Something's wrong with my bouyancy?

[alex_can_dive]

Please advice me on how much weights is right for me?

I'm 120 lbs and wear an 8/7 wetsuit, diving in the ocean (New England, if it matters).
I usually wear 14 lbs. Everyone keeps telling me that's too much weight. Sometime I feel it at the bottom where my upper body sinks a bit lower than the legs.

But when I do the usual test at the surface (you know, hold a breath and see where I float), with 14lbs, I float at nose level. There were times where I jumped off the boat with completely deflated BCD + 14lbs, I still float back up without even kicking.

I've tried to go with 12lbs once and I literally could not descend. My two buddies had to pull me down. Once I'm down, I'd go around at the bottom for a few minutes and as soon as I took a normal full inhale, I started to float up. The whole time I could not take an inhale that lasted more than 2 seconds.

How do I fix this?

 

[ginti]

Why do you think that adding more weights is a problem? Just because other people tell you so?

EDIT: are these people particularly expert?
EDIT2: you mentioned that your upper body falls more than the legs - that is an issue of weights distribution, not of amount of weight you bring with you

 

[alex_can_dive]

Why do you think that adding more weights is a problem?

Because once i'm at the bottom, my chest sinks and my feet float higher - made it hard to swim comfortably.
I'd like to be in a state where my upper body could go a fit higher than my feets

 

[ginti]

Because once i'm at the bottom, my chest sinks and my feet float higher - made it hard to swim comfortably.
I'd like to be in a state where my upper body could go a fit higher than my feets

This is a trim problem, not a buoyancy one. Where do you keep the weights? On a belt?

 

[alex_can_dive]

Why do you think that adding more weights is a problem? Just because other people tell you so?

EDIT: are these people particularly expert?
EDIT2: you mentioned that your upper body falls more than the legs - that is an issue of weights distribution, not of amount of weight you bring with you

Two of them are both dive instructors with 1000+ dives.
Hmm, I only have my weightpockets in the BCD. I could put some on the tank but that would not fix my legs-floating issue, right?

 

[ginti]

Also, how much do your fins weigh?

 

[alex_can_dive]

Also, how much do your fins weigh?

My fins are 30oz and I wear a 5mm pair of boots

 

[johndiver999]

Everyone keeps telling me that's too much weight.

Without knowing what tank you are using, it is hard to provide much of an opinion on a reasonable weight range, but 14 lbs does NOT sound like too much if you are using an aluminum tank. A weight belt might lower your center of gravity and help to keep your head from falling down.

 

[ginti]

Two of them are both dive instructors with 1000+ dives.
Hmm, I only have my weightpockets in the BCD. I could put some on the tank but that would not fix my legs-floating issue, right?

So, the leg-floating could be the result of having the legs lighter than the upper body. This isn't necessarily because you are carrying too much weight, other possible explanations are:
- your fins are too light
- the weight pockets of your BCD are too high

The difficulties you have when you descend may be the consequence of several factors:
- you actually need more weight
- you don't fully exhale before going down
- you somewhat moe too much before going down

This is what you can do the next time you dive:
- be sure that, before descending, you completely empty your lungs
- be sure that you do not move any muscle when you descend
If you don't manage to descend by doing so, you probably need more weights

Regarding the leg-floating issue, some possible solutions are:
- wear more negative fins
- move down the weights, for instance by using a belt

A check with an instructor is obviously the best option, just be sure that they know what they are talking about (for instance, ask them to explain some concepts related to trim)

I dive dry-suits, so unfortunately I don't think I can help more than this... but I'll try if you need

 

[alex_can_dive]

Everyone keeps telling me that's too much weight.

Without knowing what tank you are using, it is hard to provide much of an opinion on a reasonable weight range, but 14 lbs does NOT sound like too much if you are using an aluminum tank. A weight belt might lower your center of gravity and help to keep your head from falling down.

I use a high-pressure steel tank (100 cf) - from their spec:
Buoyancy Full: From -2.64 lbs. to -9.41 lbs.
Buoyancy Empty: From -0.66 lbs. to +2.35 lbs.