Open Water Dives - 27.8lbs weight belt - did I get too much weight?

[tphelps]

Considering what you described, I wouldn't have you wear 27lbs! But don't feel too bad... I was assisting an OW class and one of the students literally needed 40lbs on his weight belt!!! (I kid you not...) Just goes to show the importance of a good buoyancy check. It is also a good habit to write down your exposure suit and amount of weight you use for a dive in your log book. Im not just saying that, I practice what I preach! That has definitely helped me out when I dive in a suit I haven't dove in for a while.

I agree with chrpai, more instructors should have their students hover while doing skills.

 

[AfterDark]

I use a 7mm farmer john style w/a SS B/P and I use 8lbs up to 22lbs depending on which steel tank(s) I'm using. So 27lbs isn't out of sight. Body fat is more important than actual weight. Fat floats, muscle is more dense.

 

[Panama Jones]

Ok. Let's do a proper weight check. Since I was certified in 2010, I've heard so many instructors tell people so much different advice. Full breath/ normal breath, eye level/top of head, full tank/500lbs

Here's what I practice. I am properly weighted when:

" I can float at eye level, with a normal breath (not full), relaxed, with 500lbs in the tank" This means that when I have a full tank that I will be at a manageable 4 to 5 lbs (assuming 80 CF) heavy at the start of the dive and neutral at the end of the dive. Works for me.

Agreement or Disagreement?

On the reverse note, since not a lot of people want to take the time to weight check with an empty tank. Then do the exact same thing with a full tank (assuming 80 CF) and add 4 - 5lbs after the check before going down.

 

[WimW]

I even had the issue at a check dive on a recent dive trip in Marsa Alam. Everyone kneeled to do the skills, but i just couldn't get a stable position on my knees - I just kept falling forward and (slightly) up. So I tried to signal the DM that I would do the skills hovering, and started getting up from the sand. But the DM pulled me down again... Took him quite some time to understand that he should just give me some space and let me do them while hovering.

Considering what you described, I wouldn't have you wear 27lbs! But don't feel too bad... I was assisting an OW class and one of the students literally needed 40lbs on his weight belt!!! (I kid you not...) Just goes to show the importance of a good buoyancy check. It is also a good habit to write down your exposure suit and amount of weight you use for a dive in your log book. Im not just saying that, I practice what I preach! That has definitely helped me out when I dive in a suit I haven't dove in for a while.

I agree with chrpai, more instructors should have their students hover while doing skills.

 

[flots am]

Ok. Let's do a proper weight check. Since I was certified in 2010, I've heard so many instructors tell people so much different advice. Full breath/ normal breath, eye level/top of head, full tank/500lbs

They're all actually pretty close.

• "Eye level" & "top of head" is only maybe a pound difference. Not a big deal.
• "Full tank" only works if you know what the weight of the gas in the tank is and add that much extra. Otherwise you'll become positive as you use up your gas. The "500 PSI" weighting allows you to remain neutral at the end of the dive.
• A full breath can be more than 10 pounds positive when compared to empty lungs, however divers don't usually have completely full lungs, so I go with "average"

 

[windapp]

You will necessarily be 5 lbs over-weighted to start due to the air your tank. As a rule, a new diver, when properly weighted (that is to say 5 lbs over to start), will have a little bit of trouble leaving the surface. If you are in thick exposure protection, after about 5-10 feet, you will sink more easily. If you drop like a rock right from the surface, you are definitely over-weighted. I would recommend doing proper weight checks with an empty cylinder before you do your first dive, or you can add 5 pounds to your weight with a full cylinder. Make sure you cross your ankles during the weight check so you are not kicking.

Being over-weighted sucks because it really exaggerates the amount of air you need to put in/out of your BCD to compensate for depth changes, and makes your final ascent from 15 feet much more difficult. If you are perfectly weighted, you can do the last 15 ft with no air in your BCD, and use your lungs to control your depth.

You are already adding enough of a challenge to your first dive by doing it in cold water with thick exposure protection. You don't need to handicap yourself by being over weighted.

 

[hhsuey]

Windapp, not sure if I understand. 5lbs over weighted to start a dive? The air in the tank is compressed and should weigh more, especially at the start of a dive right?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[windapp]

Windapp, not sure if I understand. 5lbs over weighted to start a dive? The air in the tank is compressed and should weigh more, especially at the start of a dive right?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Yes. If you are weighted perfectly at the end of the dive, you will be 5 lbs over weighted (with an AL80) at the beginning of the dive because of the extra 5 lbs of air.

 

[TSandM]

I'd like to make a distinction here between "overweighted", and "negative". They are two different things.

When you begin a dive, you have air in your tank that you will not have at the end of the dive, and that air has weight (about a pound for every 13 cubic feet). If you begin your dive perfectly neutral with an empty BC (and empty dry suit, if you are using one), you will be positive by the amount of air you have used, at the end of it. If you are diving thick neoprene, this may not be a big issue, since it takes time for the suit to rebound to its full buoyancy. But if you are diving thin exposure protection, or a dry suit, you will have trouble holding a stop.

Therefore, correct weighting for most circumstances is going to be weighting yourself to be anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds NEGATIVE with an empty BC and suit at the beginning of a dive -- this is not "overweighted", this is CORRECTLY weighted!

 

[Panama Jones]

I'd like to make a distinction here between "overweighted", and "negative". They are two different things.
!

Great point - much better terminology