Reddit mentions: The best diving tank accessories

Wow, this is really revealing in terms of just how much dive training has been (ahem) "streamlined" over the decades.

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My first formal class met for a full evening once per week for ten weeks. Each session was 4 hours (sometimes a bit longer) and was split between classroom and pool; in retrospect, I'd call it easily 12-15 classroom hours and another 30 pool hours, not counting "arrive early" time.

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This 'arrive early" time meant that we were expected to not sit around waiting for the instructor at the start of each pool session - instead, we were to get in the pool whenever we arrived and just swim laps (freestyle; no gear) until the instructor & staff showed up & unloaded the dive gear. Guidance there was that we could stop after we'd swam a 1/4 mile.


Plus there was of course, our self-directed reading as well as homework on our own. My textbook was merely the 1977 NOAA Diving Manual.



The OW checkouts were done on weekends on top of that, which was five tanks over three weekend day trips. Bottom times weren't huge, but I'd still figure around 2 hours of bottom time.

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For the OP, my recommendation would probably be to do some "Book learning" so that you get comfortable with the physics and principles, and then find a good mentor to do some kinda "refresher-like" pool dives and then some OW dives. Ironically, it sounds like what's needed the most is some self-confidence in your own abilities, which is what the "old school" training used to apply with various pool confidence drills, such as the NAUI Bailout and "Ditch 'N Don". Granted, modern BCD-based dive gear isn't conducive to doing these sorts of "Gear off/on" sorts of exercises, but if you want to have some quasi-retro fun, you can buy an old style backpack and skip using any BCD and have some safe supervised fun in a pool.

There are people that dive without a BCD, just a backpack like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Aquatec-Scuba-Diving-Single-Assembly/dp/B000KD7DJS/

It can be done quite effectible in warm waters where your exposure suit won't change your buoyancy much.

An instructor I know, this summer was diving to 30m with a 7mm semy-dry and no BCD. He had no troubles at that depth or maintaining neutral buoyancy during the safety stop at 5m. He has a very good buoyancy control, I can't even dream of doing that!! But if you are that good, the product is alright although is nothing new.

Like this.

http://www.omg-italy.it/uk/prodotti/re-c96.html

Making them optimized for the surface is way easier than designing them for diving, but nobody makes them that way except space suit manufactures.

Edit: Found it. https://www.amazon.com/Dive-Rite-ExtendAir-Absorbent-rebreather/dp/B008B4BA7Y

With that, a plastic bag, a snorkel, and some duct-tape you could Apollo 13 your own personal co2 scrubber.

Tiny bottles can be refilled with a pump, but you would be lucky to get 10 min out of them.

https://www.amazon.com/XIANRUI-Cylinder-Equipment-Pressure-Underwater/dp/B07QW7XWZ2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=mini+scuba+tank+with+pump&qid=1563360971&s=gateway&sprefix=mini+scu&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Interesting that Amazon actually sells diving rebreathers and CO2 scrubber supplies online.

(For technical reference only. I assume that these items are only intended for highly trained users.)

It's a tool to help with changing the seals in a scuba tank


https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Tank-Ring-Kit-Pick/dp/B07CR3T95C

Personally, I'd skip the weight package on those packages and just pick up a pair of Palantic Trim Weight pockets instead. Otherwise I'm a fan.

You need two things. I purchased a scuba tank to fill mine at home, etc. But if you need to fill a single tank they'll need these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JONEI4/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_26Gqtb1CHFC66

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T6I1K0/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_O8Gqtb1WBWPST

I'd be really surprised if your local shop didn't already have a DIN adapter (it's needed to fill scuba tanks from their compressor).

You have some options...


https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Accessories-Single-Adapter-Technical/dp/B004F3S16S/


http://www.leisurepro.com/p-div1090ss/dive-rite-stainless-steel-single-tank-adapter-sta


http://www.diverightinscuba.com/hog-single-tank-adapter-sta.html


http://www.diversdirect.com/scuba-diving/apeks-wtx-single-tank-adapter-sta

I use this Blue Reef one from Amazon. It was $70 in the States. The quality seems fine (it's hard to screw up a piece of steel with some holes).

In my opinion, the only reason to spend more is if you want something with thicker steel (more weight), or if you need something for an odd torso length (shorter or longer).