I am sure I am a bit overweight as that seems to be common. Your chart says 10% body weight (250 lbs) so that puts me at 25lbs. Then it says 3-5 for 7mm suite which would put me up to 30 lbs. It does not say if that includes a 7mm outer as well. With a full AL 80 I did not have any problem but when it was low it seemed to be a bit of an issue. If I read correctly a full AL 80 is 1- but goes to +4 when empty, is that correct?
Back inflate questions
- Thread starter Nwcid
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I am sure I am a bit overweight as that seems to be common. Your chart says 10% body weight (250 lbs) so that puts me at 25lbs. Then it says 3-5 for 7mm suite which would put me up to 30 lbs. It does not say if that includes a 7mm outer as well. With a full AL 80 I did not have any problem but when it was low it seemed to be a bit of an issue. If I read correctly a full AL 80 is 1- but goes to +4 when empty, is that correct?
Maybe I am mistaken about BP/W. I did look at them a bit. As a novice I did not like the idea of having to tie my own harness and stuff. I am sure if I met someone who had one and could show me the rope it would be less intimidating. The back inflate seemed to be a happy medium. I would be open to any pointer or good links to read up on.
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
@Nwcid: I disagree with DevonDiver. I dive in water temps comparable to your local waters. 30 lbs. for a new diver wearing 14 mm on his torso (7mm farmer john-style two-piece wetsuit) and using an AL80 tank is in the realm of reasonable weighting in my book. That being said, you won't know what your weighting requirements are unless you do a proper weight check. You should be doing a formal weight check whenever you change a piece of gear that could affect your weighting requirements (exposure protection, BCD, tank, etc.). I recommend that new divers get in the habit of doing weight checks often...just so that the process is ingrained. My OW instructor had us doing weight checks before and after every OW class dive. After getting certified, I did weight checks every time I used an unfamiliar wetsuit or tank (which occurred whenever I rented stuff from a different shop). Of course, once I was diving a consistent set of gear (i.e., purchased my own set of gear), the need for doing frequent weight checks disappeared.
Being properly weighted is a safety issue. Don't cut corners. Do your weight checks. I find it troubling when newer divers talk about not having enough weight "to get down" at the beginning of the dive with a full tank. Proper weighting doesn't just mean that you have enough weight "to get down" at the beginning of the dive. It means that you have enough weight to comfortably hold a shallow stop at the end of the dive with a near empty tank.
FWIW, if you switched from a steel tank to an AL tank, it's not surprising that you had to add some lead. I add 6 lbs. of lead when switching from a HP100 to a Catalina S80 (with all other gear remaining the same). Check out this tank buoyancy specs chart to calculate an estimate of how much lead to add. Then do a formalized weight check once you hit the water.
Being new there is lots that I dont know. What is worse is that many times you don't even know what you dont know........
That is something I will be adding to our list of practice stuff.
I'm with BubbleTrubble. It's not at all unusual for people here in the PNW to need in the neighborhood of 30 lbs of weight.
You say you are in NE WA. If you ever get over to the coast, I'd be very happy to show you our gear and go through it with you. If you want to see a backplate setup closer to home, you might try PMing Rick Inman here on SB. I know he at least used to have them, and I'm sure he knows people who are using them. He is in Spokane.
You say you are in NE WA. If you ever get over to the coast, I'd be very happy to show you our gear and go through it with you. If you want to see a backplate setup closer to home, you might try PMing Rick Inman here on SB. I know he at least used to have them, and I'm sure he knows people who are using them. He is in Spokane.
Well, whoever sells you a BP/W should help you set it up and get it right. If you buy one used, you might have to google around a bit or find a helpful buddy. Here's some idea of how you would set one up from scratch: Hogarthian Harness Assembly Instructions - Dive Gear Express
Once it's set up, you just put it on like any other jacket BC and buckle the waist. Some people use the crotch strap (I don't).
Thanks for the link and the info. There is a pretty good chance I will be ordering since local (being a 3hr round trip) dive shop is a relative term. Going to be getting lots of info off this board.
Divegear Express is a terrific company, I actually bought my son's BP/W from them. They are VERY helpful on the phone, have good stuff at good prices, and the website itself is a wealth of information, tips, tricks and explanations.
They even have a sense of humor: EtherFill 5000 Cylinder Fill System - Dive Gear Express
M
You are wearing A LOT of neoprene - I don't mean that you are wearing too much, just that a 7+7 (as you describe it) is a lot. The amount of weight you therefore need to descend that first 5 feet may be significant. It sounds like the 30 lbs is not unusual in the environment, however it is still quite a bit. (Diving single tank with my drysuit early on, I felt like I needed almost that much - turned out I didn't, but I was a newer diver and didn't know better). As for the BCD, I don't know that you are doing anything 'wrong'. The BCD, if my understanding is correct, has 48 lbs of lift - actually quite a bit for a single tank. But, you are using a good portion of that lift capacity just to handle the weight you are carrying. The best thing to do, and this almost sounds like a cliche, is do a good / proper / thorough weight check at the surface, with an instructror / dive buddy / mentor who is interested in helping you find the right weight, not just getting you weighted so you can descend and do skills. I am having trouble imagining a situation where you would need so much weight that a fully inflated, 48 lift-pound, BCD would not float you somewhat above mouth / water-sucking level. I could be wrong, but . . . I have to wonder of you are actually tipping forward just a bit, and don't fully appreciate how much (yep, diagnosis from afar is fraught with potential for error, but I will live dangerously here). A slight forward-tipping tendency, combined with a generous amount of weight, could explain your situation. That fix is easier - shift weight from the forward BCD pockets to the rear, even into weight / trim pockets laced onto the tank cam band(s). (Dare I say it, one of the - many - nice things about a SS BP is that it places some of the weight behind you and has a tendency to rotate your face up and away from the water.)
Again, not necessarily. If the particular BCD you used truly did not have a bottom dump on either side, that is both unusua,; and a problem. One thing you CAN do in that case, instead of rotating in your longitudinal axis (head to toe), is rotate in your lateral axis (simply roll to your right in the horizontal position, to put the inflator hose above the bladder / wing) and that may allow you to dump some air without going vertical. I have taught that technique to more than a few students and it works - not infallibly, but is something to try. Good luck.
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