The maxium dive time for a dive of 60 feet is how many minutes?

Answer 1

60 feet is about 18 meters (the recreational limit for OPEN WATER CERTIFICATION) and the PADI RDP table states that 48 minutes will be the NO DECOMPRESSION time limit.

Regardless of how much Air you still have in the cylinder, you MUST NOT exceed this time otherwise you will require a DECO STOP. Unless trained in Decompression Theory and Technical diving the risk of a DCS/DCI is VERY high.

Be aware that hardly anyone would be sitting at 18meters CONTINUOUSLY for 48 minutes, unless you were working at that depth (in which case youd probably be on HardHat or Surface fed so this doesnt matter!!) which is why using a computer will show you your SAFE NO DECOMPRESSION TIME for the dive you are making.

Improved Answer

The above answer as it relates to the time limit is not correct. PADI's time limit for their table (the RDP) is 55 minutes at 60 feet and 56 minutes at 18 meters if you have the metric table.

Other tables use different time limits, but in general the time limit is considered to be 50 to 55 minutes at 60 feet with most "modern" sport tables being 50 minutes.

60 ft/18 m. time limits (in minutes)

DCIEM (Canadian): 50

British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC): 50

Buhlmann (Swiss): 50 (good to 2300' elevation)

Table researchers or developers:

Dr. Bruce Basset: 50

B.R. Morris: 50

There is an overall good consensus between the tables at the middle to deeper depths, but the times can vary a lot at the shallower depths such as 30 feet and shallower.