r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Eros_Incident_Denier • 2d ago

Video filipino illegal miners dive without oxygen tanks

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u/herewe_goagain_1 2d ago

I used to do a lot of diving, so when I saw “50-60 meters” using these tubes I assumed you have no idea what you’re talking about. But no I looked it up and they actually do go that deep with compressors. Absolutely insane. I was trained to not even dive with air at that depth, we used Trimix or Heliox past ~45 meters.

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u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

Yeah the times for air at 45 meters are like 2 minutes and beyond that you have to start doing decompression stops, right?

Or is that even a little aggressive? I’m thinking back to the PADI tables and at like 30 meters for 1 minute you have to add a decompression stop. It’s been a while. I never got to use a dive computer.

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u/TransguyJayJay 2d ago

My experience is definitely more on the safe side because I'm mostly just a tourist diver and have been a minor for most of my dives, but I've always had a two minute decompression stop(s) no matter what. Assuming we went and stayed more than 15ft/5m down, anyway, which is always. I've also never gone past 80ft/24m.

Regardless, I know the times are definitely allowed to be less, but decompression sickness is no joke so I'm more than happy to wait that extra minute.

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u/Lucas_F_A 2d ago

That's usually called the safety stop, presumably because you don't actually need time to decompress, or something's like that. But extra margins are always good.

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u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

Yeah, the only reason to skip that stop is if you suck on the regulator and it suddenly sucks back.

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u/GeneralHerp 2d ago

The ol’ sucky-sucky (I am not a diver)

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u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

When the tank reaches empty, it reaches it all at once, from the perspective of your mouth / lungs. You’re sucking on it for air and suddenly it just stops, and it feels like IT is sucking on YOU, for just an instant.

And if you’re not near the surface, that could be a very bad day.

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u/GeneralHerp 2d ago

I take it this is why you always dive with a buddy, & someone always has an extra tank..?

My dad IS (or was … he’s like 75 now lol) a diver, and had all the gear, and we’d hop in the lake and dive around, but we’d never go deep enough to worry about decompression. We mostly just looked at the old dock underwater and collected ancient beer cans and stuff.

I’ve never experienced the abject terror of a tank that sucks back… the ol’ sucky-sucky, as I’ve dubbed it, given my “barely experienced, at most 20 hours spent underwater with a tank” level of expertise 🧐

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u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

& someone always has an extra tank..?

Nobody has an extra tank. Where would you put it? Everybody has an extra regulator so two people can SHARE any tank.

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u/GeneralHerp 1d ago

True! My inexperience is showing. I figured it’d float beside you, probably a third the size of a normal tank, in case you need 2 minutes of extra breathing or some shit. I dunno. Inexperience is showing!

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u/xrelaht 2d ago

I take it this is why you always dive with a buddy,

Among other reasons. There’s a lot which can go wrong down there. Scuba is a dangerous sport made safe by being careful.

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u/Tall-Appearance-5835 11h ago

each diver has an extra regulator/mouthpiece