Help needed to descend!

[GreenDiverDown]

Give us an idea of your body size.

How do you KNOW that you have let all of the air out of your BC?

Why are you hesitant to add more weight?

 

[hchen]

I wake up during the night at times, and instead of just going to the head - I have a horrible habit of looking at SB again, so it was 4.30am for me when I posted above. That's why I didn't go into more detail, but then - I also counted on others giving the advice they have here...

We do not yet know if you are speaking of FW or SW diving, nor if you are using an 80 AL tank, a heavier steel one, etc...?

If you are a smaller, more slender person, you will not need nearly as much weight to get down and stay down as an overweight Texan, but these two factors can affect the amount of lead you need by more than 4#.

The way that I like to finally determine how much weight I really need for a dive - then keep in my log book for future reference - is to determine how much I need to get down quickly in case there is a boat coming at me with a nearly empty tank. Of course, this can only be established with a nearly empty tank, completely wet wetsuit & gear, usually at the end of a dive.

After that, all the above posted advise will help a lot...

DandyDon
you know what? i think i'll try adding another 2 lbs the next time i'm go diving. cuz i'm not sure if i can still descend on a nearly empty tank with 4lbs on me. never tried though. maybe it's just me but i don't like carrying so many weights on me. gets really cumbersome gearing up and walking to the platform.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

maybe it's just me but i don't like carrying so many weights on me. gets really cumbersome gearing up and walking to the platform.

But ya gotta have...what ya gotta have!

 

[spectrum]

But ya gotta have...what ya gotta have!

Just make sure it's based on the end of the dive.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Just make sure it's based on the end of the dive.

If you would read up a few post you will see that I outlined in painfull detail...once again...how to do this.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Amazing how many times I see people kicking while they are trying to descend???

 

[DandyDon]

DandyDon
you know what? i think i'll try adding another 2 lbs the next time i'm go diving. cuz i'm not sure if i can still descend on a nearly empty tank with 4lbs on me. never tried though. maybe it's just me but i don't like carrying so many weights on me. gets really cumbersome gearing up and walking to the platform.

I know how you feel. I'm 6 ft tall and weigh at least 200#, so I may be a long bigger than you with a lot higher fat ratio. A lot of Texans are, and many Americans carry a lot more fat than Asians. Still, diving in SW with a 3 mil, I'll usually carry 16# of lead, 26# with a 7 mil - now that is cumbersom! :11:

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Amazing how many times I see people kicking while they are trying to descend???

...makes a certain characteristic sound...doesn't it?

 

[hchen]

Give us an idea of your body size.

How do you KNOW that you have let all of the air out of your BC?

Why are you hesitant to add more weight?

I'm 110 lbs and 5ft 3''. (Hmm... I think I converted the figures right. in metric system i'm 50kg and 1.64m)

 

[cummings66]

I don't think weight has lots to do with it as compared to the fat/muscle content. I honestly believe based on the info provided that he's going to need maybe another 4 lbs. You know it's not that hard to do, 8lbs is chump change to carry for one test. Just dive with it, at the end of the dive at your safety stop do a check and hand off the weights until you have the right amount. Whatever you're left with is what you need.

It's not going to kill you to do one dive like this to test it out. Just do the test properly.