Reading Dive Tables

How to read a PADI Recreational Dive Planner... If you've ever wondered what the hardest part of scuba diving is - this is it. And I'll give you a brief introduction on how to do it.

As it seems quite a few people are into kite boarding (well, admin mostly), I figured I would share some other water related fun considering I live close to some of the top rated dive spots :P Next I'll show you how to make $30 equipment have the same functionality as the $60+ stuff ;)

Step 1 All you need is a your Dive Table and your Brain.

First, I want to reiterate why nowadays scuba diving is safe and sex is dangerous. A great deal of time and research was put into how diving stresses the human body. Many people risked their lives (and likely a few deaths we have not heard of) to work on this research to make scuba diving safer for the recreational diver.

The reason scuba is considered 'safe' nowadays is a direct result of diver TRAINING in addition to advancements in equipment. Dive shops refuse to fill my father's old tanks due to these advancements. Therefore, DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION. Hopefully, these instructions will dispel some fears about diving in general and show that almost anyone can do it.

Everything you see in parenthesis () -- is an example dive to follow ;)

Comments

[chikarma]

I still use the PADI Dive tables but totally agree that you need to have a good standard of tuition to enable you to understand the tables and work with them properly. At the end of the day it is still the individual diver and their interpretation of the PADI Dive Tables. Make sure you have proper training prior to using the tables so you really know what you are doing. For those that are at a proficient standard and use the tables regularly i found a good copy of the PADI Dive tables at this blog: http://divingholidaysmalta.blogspot.com/

They also have some interesting articles on NAUI and comparisons with the PADI dive Tables if you are interested.

[skirmishmonkey]

Instructables should remove this post as some of the information contained herein is dangerous to the point that it could kill someone.

I am a PADI professional diving instructor (have been diving for more than 10 years and logged 5,000+ dives).

For example you say, that plan your dive and decompression sickness won't happen. You neglect to mention that it can happen even if the dive is planned and adhered to. In cases where the diver is dehydrated, ill, cold, overweight, etc.

You also leave yourself open to litigation if someone reads your 'ible and then has a diving incident because they learned the RDP based on the information herein.

If anyone wants to learn to dive, then please learn with a reputable dive professional, not something you read on the internet. In fact PADI has a policy of suing anybody who attempts to teach it's method (including dive tables) without the proper instructor level certification.

[jdtwelve12]

You said, "steel tanks are now obsolete." Not so. Steel tanks are great to use, especially when diving with a lot of neoprene. (In cold water, for example, you want extra those extra ml of insulation.) The negative buoyancy of the steel tanks means you don't have to carry as much lead. This is a good thing.

[tom_guy]

Damn straight! And Steelys tend to last longer than Allys, before failing a hydrostatic test.

[jdtwelve12]

Whoops, that should read "mil.", not "ml". :)

[trebuchet03]

Yeah, I've been meaning to edit that (someone sent me an eMail a while back) :p My father has some steel tanks from when he was young... It's some scary stuff compared to modern designs :p

[Jahnavipat]

Thanks for teaching Dive tables. Dive tables are a great resource for scuba divers. A dive table is a chart that is usually printed on cards or come in booklets that will help divers to determine different aspects of particular dives relating to breathing gas and when to take decompression stops during the dive. Scuba Diving Sharm El Sheikh These dive tables can be found in many different places there are PADI dive tables, NAUI dive tables, navy dive tables and EAD dive tables. Most dive tables are created to assume that the diver will immediately proceed to the depth indicated and stay there for the full duration of the dive without visiting other depths and before returning to the surface.

[zmatt]

Looe Key is one of the best places to dive in the US.

[Crucio]

(Yay, posting a 3.5-year late comment.)

Thanks for the explanation!

Just fixing a typo that might be confusing to someone just learning about this: you write in step 2 "hyperbolic" chamber but meant "hyperbaric."

[trebuchet03]

Nice catch - fixed :)

Interesting to note - firefox wants to correct "hyperbaric" to hyperbolic or hyperbola :p

[Crucio]

I know--it made me do a double-take.  We need an "Add to Global Dictionary" option. :)

[rsimages]

on step 11 you made an error...Last sentence should read "instead of 48' feet =48' minutes instead"...and you should use the yellow comment boxes you used on table 1 to highlight some of the tables samples used on table 2. It would make it easier for the reader and keep it consistent with the instructable..Just a thought. tks for explaining the PADI table.

[skunkbait]

Good job! My wife and I are both divers. She was actually working on her Divemanster cert when she was diagnosed with Lupus (about 5 years ago). I was too poor to buy a dive computer (back when we dove regualrly), and this is a great refressher. Now my kids are old enough to dive, and I'm sure they'll be learning the table soon.

[rich_moe]

Having learned to dive in 1985 (yeah, I'm old...) the PADI charts were the ONLY thing I used. Dive computers were what we had between our ears, and our charts were The Word of God. Nobody that I learned to dive with, nor any instructor I had, ever got 'bent' by following the charts. Good Instructable, and maybe you've kept someone out of 'The Chamber'.

[jared999]

Much easier to read the NAUI tables.

[Ribs]

Nice post thanx. i am thirteen and have been diving since i was 10. i have hardly ever used my tables even though i have done 94 dives and have almost completely forgotem how to use them so thanks for the reinder!

[stubby]

thanks for refresher. I'm going for my nitrox tommorow and needed that.

[0.775volts]

Yeah, I'm Naui Scuba and Nitrox certified, and I still use my dive chart (even though I've got a dive computer). My sister is SSI, which isn't too bad, but my buddy just got back from the marines, now that's a scary dive chart.

[chuybregts]

Thanks for the instructable. It was a good refresher :) It's amazing how dependent on the Dive computer we get these days.

[trebuchet03]

hehe... I've been saving my pennies for a dive computer, but glad to hear it helped someone... :P

[hjjhjhgjjh]

Always wanted to scuba dive Good Post Love your diys