Safety Factor settings on dive computers

[Dr1Gonzo]

Many dive computers have safety factor settings.
What does each of these settings refer to?
Safety Factor 0 seems the closest I can get to the PADI RDP but it's still more conservative.
1 and 2 then decrease the max bottom time value so more conservative.

[Sakara Drinker]

All of them are different. Suunto, for example, seem to be quite conservative compared to others. You will struggle to find one that exactly matches the RDP, or BSAC88 tables for that matter.

[Dr1Gonzo]

Okay, but if your PADI trained and RDP trained and your computer with a safety factor of 0 is still more conservative, then why wouldn't you use safety factor 0?
Seems strange...

[Sakara Drinker]

You might want to increase the safety factor if you were doing multiple dives a day over several days, like a live aboard for instance. Just to give you a little extra safety margin. Also some people are more susceptible to DCS than others so might prefer their computer being a lot more conservative than the tables.

[Dr1Gonzo]

Sakara Drinker Wrote:You might want to increase the safety factor if you were doing multiple dives a day over several days, like a live aboard for instance. Just to give you a little extra safety margin. Also some people are more susceptible to DCS than others so might prefer their computer being a lot more conservative than the tables.

Don't you have to get it before you know you're susceptible to it early
So, it's a personal thing.
Aren't the PADI tables conservative already?

[Suggsy]

Yeah, and the next week you could exactly the same profile and not get a hit. It's all theory man, so set to what makes you feel best post dive.

What gives you the impression PADI tables are conservative already?

[Dr1Gonzo]

Suggsy Wrote:Yeah, and the next week you could exactly the same profile and not get a hit. It's all theory man, so set to what makes you feel best post dive.

What gives you the impression PADI tables are conservative already?

TBH, it's only a few minutes more conservative than the PADI RDP. It doesn't let you get into the mandatory safety stops designated on the RDP (even though you make a safety stop anyway )

I'll put the tables up if I get a chance.
For example at SF0, 30m the "computer says" 16mins.
PADI RDP says 20 max NDL...not that you'd want to hit that

[Suggsy]

So that would make the PADI tables more aggressive or less conservative than what your 'computer says' ?

[Shoka]

There is no magic "you will not get bent" setting.

It's all a matter of risk.

The more conservative settings move your risk from very small to minuscule.

If for instance you are diving at the arse end of bonga bonga and the nearest pot is a 36 hour Landrover trek away you may well view that as a reasonable trade off.

I've dived in Sri Lanka, from a small hard motorboat quite a few kilometres off shore.

To quote the German Dive instructor. ( The essentials, its fourteen years or so ago)

Quote: There is one pot in Sri Lanka, in Colombo.

It costs blood and your firstborn offspring if you need to use it.

I do not care what your tables or computer says.

We will dive the following protocol.

We dive to 16 meters for 40 mins, no more. We will then take not less than 10 mins to ascend the 16 meters to the surface.

We have never had to use that pot, and we do not intend to start now.

And we did. Nice test of one's buoyancy control

That profile is more conservative than any table I've seen anywhere, but the consequences if you did develop DCS were stark. There is never a good time for a DCS hit, but there are bad times and very much worse ones.

Your risk, you get to choose.

PS I'm assured the the Oceanic Veo 180nx computer that I have does exactly implement the PADI RDP. This is or is not an advantage depending on your viewpoint.

Harry

[Dr1Gonzo]

Interesting point.
Other factors like flying in, drinking, dehydration, etc. all lead to a suggestion that the safety factor should be increased and maybe make a longer stop at 5m...?
On my comp:
18m
S0 47 mins
S1 43 mins
S2 38mins
PADI 56 mins or 48 if you don't want to go into the grey areas.