Bouyancy Control with a Dry Suit

[Col.Maniac]

Gareth once bubbled...
So I'm just interested in everyone's opinion. For Bouyancy, do you use a BCD, the suit itself, a wing etc and, most importantly, WHY.


Cheers

Gareth

HI I only use a single tank I was taught to use the Drysuit for bouyancy under water and just to use the BC at the surface.
atleast with the drysuit if u did get problems you can vent air quicker than the BC + the air in ur suit keeps you warm too.
I guess it doesnot really matter how you use the Drysuit and BC, its whats comfortable for you.
Tony
P.S I passed my drysuit specialty course yesterday so nomore getting wet

 

[ColdH2Odvr]

How about scootering? I find that scootering tends to move the bubble in the drysuit back to the legs, this doesn’t happen using wings for boyancy.

 

[Col.Maniac]

ColdH2Odvr once bubbled...
How about scootering? I find that scootering tends to move the bubble in the drysuit back to the legs, this doesn’t happen using wings for boyancy.

I find "Bubble" control quiet easy, if im too heavy in the legs i bent over abit and feel the bubble roll down my back and just let eough air into my feet, just before i feel my feet start to lift i bring my self horizontal again, add a little air to replace the air in my feet. If i got too much air in my legs/feet i just bend upwards and push my feet downward to release the air upwards, Doing this i can stay at 100% horizontially level.
Tony

 

[scubasean]

Col.Maniac once bubbled...


...
atleast with the drysuit if u did get problems you can vent air quicker than the BC...

Interesting...I had been told (having no practical experience yet) that the BC will vent *much* more quickly than a drysuit.

 

[Uncle Pug]

scubasean once bubbled...
Interesting...I had been told (having no practical experience yet) that the BC will vent *much* more quickly than a drysuit.

My BC or Wing will definitely dump faster than the suit but there is more to it than that.

Dumping fast isn't what you want... precise control on ascent is.

This is what I do:

Dump early and dump often from the suit keeping well ahead of the expanding gas on ascent and maintaining a snug fit with minimal gas.

Dump from the wing in small amounts as necessary to achieve neutral buoyancy.

When and how?

When ascending 10' between stops I am neutral leaving the stop and able to control my ascent with breathing. On arrival at the stop I adjust my suit first and then my wing to neutral again before leaving for the next stop.

If not doing stops but just a steady slow ascent (say before the first stop) the same control can be accomplished by making adjustments in moderation... don't dump too much from the BC or wing too fast. You can never dump enough from the suit IMO... so I keep my exhaust valve full open and let as much out as will go out.

BTW... if you are cold there is a better solution than filling your drysuit with a big bubble of gas that needs to be managed through out the dive and presents a danger on ascent: get a better undergarment!

 

[Col.Maniac]

scubasean once bubbled...


Interesting...I had been told (having no practical experience yet) that the BC will vent *much* more quickly than a drysuit.

What I mean is just for argumentsake, if you got a major problem you got to find the deflator hose or one of your other bc dumps this can take a few seconds, using the drysuit all you got to do is raise your arm and let the air auto dump out of the sleve much quicker, im not talking how fast the air dumps just how fast you can perform the operation in doing so.
I have tried different ways to quicky dump air from the drysuit and BC so i can handle a emergency, I find myself i can dump air quicker from the suit than the bc, As people say every one is different how they do things

Tony

 

[scubasean]

I'm hoping to be learning how to properly dive a drysuit beginning in six weeks....when it arrives.

Yay!

Pug: You seem to refer to the dumping of drysuit air as a manual process. However, I know automatic valves exist...Do you let some of the process be managed by the automatic valve?

I'm aware that the real issue is to intellectually understand what needs to happen, so the operator may override the valve if it malfunctions...I'm asking the question about normal operation when everything is functioning properly...

And, when you get to a stop and adjust your suit first, you are adjusting to keep the minimum amount of airh where you are comfortable and the suit isn't squeezing you, right?

Cheers,

Sean

 

[Uncle Pug]

scubasean once bubbled...
Pug: You seem to refer to the dumping of drysuit air as a manual process.

I've been diving dry for going on two decades and have always had *auto* dumps on my suits... however you need to *manually* position your valve so that it is in a position to auto dump. Where the valve is placed on the suit will determine what position you need to be in to get it to *auto* dump. Some suits come with valves that force you into a vertical position to dump. As soon as you go vertical you have less resistence to upward (or downward) movement and if you are at all positive you will start to ascend. IF your suit dumps fast enough you can arrest this... if it dumps too fast you will need to fin to stay in place. In fact some folks teach that you should stay a little negative, get vertical and fin yourself up. I personally don't agree with this.

I have my auto dump set full open... so it will dump as much as possible. On my trilam suit the dump is on my forearm and I still need to raise my arm a bit to get it to dump. With my other CF200 the auto dump is on the side of the upper arm but toward the bicep... and to get it to dump I need roll my left side up, flex my arm and reach back toward my valves while going slightly head up... I seriously dislike the positioning of that valve!

Tony... congratulations on recently passing your drysuit class. In time you will learn where your BC inflator is and it shouldn't be such a problem finding it... keep up the good work. As for worrying about emergencies and the need to rapidly dump air... it wouldn't be such a problem if you didn't have so much in your suit to begin with... but since you do be sure to stay ahead of the expansion.

One *emergency* that does need to be considered is a stuck inflator... whether on your BC/wing or on your suit.

 

[Col.Maniac]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...



Tony... congratulations on recently passing your drysuit class. In time you will learn where your BC inflator is and it shouldn't be such a problem finding it... keep up the good work. As for worrying about emergencies and the need to rapidly dump air... it wouldn't be such a problem if you didn't have so much in your suit to begin with... but since you do be sure to stay ahead of the expansion.

One *emergency* that does need to be considered is a stuck inflator... whether on your BC/wing or on your suit.

Hi Thanks, I was just saying what i prev said it as an example, I do sometimes have to fumble around to find the inflator as i cant see it . I completed all the skills for handaling stuck inflators etc did em quiet quick.
As to air in my drysuit i got my weight just about right i have a suit just about right for me i have a thiner undersuit as anything heavier would be abit silly here for the temp, I do have the option of getting a heavier under suit for colder winter times. I dont need a lot of air in the suit just a couple of quick puffs to weed out the squeeze.
I have full control over the bubble situation
Tony

 

[pdoege]

How would you handle a runaway suit inflator?

I have to pitch up severly to get the auto dump working (the DR 905 has a "bicep" dump) and pop the inflator off with my right hand. It then have to cover the inflator nipple to stop the suit from flooding.

Big time pucker factor. I normally grab the BC inflator as well. Way easy to elevator to the surface. I would not want that to happen at a bad time.

I keep the dump and inflator very clean. Learned a lesson after a beach dive.

Peter