Have you ever had to dump your weights?

[WetSEAL]

Just don't get too caught up in finding a way to make this come out the way you think it ought to. I say that gently.

Eh? I only created this topic because I'm confused why my BC (and most other manufacturers) have gone out of their way to make the weights quick releasable, as if dropping the weights is something that we would want to commonly do in an emergency. So far, I have only been able to think of extremely unusual pathological scenarios where dropping weights would make sense, and nobody here has come up with any better examples that I can really tell. This still leaves me confused as to why my BC has quick releasable weights as if it's a good thing. It seems more like a safety hazard to me that increases the chances of me losing my weights at depth and creating an uncontrolled ascent.

First, my 3500psi HP100's are only 0.6 lb negative at 500 psi, so they're no different from a pair of aluminum tanks for which I'm wearing lead to counteract their positive buoyancy when empty.

They ARE different, because the DELTA in bouyancy between an empty and a full tank is different from AL80 vs HP100. An AL80 tank goes from -1.4 to 4.4 when empty, so it's delta is 5.8, meaning that if you weighted yourself to be neutral on an empty tank at your safety stop, then you would be starting your dive 5.8 lbs heavy. An HP100 tank has a bouyancy delta of 7.8 lbs, which means that you'd have to start your dive being 7.8 lbs heavy, and a HP117 tank would mean you start out being 9.28 lbs heavy. Therefore, if your BC isn't working, you'd have a harder time treading water at the surface at the beginning of your dive if you were running an HP tank than an AL tank, and therefore it would be more plausible that you find the need to drop weights. That's all I was saying

 

[rsingler]

It seems more like a safety hazard to me that increases the chances of me losing my weights at depth and creating an uncontrolled ascent.

You must have an Aqualung SureLockTM BCD, lol!

And I think that's all I have to contribute at this point.

 

[Colliam7]

My instructor said there is basically no good reason to ever dump your weights. Nonetheless, every BC comes with dumpable weight pouches, so clearly the manufacturers feel this is an important feature.

As you describe his/her statement, your instructor said something that I would not say to a student, because I fundamentally disagree with such a categorical statement. Sure, in a perfect world, with perfect equipment, and perfect weighting, dumping weights would be an unlikely need, but not an unheard of need. And, a GOOD REASON to dump weight is to stay alive.

Your examples 1 and 2 are plausible situations in which a diver (novice or not) might choose to ditch.

Your example in post #39 is an even more plausible situation. It doesn't matter if I have been able to swim my rig up, I don't care to have to continue to vigorously fin at the surface just to stay above water. And, I would rather ditch my weight than lose my entire rig.

Wookie offered another real life example.

And, we have several examples, in A&I threads in the past 3-4 years, of divers getting to the surface, not ditching their weights, and drowning.

It doesn't matter if the divers were not properly weighted. It doesn't matter if the diver 'coulda' just inflated their BCD. It doesn't matter if their BCD 'shoulda' worked to begin with. Being able to ditch 'woulda' possibly made a difference.

To answer one of your questions, I have never had to ditch weight (although I have thought about it on one or two occasions). But, I continue to dive and I won't rule out the possibility of the need occurring in the future. I think manufacturers build in the option to dump weight because of a) potential liability, b) adverse impact of perceived risk on potential gear sales, and c) the fact that ditching weight is taught in many OW courses.

I agree - the potential for uncontrolled / uncommanded loss of weights could be a safety hazard. And, at least one manufacturer continues to struggle with their technology in that regard. But, from my perspective, I don't see faulty design alone as a reason not to have weight to ditch in the unlikely event it becomes necessary.

Good thread for discussion. Thank you for starting it.

 

[Storker]

It doesn't matter if the divers were not properly weighted. It doesn't matter if the diver 'coulda' just inflated their BCD. It doesn't matter if their BCD 'shoulda' worked to begin with. Being able to ditch 'woulda' possibly made a difference.

This.

When I'm doing something that might kill me on a bad day, I prefer to use both suspenders (that'd be braces in the UK) and a belt. In a figurative way, of course (Edit: on second thoughts, actually in a literal way. My DS has suspenders, and I'm using a weight belt. So, literally I'm using both suspenders and a belt). Being able to ditch weights on the surface is one example of this. No matter if I can swim my rig up, dropping some 5-10kg will make me float noticeably higher when I've surfaced. Which might come in handy if I'm in a sticky situation and there's a bit of chop.

