dry suit and buoyancy

[Valéry]

Hi all,
I’ve just received my pinnacle freedom 2 bought from LP. I’m very happy with it and I’ve dive it 3 times so far.

It’s my first dry suit so I’ve a question about buoyancy.

I still don’t know if I must rely completely on the dry suit for buoyancy or put in it just enough air not to be squeezed and rely on the BC to achieve neutral buoyancy?

My second question is i've trimmed the first ring of the neck seal but i still think it's to thight. So how do i know how much should i trim so that i don't end up with a too large neck seal.


Thanks

[PfcAJ]

Use your drysuit for warmth, and your BC for buoyancy. Put in enough air to be comfortable.

For the neck seal, tread lightly here. If its really too tight, trim off a half ring. Be careful though!

[TSandM]

If you can stand the neck seal without getting lightheaded or having your face turn purple, leave it alone. The latex will relax over time, and trimming it to a perfect fit now means you'll have to replace it much sooner.

Your goal for buoyancy is to be able to use the suit, or the BC, or any combination of the two, as the circumstances of your dive mandate. I think, for people beginning with dry suits, minimizing the gas in the suit and primarily using the BC is easier -- make sure you are not underweighted at the same time! Many folks do their weight check when they have been standing in chest-deep water, and the suit is as squeezed as it can possibly be -- it is difficult to impossible to achieve that degree of "emptiness" while you are ascending at the end of a dive. Adding one or two pounds can make life much easier (not more than that, though!).

As you become more facile with managing the air bubble in the suit, you can run more gas in it, and stay warmer. In very cold water, I use the suit alone for buoyancy, until I can't compensate enough (doubles and a deco bottle is too much for a suit), but in caves, I run the suit at the "20 foot squeeze" level, because all the unusual attitudes you have to assume in caves make handling a larger bubble a PITA.

[FishDiver]

The drysuit is for exposure protection, BC is for buoyancy control. Having said that, I find I rarely add air to my BC if I am properly weighted. If you find you use the BC often you can probably drop some lead.

[Valéry]

Ok so I've one more question:

I've noticed that my sac when diving dry is higher (around 50bars) and i've noticed that during the bottom phase the auto dump valve was always realeasing some air (it's not malfuctioning it's just that i move alot) which resulted in putting air into the suit again.

So the stupid question is, can I close the valve during the bottom phase (or turn it a litle) and then reopen it during deco?

[deker0000]

I use my SSA bailout harness with my Viking drysuit whether I am diving SCUBA or surface supplied air. I like to be just a touch heavy and use a little air in the suit to keep the cold off me. Divers make this way more complicated than it is. Once you get used to the drysuit, its a piece of cake, like anything else..

[BabyDuck]

Ok so I've one more question:

I've noticed that my sac when diving dry is higher (around 50bars) and i've noticed that during the bottom phase the auto dump valve was always realeasing some air (it's not malfuctioning it's just that i move alot) which resulted in putting air into the suit again.

So the stupid question is, can I close the valve during the bottom phase (or turn it a litle) and then reopen it during deco?

your sac is likely higher because of more drag from the suit - dry suits tend to be wrinkly & baggy, and that makes drag, and that makes you work.

yes, you can close the valve while you're on the bottom. just remember to open it up before you start to ascend!

[Kern]

Are you using back gas for suit inflation.