Do wings take in more water than jackets?

[ScubaDoo83]

I've been diving for two years with a Scubapro Knighthawk jacket BC and at most have had only about a shot glass or two amount of water come out of the bladder. Today I pool tested my new bp&w setup and after the dive I had TONS of water pouring out of the bladder. I done it the exact same way I've done before. Am I doing something wrong or do wings just tend to take on more water?

 

[Damselfish]

Water tends to get in when you keep trying to let out that last bit of air, but there really isn't any left or at least not in a position to dump. Maybe you're just getting used to a different setup? Knighthawk has a doughnut bladder with 3 dumps (assuming it's like my old Ladyhawk.) If you now have fewer dumps and/or a horseshoe that would be a change and you could just be messing with it a lot trying to let air out.

 

[tbone1004]

wings shouldn't take on any more water than jackets if you are dumping the same way. That said the position of the dump, how long you hold it open for, etc will determine how much water comes in. Holding the inflator open while under water will let more in than using the bottom dump. Pulling the bottom dump all the way open instead of just cracking it to let air out will let more in. Lot's of things can contribute, but thankfully it's not a huge issue. Diving closer to ideal weighting will force you to dive with less air in the wing and a lot of divers will hold dumps open far too long trying to let that last little bit of air out and water will come in that way. Not something to worry about, just make sure that you are partially filling the bladder with clean water after you get the first bit of water out and slosh it around in there to keep it clean

 

[RyanT]

I've dove both jackets and wings. I've never noticed any difference between them in how much water got in.

 

[g1138]

More water will get into any BC if you use the pull dumps and not the inflator predominantly.

Transitioning to a Bp/W you may find that you hold the dump open longer than necessary and trim out more extreme than necessary when using the rear dump. This can result more water entering the BC when compared to using using a stock jacket. It's a learning curve, you'll become more aware as you dive the gear more.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Transitioning to a Bp/W you may find that you hold the dump open longer than necessary and trim out more extreme than necessary when using the rear dump. This can result more water entering the BC when compared to using using a stock jacket. It's a learning curve, you'll become more aware as you dive the gear more.

I feel like you hit the nail on the head here. I was getting pretty frustrated with my performance yesterday but I could not completely focus on my new gear too much because I was dealing with issues and failures with my old gear. I'll be getting back to the pool to practice asap.

 

[dmaziuk]

ISTR trying to squeeze the last bit of air out of the read dump (that is not located at the best point for it) and letting a ton of water in. Once I got used to the wing I quit doing that -- no more "excessive" water in the aircell.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

I have been dumping water from my wing for two days now. How do you get all of the water out? I have been tilting it every way imaginable either pulling the dump on the bottom or from the inflator but there still seems to be some in there.

I was in a pool at only 9' so the buoyancy was super touchy. I'm hoping that eases up a bit in open water.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

I feel like you hit the nail on the head here. I was getting pretty frustrated with my performance yesterday but I could not completely focus on my new gear too much because I was dealing with issues and failures with my old gear. I'll be getting back to the pool to practice asap.

I think this happens when one was previously diving with more weight than necessary. The BP/W encourages you to weight yourself more precisely. Now you are diving with just barely enough weight to allow you to hold a safety stop, and you keep pulling that dump because you feel "floaty" and cannot convince yourself that the wing really is completely deflated. I watch my wife do this sometimes. I can see that her wing is completely deflated, and yet she pulls and pulls on that dump at the safety stop depth because she feels too buoyant. In reality, her buoyancy is either just exactly right, or she needs just another pound or so of lead. Sometimes you can be perfectly weighted according to all calculations, and for whatever reason--maybe just being fidgety due to discomfort or distraction or ... trying out a new rig--you just can't get seem to get dialed in on that dive and you feel floaty. Maybe add a little weight until you get completely comfortable with the new rig, and then see if you can reduce it a little.

 

[dmaziuk]

I have been dumping water from my wing for two days now. How do you get all of the water out? I have been tilting it every way imaginable either pulling the dump on the bottom or from the inflator but there still seems to be some in there.

Uhm... how are you doing it, exactly?