I've been low in the water in benign situations. I didn't appreciate it. I don't want to be low in the water if I'm struggling with something, so I prefer to be able to ditch if the manure intercepts with the rotating ventilation device. I haven't needed to ditch, and I believe that the chance of that is rather small, but then I'm the type of guy who always wears a seat belt when I'm driving even if I haven't been in a serious crash even once during nearly 35 years of driving.

 

[CT-Rich]

I’ ve done it twice. Once was on a nightdive. My BCD failed and we had a long surface swim back to shore. The other time had nothing to do with trim, after surfacing my drysuit was restricting my neck (it was new and I should have stretched the neck out). So I could lay flat on my back in the water and relieve the pressure, I dumped weight. Breathing wasn’t the issue, blood flow was. If a philosophy of “you should never find yourself in this situation” is being used to justify something as elemental as ditchable weight, you are an accident waiting to happen. I went 35 years without ditching weights, then twice in a year.

 

[doctormike]

I agree with those who say that having the ability to ditch weight has a potential benefit. Saying "you shouldn't need to ditch weight" misses the real world point of the fact that ditchable weight has certainly saved lives - specifically of exhausted divers on the surface.

HOWEVER...

Going along with that should be the commitment to ONLY carry as much ballast as you need, and sometimes that means working on trim and buoyancy. For a properly weighted diver, the risk of non-ditchable weight is somewhat mitigated. MANY new divers are grossly overweighted. Adding unneeded weight just so you have something to ditch makes no sense to me.

Also, like all things, there are tradeoffs, and some divers do forgo the ability to ditch weight on the surface because they prefer a more streamlined, comfortable, compact rig, especially if they aren't using a large amount of added ballast. It's not unthinkable to do so. We talk about these kind of tradeoffs all the time - check out the pony bottle with solo diving thread that's going on right now. Plenty of experienced divers don't take redundant gas on shallow solo dives, but you can certainly come up with a situation where it might be helpful.

My CCR is pretty heavy, but while it's balanced in fresh water, in salt water I do need a little extra weight with a dry suit and thick undergarments. There are tubes right next to the backplate that take lead inserts (7.6 lbs total), and putting them there puts the weight right by my center of mass and is great for trim. When I dive OC in the Caribbean, I have a steel backplate and I hardly need any weight with a wetsuit, so I put about 4 lbs in cam band pockets. Now I could also use a weight belt in both of these configurations, but that would be pretty uncomfortable, and it can shift or even become accidentally released. So it's a tradeoff that I acknowledge...

 

[Snoweman]

In the "inspiration post", a number of people crap on Aqua Lung's Sure Lock system. Yet, I don't see anyone mentioning losing an AL weight pocket. The only problem I ever had was getting interrupted between filling the pocket and installing the pocket by a dive plan from the DM. I set it down during the talk and forgot to install it. When I couldn't go down, I thought for sure it had come out during my stride into the water. I took a weight belt from the boat captain. I searched for the pocket on the bottom for about five minutes at the end of the dive before a light bulb turned on over my head. I felt like a complete dumbass.

But..., I have never lost a weight pocket. I'm surprised I'm not reading more about this problem on this post.

 

[mmerriman]

I've never had to drop my weights in an emergency, however I have been of some small boats that wanted weights handed up to the them at the end of dive so they had an easier job pulling the tanks out of water.

And while I agree with the concept of if you're perfectly weighted you shouldn't need to dump your weights, the thought of a drysuit failure (which I have witnessed twice) always is on my mind as a GREAT reason to be able to dump weights.

 

[CT-Rich]

I don't dive with ditchable weight because I dive a balanced rig. There's no need.

I think this shows more a lack of imagination....

 

[johndiver999]

I've never had to drop my weights in an emergency, however I have been of some small boats that wanted weights handed up to the them at the end of dive so they had an easier job pulling the tanks out of water.

And while I agree with the concept of if you're perfectly weighted you shouldn't need to dump your weights, the thought of a drysuit failure (which I have witnessed twice) always is on my mind as a GREAT reason to be able to dump weights.

If you are wearing a 7 mm wetsuit deep and a BC fails, being "perfectly weighted" most certainly does not equate to being able to swim yourself to the surface.

Why would a dry suit failure cause a person to drop lead? Wouldn't they just use their BC and ascend normally and under control?