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Ray, in our configuration, where the backup reg is around the neck and you
are breathing the long hose, the deco (or stage ) regs are turned off. Since
the
bottles are marked with the breahtable depth ( in a cave we would not carry
them
past that depth) , when you go to make your first deco stop, you must select
your bottle by its markings, and then turn it on - this whould then be the only
working deco reg, and one of three on you r person that are working, all of
which are ok for that depth. Since the backup is hung , you can tell what it
is,
since the long hose is easily identifiable , you can tell which it is, leaving
only the deco reg. If you pull the wrong reg from the wrong bottle, nothing
happens as you can not breath it since it is still turned off.
As Jess Armentrout pointed out, it is also a good idea to do a cross check
with buddy to be sure everyone is on the right mix at each change.
For may dives, one does not need all of the gases, so you may only have one
nitrox and an oxygen, or air and an oxygen, but on others , especially where
you
may be repeating, you may have all four deco gasses. In cave we can drop these
and use the same bottles for several dives. In wreck that is too junky, so
using
the little aluminums or small OMS tanks allows for more room, but the
complexity
rises and with it the vigilance it takes to avoid the problem.
Cleanness and simplicity , as well as purpose in configuration make this a
lot easier. Avoid coding by reg , hose, or bottle other than the operating
depth. You may also want to leave your analysis tag on the neck of the bottle
as
a marker for your own peace of mind - that is generally what I do.
If you are doing this tupe diving as a matter of regular practice, it may
be
time to go ahead and paint the depth on your bottles. I then empty them after
each dive, or tape the valve over and put the pressure on a piece of tape . The
analysis is always there. When I fill, I add the gas, write it on onece piece
of
tape, add the air, analize, and write the results before taping over the valve.
If we look at accidents, we see that breathing the wrong gas happens
either
in the water due to wrong bottle, some convulted "left -right" rule, some
bullshit about different reg or hose markings, or just showing up with the
wrong
gas in the bottle in the first place, a function of not marking the bottles
properly , or not being consitently organized.
All diving is "technical" diving, meaning that all diving can be done
optimally or the "right" way. Get used to it and make it safer.
George M. Irvine III
DIR WKPP
1400 SE 11 ST Ft Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-493-6655 FAX 6698
Email gmiiii@in*.co*
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