Gilldiver
Contributor
Vintage steel 72's are just about neutral at 500 psi, so with ether 1 or 2, they are not all that bad, it is getting your weight correct that is the key. Remember, twin steel 72's had been dove for over 20 years before the BC was even invented.
With only a T-shirt and shorts, I am fine with them and if I add any thickness of a wet suit, I have to add some weight. Vintage Steel 72's are not your 104's here is something from Joel Silverstine a while back:
The following is from Joel Silverstine a while back:
B A L A N C E ..... balance.
Much of the "dont dive steel with wetsuits" information came out of South Florida in the mid 1990s when DIR / GUE / WKPP programs were being created. Much of this had to do with diving PST 104s with 3MM wet suits .... that in and of itself is a big ole problem larger than we have room to argue over. Since they were not going to change steel tanks aluminum was the logical choice.
Steel cylinders have been in use with wetsuits much longer than aluminum cylinders have been. Go back to the beginning before alum cylinders were made for scuba.
Different steel cylinders have different buoyancy characteristics. Some are rock heavy, some are light as a feather (loosely speaking) 7, 7.25, 8" cylinders all are different and displace different amounts of water. And each diver is different in displacement as well.
Remember that a BC / Wing is not an elevator it is a "compensator" it is to compensate for the decrease in thickness of an exposure suit and the compression of the air in the wing and lungs as one goes deeper. In an ideal world all you really need is enough lift to make you 1 lbs positive and you can then swim up. But the real world does not work that way and we have to sometimes overcompensate for stability with additional ballast for control.
My favorite cylinder with a 5mm wet suit in fresh water is a Faber 95. With a 3mm a Faber 85. I can glide -- move to salt water and I will add a little weight to compensate for the salt water.
For doubles it gets a little more involved because of the weight of the bands and manifolds but still manageable.
I have found that Faber LP steel cylinders have a cleaner buoyancy swing than the X cylinders have. And when not overfilled they balance out very nicely with wet suits.
Aluminum tanks tend to be a bit floaty and will require 8 lbs of neutralization ballast to be added for just the cylinders.
With only a T-shirt and shorts, I am fine with them and if I add any thickness of a wet suit, I have to add some weight. Vintage Steel 72's are not your 104's here is something from Joel Silverstine a while back:
The following is from Joel Silverstine a while back:
B A L A N C E ..... balance.
Much of the "dont dive steel with wetsuits" information came out of South Florida in the mid 1990s when DIR / GUE / WKPP programs were being created. Much of this had to do with diving PST 104s with 3MM wet suits .... that in and of itself is a big ole problem larger than we have room to argue over. Since they were not going to change steel tanks aluminum was the logical choice.
Steel cylinders have been in use with wetsuits much longer than aluminum cylinders have been. Go back to the beginning before alum cylinders were made for scuba.
Different steel cylinders have different buoyancy characteristics. Some are rock heavy, some are light as a feather (loosely speaking) 7, 7.25, 8" cylinders all are different and displace different amounts of water. And each diver is different in displacement as well.
Remember that a BC / Wing is not an elevator it is a "compensator" it is to compensate for the decrease in thickness of an exposure suit and the compression of the air in the wing and lungs as one goes deeper. In an ideal world all you really need is enough lift to make you 1 lbs positive and you can then swim up. But the real world does not work that way and we have to sometimes overcompensate for stability with additional ballast for control.
My favorite cylinder with a 5mm wet suit in fresh water is a Faber 95. With a 3mm a Faber 85. I can glide -- move to salt water and I will add a little weight to compensate for the salt water.
For doubles it gets a little more involved because of the weight of the bands and manifolds but still manageable.
I have found that Faber LP steel cylinders have a cleaner buoyancy swing than the X cylinders have. And when not overfilled they balance out very nicely with wet suits.
Aluminum tanks tend to be a bit floaty and will require 8 lbs of neutralization ballast to be added for just the cylinders.
