Cousteau bezel ring?

[Darth Vapor]

I've worn my CD now for 3 weeks to my great enjoyment but I can't figure out how to use it or what to use it for.

(it's my first watch with a bezel ring )

[Nebakanezzar]

it rotates by turning the lower pusher. its purpose is to time your dive so you dont run out of air...running out of air is a bad thing.

[ratchpot]

its purpose is to time your dive so you dont run out of air...running out of air is a bad thing.

The bezel can be used to time your dive or to time a safety stop, but it has nothing to do with ensuring that you don't run out of air. Your remaining air supply isn't measured by time, but by the air pressure in your air tank.

[Darth Vapor]

The bezel can be used to time your dive or to time a safety stop, but it has nothing to do with ensuring that you don't run out of air. Your remaining air supply isn't measured by time, but by the air pressure in your air tank.

Ok, so it can be used to time your dive, I'm with you so far.

But then I suppose it should count down from the time you set the bezel at, correct?

The reason I ask is because I can set the bezel on my CD at any amount of minutes but...it'll stay there happily all day (Probably all year too if I don't rotate it forwards to zero ... )

Related question: is this a bug in my CD or do none of the CD's have correctly working (ie down counting) bezels?

[offshore]

@repaustria... Correct! ( Or close to)

At the start of a dive,(just as you leave the surface) the bezel is set with zero on the minute hand.

@others interested... some diving theory/ practice.

Having reached maximum depth, and commencing ascent, a note is taken of the elapsed time.

There are also ascent rates to be followed et al.

When arriving at the decompression stop/s, the calculations, ( hopefully already pre worked) are then undertaken.

One may have a schedule of say 3 minutes @ 20' and 15 minutes @ 10'.

Divers choice then. Personally I always used to reset my bezel to time each stop.( As they are critical to not experiencing unbeleivable pain!!) ( Or dying)

Most divers will do "extra" deco, to try to circumvent "the bends"

Aside from the time factor, a number of other factors come in to play.

Height above sea level.

Fresh or salt water.

Gas breathed during dive.

Gas breathed during deco.

Which set of deco tables a diver is working to.

Divers physical condition.....etc etc.

As a former diving instructor, involved in a large level of excesively deep dives!!! Watches ( and depth gauges) were our means to stay alive.

I quit diving in 1981, due to a disease known as bone necrosis, or "the silent bends" ( Insufficient or poorly calculated deco stops!)

At that time there was an ongoing development of "Decompression Meters" which purportedly would alleviate the need to time dives.

Unfortunately they were not all that accurate, and could not compile information for multiple dives. (Residual Nitrogen)

My understanding is that, in later years, Dive Computers, have come to prominence, which can calculate most of these needs.

Personally, I would feel much more comfortable, if the diver had a good working knowledge of decompresion requirements... just in case of an equipment failure.

It is a bit like navigation at sea, today we have a new generation of mariners going to sea, with this wonderful unit called a GPS.

And amazing equipment it is...... however, should it break down, or the vessel experience total power failure, it would be comforting to know that someone on board was aware of the principles of coastal, and cellestial navigation.

Alternatively it becomes....."Want to sail from NY to Miami?... Just keep America on the right side!!"

Just reread this dissetation.... Sh*t I sound like an old fart... reminiscing. and maybe so.

Take it for what it's worth, I would welcome input from other "younger" divers.

Offshore

FWIW, I was an active commitee member of the Cave Divers Association here, also on the technical commitee of the local Underwater Federation, and worked for a number of years as a professional diver.

[luisik]

Edited September 16, 2007 by luisik

[Pugwash]

The reason I ask is because I can set the bezel on my CD at any amount of minutes but...it'll stay there happily all day

That's exactly what all bezels are supposed to do.

[ratchpot]

Sorry to disagree but the bezel is same as Rolex Sub and SD bezels just for decompression time.

The bezel is also intended to be used to measure approximate bottom time, rather than just decompression time. This is the reason why the bezel markers go all the way up to 60 minutes.

