emy Stratton L: Steel 30, 46 and 72s, C: Steel 27s and 112s R: Aluminum 9, 14, 40s, 50s, 63s and 80s By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Image: Tara McNaylor Aluminum 50, 67 and 80 cubic foot cylinders Most of us take excellent care of our scuba regulators ; they enable us to breathe underwater, thus they are keenly appreciated even by newly certified divers. Cylinders, however, wish they would receive half the love we give our regulators. We give them a quick post-dive rinse (sometimes), fill them for the next dive and otherwise neglect them until our local dive shop professional tells us that they need attention. This is understandable... to a point. Modern cylinders are manufactured to be pressurized to their rated pressure an astounding 100,000 times. Cylinder valves are simple, well-built devices that perform for years under a wide range of conditions and treatment. In short, cylinders are so reliable that we ta...

Image: Odessa Stratton By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Image: Odessa Stratton I once foolishly asked my wife "how many pairs of shoes do you need?"  She rapidly replied  "hmm, how much scuba gear do you need?" OK, fair enough. Certified in 1994, Emy knows that diving is an equipment intensive sport and like dressing well, it matters how you configure yourself for success.  In the February and March articles, BC Basics Parts I and II, we discussed selecting a BC and becoming proficient in its use. We also addressed various diving tools and accesories, as well as where to mount them for rapid access while remaining hydrodynamically efficient.  Let's build on that with some specific streamlining techniques. Proper Placement Why do you place your scuba accessories and tools where you do? Dive professionals likely  influenced your initial decisions. Certain equipment placement is standardized acros...