How much weight?
- Thread starter ponygrl
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LDS here in Pennsylvania recommends starting with 10% of body weight plus 4-5 pounds for your tanks. It worked out pretty close for me. This will at least give you a starting point.
I'm a big guy and with a 7mm farmer john, I need 32 pounds of weight. I don't like carrying that much weight out of the water, but that's what it takes. I used about half that in a short suit in salt water and this came as a surprise.
I'm a big guy and with a 7mm farmer john, I need 32 pounds of weight. I don't like carrying that much weight out of the water, but that's what it takes. I used about half that in a short suit in salt water and this came as a surprise.
gbray
Contributor
I am no expert on this but since I see no answer yet I will give you somewhere to start. In the beginning I was told to start roughly with 10% of my body weight. This ended up being too heavy for me. There are many things that will affect the amount of weight you will need.They include your exposure suit, your build, your lung volume,gender,tank size and material and on and on.
The goal is ,with an empty tank(500psi) at the end of your dive you want to be able to float at the surface with no air in your BC and a full breath. When you exhale normally you should sink so the water comes to eye level.
This should get you started. If I have told you anything incorrectly here I have much confidence someone will correct me very quickly. Good luck,good diving and welcome to the board.
The goal is ,with an empty tank(500psi) at the end of your dive you want to be able to float at the surface with no air in your BC and a full breath. When you exhale normally you should sink so the water comes to eye level.
This should get you started. If I have told you anything incorrectly here I have much confidence someone will correct me very quickly. Good luck,good diving and welcome to the board.
Your LDS can estimate the amount you'll need -- and I'm assuming you're renting gear. A 7mm suit usually needs an extra 3-5 pounds on top of the 4-5 pounds for an aluminum tank. There are also adjustments between salt and fresh water.
One suggestion is to start with more than you need and do a buoyancy check at the start of the dive. It's easy to remove weight that you don't need, but not having enough means that you might not dive at all. If you can remember, do a buoyancy check at the end of the dive to see if you're neutral-ish on an empty tank...and write the final weight down in your log book for next time!
fnfalman
Contributor
Rule of thumb for cold water diving with either a heavy wetsuit or dry suit is 10% of body weight plus 6lbs of lead weight. That's "Rules of Thumb" and not gospel. It gives you a starting point that's probably overweight the heck out of you, but at least you have a starting point to subtract the weight down until you're properly weighted.
elmer fudd
Contributor
I'm 6'1" 220, wear a 7mm wetsuit and generally dive with a steel HP 119 and an aluminum 19 ft pony. With that combination I'm properly weighted for most dives with 19 lbs of lead, but I can go down to 16 if I don't mind being a little positively buoyant at the end of my dive above 15 feet.
With just an aluminum 80, I'd imagine that I'd have to add about 8 pounds.
With just an aluminum 80, I'd imagine that I'd have to add about 8 pounds.
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I use full 7 mil farmer john. Am 6 ft. 200 lbs. Need 34 with my steel tank and 40 with an Al80.
Carl_Fallon
Contributor
Hi Guys... The best rule of thumb isnt to attempt to guess, but jump in and check. Bouyancy Checks both prior and after your first dive is essential. ASk your LDS, that you are diving with and i am sure that they will suggest what to enter with.
I put hundreds of people in the water each month, with equipment hired from our centre, and unless i could see the individual and the equipment they are diving with, i wouldnt even attemp a guess.
If you are diving in a new environment with a new equipment config and are unsure of what to go with - plan for a simple dive first to sort out your gear / weights etc...
Joolz said it all!!!
Good luck with the dives!
I put hundreds of people in the water each month, with equipment hired from our centre, and unless i could see the individual and the equipment they are diving with, i wouldnt even attemp a guess.
If you are diving in a new environment with a new equipment config and are unsure of what to go with - plan for a simple dive first to sort out your gear / weights etc...
Joolz said it all!!!
Good luck with the dives!
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