weight distribution/weight ratio

[BRR@PA]

was wondering how people distrubute their weights in an intrigrated bc. I know the total is different for salt and fresh water, but in general how much of your total in the trim pockets and how much in your vest.

also does a general scale exsit showing ballpark totals for
your weight + salt or fresh +? mill wetsuit +bc type = weights needed

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Your best off to play with it yourself. figure out how much ballast you need to sink, then move some ballast up towards your head until you can hover horizontal.

its takes time and everyone is different.

or you could buy a backplate/wing and drop 6lbs right off the bat, this will displace weight evenly over your torso and make trim easier to achieve.

[Jorgy]

Wife and son both dive weight integrated BCs.......and both use 12 pounds in warm Caribbean water........son with a 3 mil, wife with a 5 mil..........

We get four 3 lb weights and distribute them to the back mounted trim pockets and weight pouches.

So half is non-ditchable and half is ditchable........this works well for trim and if a single weight pouch is accidentally lost it is only 25% of the lead.......

As AL 80's are really common, we have set the small strap that goes over the tank neck to adjust the relative tank height for final trim tweaking, son wears his a bit lower than wife........

Hope this helps.........M

[newman_diver]

Your best off to play with it yourself.

[DennisS]

Lay down and figure it out about a foot off the bottom, neutral bouyancy. Head heavy, foot heavy, tilt to the right. Move the weight until you get what you want. There are these little 1-2 lb weights with snap hooks that work well for trim adjustment

[Jorgy]

Every post I have read of yours included a reference to a BP/W..........

The OP asked about distributing lead on a weight integrated BC......

Do you own interest in a 2" webbing company??????

You do make some great points offer good advice...........and you are consistent in your support of BP/Ws..............

M

[LeadTurn_SD]

was wondering how people distrubute their weights in an intrigrated bc. I know the total is different for salt and fresh water, but in general how much of your total in the trim pockets and how much in your vest.

also does a general scale exsit showing ballpark totals for
your weight + salt or fresh +? mill wetsuit +bc type = weights needed

As already mentioned, this varies from person to person and you simply need to test different configurations until you "get it right" for you.

Having said that, there are very, VERY gross "ballpark" generalizations:

1.) 3 lbs. of bouyancy per 1 mm of wetsuit thickness.

2.) Lead required = 10% of body weight for a 7mm full wetsuit in salt water.

Here are a couple safety considerations:

1.) Enough weight should remain "ditchable" to achieve positive bouyancy at the surface and at least neutral bouyancy at depth, in the event of a BC failure.

2.) For a recreational dive with a single tank, you should start the dive no more negative than the weight of your air. Possibly a bit less negative than this.... some of us have more hot air than others , but what I mean is the weight of air you'll use during the dive...

I have a growing obsession with the over-weighting of new divers and the potential safety issues this creates. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Best wishes.

[fnfalman]

The OP asked about distributing lead on a weight integrated BC......

M

I'm not the guy that you quoted, but I do dive with a backplate/wing. If I need more weight, I can mount ditchable weight pouches on the waist belt which would make the BC into an integrated weight BC. You can have integrated weight without using a jacket BC. On my backplate/wing, between the backplate and the extra negatively buoyant tank, I don't need any additional weight to dive. However I do have a Dive Rite TransPac which I do need weight to dive. I have 6-lbs split into 3-lbs per weight pouches plus 4-lbs in two 2-lbs trim weights attached to the back of the BC.

[BRR@PA]

thanks to all
we will only have 1 refresher in the pool befor going to our check out dives in jamaica.
just bought new bc's so any head start is a good one

thanks again keep them comng on how you distribute your weights