capillary depth gauge or buoy and line?

[kirkerik]

hey all, just wondering where i may find a capillary depth gauge?

I've found some old "out of stock" listings on the web but nothing else.

there is some items on ebay but the price is a bit inflated due to the "vintage" value. i don't want to pay more for an old piece of gear...

If i'm going to spend then maybe just a rope w/ marked depth. I'm looking to do a buoy w/ dive flag anyway...

 

[trux]

For example here for 19.90€:

Profondimtre capillaire Divers Instrument sous marin

You can also make yourself one easily. Just find a capilary tube from hard transparent plastic with inner diameter of some 1mm, plug one end, let the other one open, stick it around your watch (if it is depth resistant), or put on some other support. Then just dive along a marked line and calibrate the capilary - at specified depth mark the current position on the capilary. It is that simple.

 

[Andrew the fish]

interesting! How visible is the interface between water and air inside the tube? Maybe it needs some kind of colourful free-moving piston or something?

 

[trux]

The visibiity is not ideal, but with good eyes, and good light, it is not too bad. I made and used one as a teen too. Yes, you can try putting a tiny plastic ball/perl inside, but it may disturb the surface tension of the water column in the capilary. You also need to assure that it does not fall out, when on surface (for example adding a thread accross the opening, or flattening the capilary under heat a bit).

 

[Jon]

Re: capillary depth guage or buoy and line?

I'm not sure why you would want them with the cheap digital guage out there these days. A marked rope might be cheaper and easier to use. I would use any cheap digital guage before I would go with one of those.

Before digital guages came out I used a capillary guage for my 40',30',20',10' deco stops because of the increased accuracy of the guage for those stops, but always used an oil filled guage for the deeper depths because it was so hard to read a capillary guage at deeper depths. They are also prone to getting clogged with a piece of algae or other debris. They had a very specific use for a period of time, but that time has come and gone.

Jon

 

[Andrew the fish]

Re: capillary depth guage or buoy and line?

I'm not sure why you would want them with the cheap digital guage out there these days.

Jon

well, that would be hard to explain, something to do with tinkerer inside some of us. Imagine clear tube on your wetsuit, running alongside your left forearm, or hip, tiny little marks and such... Kind of depth gauge you will never forget or miss or lose or break. Suitmakers should probably look into the idea, imbedded depth gauge that is integral part of the suit. Not ideal but it comes free and doesn't need batteries and won't leak. The whole idea of freediving is to get away from using technical aid as much as possible.

 

[kirkerik]

For example here for 19.90€:

Profondimtre capillaire Divers Instrument sous marin

thanx trux, i was hoping to find one in the US but maybe. 20 euros plus ship overseas is a bit more than i wanted to spend...

You can also make yourself one easily. Just find a capilary tube from hard transparent plastic with inner diameter of some 1mm, plug one end, let the other one open, stick it around your watch (if it is depth resistant), or put on some other support. Then just dive along a marked line and calibrate the capilary - at specified depth mark the current position on the capilary. It is that simple.

yeah, that's a good idea. I found this interesting link on how to w/ a 60ml. syringe. Depth gauge how to. With your idea the tricky thing is how to mark it when underwater at given depth... how would you recommend to mark a vinyl tube when underwater? Maybe move the tube to a mark for a predetermined depth?

 

[kirkerik]

Re: capillary depth guage or buoy and line?

I'm not sure why you would want them with the cheap digital guage out there these days. A marked rope might be cheaper and easier to use. I would use any cheap digital guage before I would go with one of those.

Before digital guages came out I used a capillary guage for my 40',30',20',10' deco stops because of the increased accuracy of the guage for those stops, but always used an oil filled guage for the deeper depths because it was so hard to read a capillary guage at deeper depths. They are also prone to getting clogged with a piece of algae or other debris. They had a very specific use for a period of time, but that time has come and gone.

Jon

Sometimes i'm in water no more than 30 - 50 ft. and the capillary depth gauge is perfect for that. Another advantage is any altitude diving is automatically compensated for.

How cheap are the digital gauges for freediving, Jon?

 

[kirkerik]

Re: capillary depth guage or buoy and line?

well, that would be hard to explain, something to do with tinkerer inside some of us. Imagine clear tube on your wetsuit, running alongside your left forearm, or hip, tiny little marks and such... Kind of depth gauge you will never forget or miss or lose or break. Suitmakers should probably look into the idea, imbedded depth gauge that is integral part of the suit. Not ideal but it comes free and doesn't need batteries and won't leak. The whole idea of freediving is to get away from using technical aid as much as possible.

That's a great idea Andrew!

Billabong just made a suit for surfers w/ a flotation bladder that can be deployed at any time in case of emergency. Kind of like that freediviers vest but all manual control and built in to the suit.

 

[Jon]

Re: capillary depth guage or buoy and line?

They will work for shallow depths- which is why I used to use it for deco- but they are still hard to read. I like to use a marked rope for simple, easy to read depth markings.

One thing I've used to a wreck reel with knots tied every 10' and then marked the knots with a permanent magic marker. I can reel out line to whatever depth I'm in and then swim down to count the knots and see how deep of water I'm diving. The reel, or spool, is small and can't break very easily.

Trux has a chart on his site with the latest and greatest computers/ depth guages on it. Find one you like and start searching ebay. Since the original post was about a low-tech way to mark depth I would go with the knotted line. It can attach to your float and double as a buoy line if need be.

Jon