He can adjust the decompression time on the bezel

You can do that on watches that have a countdown bezel (like the Sinn EZM1), but you can't do that on the Cousteau, Sub or SD etc (which only measure elapsed time and have no minute markers beyond 15).

This is all rather academic anyway, as divers watches have long since been superseded by dive computers as the device of choice. In fact someone was telling me recently that the bezel on a gen IWC divers watch (I can't remember which model) does not rotate below 10 meters. Whether this is deliberate or not, it means that you cannot use it for deep safety stops.

Offshore is absolutely right about needing a good working knowledge of decompression limits regardless of what equipment you use, although I would add that the bare essential knowledge is taught as part of the minimum qualification requirements for recreational divers (e.g. for PADI or BSAC qualifications).

I use a Suunto D6 dive computer, which cost around US$560, although very good computers can be had for much less than that. I personally would never want to dive again without a dive computer and every other diver I have spoken to who uses one says exactly the same thing. As an indication of how important dive computers are seen to be, PADI will not let you obtain the advanced certification unless you have one.

ps. Offshore sorry to hear about your necrosis, it's a real shame that you had to give up diving.

[NORing]

I use it to time my parking time when I'm out shopping;)

[Everythingape]

I use it to time the filling of lube oil on the main engine on the boat.

[Darth Vapor]

That's exactly what all bezels are supposed to do.

But then how do you use it the way NORing does? Shouldn't the ring slowly be ticking it's way back to zero after you set it??

I use it to time my parking time when I'm out shopping;)

God, I feel like such a n00b, wanting to know how to use a freaking bezel ring.

[Everythingape]

Try this:

You turn the bezel ring so that the minute hand points to the pearl or 'zero' on your ring.

Then you wait 15 minutes, look at the watch; the minute hand has moved and points to 15 on the bezel ring..

Now you know 15 minutes have passed without having to remember what time it was when you started whatever you wanted to time..

Cause you know from the bezel that 15 minutes have passed.

It's basically an easy way to read the minutes passed within an hour without having to remember where you started.

It's not an egg timer.

BTW: I wouldn't buy any slide rule watches if I were you! ..just kidding

[Darth Vapor]

Try this:

You turn the bezel ring so that the minute hand points to the pearl or 'zero' on your ring.

Then you wait 15 minutes, look at the watch; the minute hand has moved and points to 15 on the bezel ring..

Now you know 15 minutes have passed without having to remember what time it was when you started whatever you wanted to time..

Cause you know from the bezel that 15 minutes have passed.

It's basically an easy way to read the minutes passed within an hour without having to remember where you started.

It's not an egg timer.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

A very clear answer...hell, even I understand it.

BTW: I wouldn't buy any slide rule watches if I were you! ..just kidding

Oh, no way!! Breitling Navitimers even have a complete E6B worked into the bezel... Amazing if you can work it. But not for me, thanks.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Darth Vapor

[offshore]

@ DV,

Hmmmm, glad we cleared that one up!

Really, this is exactly what this place is for, to broaden everyones knowledge.

I honestly learn SO much here every day! The real reason this is my home.

In fact someone was telling me recently that the bezel on a gen IWC divers watch (I can't remember which model) does not rotate below 10 meters. Whether this is deliberate or not, it means that you cannot use it for deep safety stops.

@rp, Had never heard of that before, but it makes perfect sense.

However I would be seriously worried about a sport diver, who needed to run stops below 30' Worried for his longevity!!

If the bezel "locks off" below 10m, then there is no opportunity for it to give a wrong reading (be moved or knocked) until one gets back into the deco area.

BTW, ( for the non divers) the reason a bezel only will turn one way, is to prevent a false recording (to little) bottom time, if it is knocked. So the worst scenario, is you are calculating your stops on a reading which is wrong, but, wrong in the "safe" sense,it is an overeading ie, you will only end up doing too much deco..... and you can never do to much deco! (unless you are running short of air )

ps. Offshore sorry to hear about your necrosis, it's a real shame that you had to give up diving.

Yeh thanks, I thought it was a shame too... however the option offered was a bit less palatable.. if the necrosis got worse, the doctors would remove both my arms, at the shoulder joint!

No contest...stop blowing bubbles

Offshore