Logical next step?

[ttph]

Why do you guys recommend h-valves rather than a doubles set?

How was Illinois diving, Matt? As cold down there as it was up here?

Matt

[matt t.]

Illinois was as miserable as Wisconsin for cold and snow. Visibility was 10 ft (ish), but we did see some paddlefish and had a great time hanging out. I'm not saying to dive an H valve instead of doubles, I'm saying to use them on your singles so you don't have to buy and service a bunch of extra regs if you are going to dive singles AND doubles. If you get up in the Milwaukee area you should stop by and take a look at a bunch of different stuff that I have (H valves, 130's, 72's). It may give you some other ideas.

[dfreeman]

Sometimes a single tank is all that I need for a dive, sometimes it is nice to run doubles.  I like going back and forth and H-valves make this easy.

Doug

[Chris H]

Skip the "deep" course and save that money for equipment.  Find a good regulator and buy several of the same, Al made an excellent point that you need to be comfortable diving them at any depth.  Four of them is a good start.  Many of my friends have Apeks, I'm using Scubapro MK25/G250V for all of my OC stuff except for a MK2 on my argon tank. 

An Aluminum 40 is one of the standard deco tanks and is a good choice for a first stage.

I too like my 18W HID light.

Chris

[ttph]

Perhaps I had this all wrong. I guess I was under the impression that it would be better to have a single's set-up and a double's set-up. So if I have a single reg, use it as stage/ deco reg. Buy several more as double's set-up and extra stage/ deco regs. Correct?

Then I can still go ahead and buy a 40 cu.ft. as I will need one anyways. Maybe add a couple of smaller tanks (72's) and I'd be all set for awhile (until I need a light).

Matt

[dfreeman]

The most important thing is to get out and dive.  You can figure out the equipment as you go.

[deep_al]

All Im saying is that a new light monkey 21w HID will run you around $1300, which is a lot of money if your still working out what equipment to get for your adv. nitrox & deco course.  Of course youll be happy with it, but I am assuming it might be overkill right now and with the way led lights have been changing in the last couple year, waiting to buy a light like that could either save you some money or get you a more powerful light. 

my point is for the cost of the one dive light you could have a nice set of doubles regs... but if you have the money get both right?

[ttph]

I could swing one, but I may end up divorced if I splurge on both. I agree with your opinion Al. I think the money would be better used elsewhere than on a light that I don't need in the immediate future. I'm leaning towards a 40 and another XTX50 reg/ SPG. That way I've got it, and can dive this summer to familiarize myself (approx. 50 dives or so). The owner of the dive shop I use usually buddies up with me at Wazee, so it would be a great opportunity to learn the "correct" way to sling and get comfy. As far as going with the Tek3............my only tanks are 95's, so I would need to pick up not only the reg set, but also smaller tanks, bands, manifold, etc. It'll cost considerably more to go the doubles route. Who wants to lug around a 95 twinset? 

Note: The Tek3 set doesn't cost any more than buying two more XTX's.

Matt

[ttph]

I finally answered my original question...................I got an AL40 w/ XTX50, as well as the Tek 3's. I guess I'll run the slung 40 for the summer, and if I need more gas, I've got the set-up to make a twinset out of the 95's, or start the search for smaller twins.

Thanks again for all of your posts. Until seeing an H-valve w/ Matt, I didn't know such a thing existed. Now your posts make more sense.

I'm going to take a look at lights this weekend at the Ghost Ship Festival, just to get some ideas.

Matt

[matt t.]

Don't look to close. Getting ideas ends up costing a lot of money  :o. Maybe I'll see you down there.