Questions about weights and BCD inflation.

[DivemasterDennis]

The less air in the bcd the better. Overweighted people have to put alot of air in their bc at depth to maintain neutral buoyancy, The more air in the bc the tougher it is to maintain neutral buoyancy. You should probably wear a couple pounds in the salt water, more if you wear an exposure suit. But other than that, you have it right. No one really needs much weight below 25 or 30 feet. We need it to descend and to hold position on ascent, particularly for a safety stop ( once you opt to dive deeper than the last 2 dives. Stay active- dive more, and I'm sure you will now that you have equipped yourself.
DivemasterDennis

 

[jseteroff]

That is good to hear. The reason I took less to start was that I felt the BCD I bought (Oceanic Biolite) just doesn't have enough air to support myself and very much weight. As I mentioned earlier, I have no issues getting down, but I struggle with maintaining neutral bouyancy when I quit moving. Perhaps a good weight check and working on breath control will help more.

 

[jseteroff]

That is good to hear. The reason I took less to start was that I felt the BCD I bought (Oceanic Biolite) just doesn't have enough air to support myself and very much weight. As I mentioned earlier, I have no issues getting down, but I struggle with maintaining neutral buoyancy when I quit moving. Perhaps a good weight check and working on breath control will help more.

I found the reason that felt that I did not have enough support in my BCD. The last Dive made I realized that the inflation hose was not completely tight to the BCD, this resulted in air leaking out of the BCD. tightening the connection, and doing a proper weight check fixed all my issues. Lesson learned. In truth my first dive with 6 lbs was not that far off on my weight requirements for salt water. While diving in a t-shirt and shorts, 8 lbs was more than sufficient.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I found the reason that felt that I did not have enough support in my BCD. The last Dive made I realized that the inflation hose was not completely tight to the BCD, this resulted in air leaking out of the BCD. tightening the connection, and doing a proper weight check fixed all my issues. Lesson learned.

I could see how being properly weighted would help.
I'm not so sure I would find "tightening the connection" between the inflater hose and BCD to be a satisfying explanation.

If you take a look at how the inflater hose-power inflater connection works, you'll see that there's a Schrader valve inside the end of the hose and the quick-disconnect nipple of the power inflater assembly pushes up on the Schrader valve, which opens up flow to the power inflater. When you depress the power inflater button, it opens up the system to allow the airflow from the inflater hose into the assembly, corrugated hose, and inner bladder of the BCD. There's an o-ring that seals the end of the inflater hose against the quick-disconnect nipple of the power inflater assembly. That o-ring is what keeps the air inside the hose, when pressurized, from escaping into the surrounding water.

The short answer is that, so long as nothing is damaged, an improperly seated inflater hose will not leak air. It will just sit there. The Schrader valve will remain closed. When you hit the power inflater button, a small amount of water might enter the assembly, but you won't get any power inflation at all. If the inflater hose is improperly seated, you may get a little bit of air leaking out the quick-disconnect nipple when you mash down on the power inflater button. It should stop, however, when you release the button. If the Schrader valve isn't "activated," you shouldn't see any power inflation at all.

For what it's worth, even if the inflater hose is improperly connected to the BCD's power inflater assembly, it's certainly possible to add air from a BCD bladder by oral inflation. Moreover, the exhaust button should still work.

 

[jseteroff]

I think I misrepresented the issue. The issue was never with being able to inflate the BCD, it was keeping it in. The larger hose that actually connects to the BCD was unscrewed some, allowing air to escape from the BCD. I could put as much air into it and it just bubbled out between the actual BCD and the connection to the larger hose.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I think I misrepresented the issue. The issue was never with being able to inflate the BCD, it was keeping it in. The larger hose that actually connects to the BCD was unscrewed some, allowing air to escape from the BCD. I could put as much air into it and it just bubbled out between the actual BCD and the connection to the larger hose.

Ah. You were talking about the corrugated hose-BCD connection. Yes, I could see how a problem with that connection would make it difficult to keep air inside the BCD bladder. That should be on your pre-dive checklist. Make sure that the connection is tight and, when the BCD is fully inflated, you can't hear any air escaping from that area.

Glad you got things sorted out. It can be difficult for a beginner to get the hang of things when true equipment issues crop up.