Strange Smell After Cylinder Test #askmark #scuba @ScubaDiverMagazine
walters849
@walters849
Hi Mark, I’ve recently had my second hand cylinders inspected for the first time and was told they had some signs of surface rust and had to be cleaned, my question is what do they use to achieve this as I’ve noticed that my air now has a slightly medicinal taste to it! Is this normal? Dangerous? And will it go away after a few refills? Great videos by the way from all three channels that you’ve done! #askmark
#scuba #scubadiving #scubadiver
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I’m a recreational club diver diving double 12s/bp-w/long-hose. I’d like to be able to (comfortably) do 2 dives using the same set of doubles. I know there’s no scuba police, but I feel I’m overstepping my training by getting a 7L stage bottle to breathe down on the first dive. I can easily do 130 minutes on shallow dives, however I feel the extra 30% of breathing gas would be useful on the deeper dives. Do I need more training or am I good to go? #askmark
As far as gas supply, I’d rather have too much than not enough and extra redundancy is always welcome.
The best option is always to sign up for course with proper instruction. I have to recommend proper instruction because I can’t gauge a diver’s competency from a message. However there certainly are divers out there who are comfortable and competent enough in their diving setup that adding a side-mounted cylinder would not be much of a challenge for them. It is always best to learn in the safest and most predictable environment available to reduce task loading.
@Scuba Diver Magazine Is there a particular training/specialisation you’d recommend at the rec level, or should I just get a couple of sessions with an instructor buddy from the club? #askmark #askmarkacheekyfollowup
#askmarkacheekyfollowup
I took a sidemount-specific course which was good to focus on that type of setup. Technical and rebreather courses also often use bailout cylinders if you’re interested in either of those. If your buddy has experience with bailouts then they would be good to show you the cylinder and regulator setup. How and why they do that particular setup and you can go on a dive with them to see how they use a side-mounted cylinder
#askmark I recently struggled a lot with a hire dry suit that was too large (had bioseals so no leaks) and don’t understand why? My buoyancy was really hard to control and I needed a lot of weight.
Large as far as suit body size? It could be as simple as trapped gas pockets in your extremities that are throwing off your centre of buoyancy and preventing the excess gas from reaching the dump valve.
With a correctly fitted drysuit, air flows freely and there are less areas where it can get trapped in folds of material.
#ASKMARK Really enjoying the the Q&A and Podcasts. Very informative for divers at variable levels of experience. Looking forward to many more Q&A and Podcasts and maybe some further insight to saturation/commercial dive training, experience necessary to gain entry, and the tiers of experience gained and the likelihood of gainful employment. Setting that aside…I do have a two-part question on fins. Firstly can you revisit your Q&A discussion regarding types of fins, their weight and the affect on buoyancy? Secondly, there are a few variables of ‘finning’ and is there a need to select specific fin types/brands to match a divers chosen style of ‘fining’ ie. the frog kick – v – the contemporary scissor style whilst being mindful of buoyancy? Your thoughts?
It’s surprisingly little to enroll on a commercial course, we have an article coming out in the magazine and I’ll probably write up a video when I have time.
The dry-weight of fins isn’t a good correlation to a fin’s buoyancy. Manufacturers are aware that divers are interested in each fin’s buoyancy and they’re starting to mention it more when they produce new fins. The new Scubapro S-Tek fins have small metal plates that you can fit to the blade to change their buoyancy…
All fin designs will be suitable for the classic flutter-kick. For frog-kick and back-kick you want deep rails and a stiffer blade to grab that water and stop it from slipping over the edge. I’ll see if I can draw up a chart
Hi Mark,
I used a 5mm Hood for my last few dives. And always had the feeling that my mask was leaking. I checked that my mask seal was underneath the hood and also to loosen the mask strap but nothing really helped. Do you have an advice for me? #askmark
Thanks ins advance
It could be that the hood changes the shape of your mask skirt or your face itself. If the hood is covering a lot of the mask skirt then it could be deforming the silicone shape and letting some water in.
If the hood is quite tight then it may be pinching your face and creating a crease where the mask may not be sealing.
Find a buddy, explain the issue and pop your hood and mask on, then ask them to take a look and see where the mask may be leaking. If necessary, you can always trim the neoprene seal of the hood so it doesn’t overlap the mask too much or maybe a larger hood size might help.
It was recommended to me that after cleaning in order to speed drying to use some Isopropal Alcahol to absorb residual water and help speed drying due to the fact that the alcahol evaporates quickly. “Medicinal” might refer to a alcahol smell. If the tank was not ventalated properly there might be some residual smell from the alcahol.