Add Additional Weight For Shallow Dive?

[stephen1254]

We have worked to reduce the amount of weight we carry, and find it much easier to control buoyancy at depth. At the 15' safety stop we can control our depth by breathing, but we pay a lot of attention to the depth indicator.

On our last diving trip we did two dives at very shallow depths, less then 20', and one dive where the last 20 minutes was at less than 20'. We found ourselves having to work hard to avoid popping up at the end of the dives when our tanks were nearly depleted. We could control the depth by controlling breathing, but it meant we were looking at our computers as much as we were looking at sea life. Does it make sense to add a few pounds when we know we are going to be at a shallow depth for most if not all of the dive?

 

[shurite7]

You should be neutrally buoyant, not over weighted, when the tank is low on air at the end of the dive. Most people do not conduct a weight check with a tank that is around 500psi (50bar), which is the ideal time to weight one's self.

You mentioned you were struggling to stay down which means you were a little light on weight. On the next dive add a couple of extra pounds and check your weighting when your cylinder is around 500psi.

 

[northernone]

Same weighting should be used. As little as possible as carrying excess weight will result in needing the BCD unnecessarily inflated more than needed. This added expanding air with changes in depth will make it more challenging to control buoyancy.

Yes it is easier to control buoyancy at depth.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[guruboy]

Just add a pound. It shouldn't be a struggle.

 

[TMHeimer]

Agree no additional weight. One of the first things I was taught was to add/subtract from the BC with very short bursts of air. I have never done a weight check other than with a full tank, though I know it's a bit better with one near empty. Most of my dives are 20-30'. Good buoyancy shallow comes with experience. Sometimes I return to shore swimming 3-4 feet below the surface and see how well I can maintain that depth. Sometimes at 3-4 feet I try to swim 1 foot off the bottom. Another trick is see if you can hover at 3-4 feet.

 

[Flotsam]

I tend to be cold, so often have a 5mm on (or more). If I'm deeper than 30ft or so, and using steel tanks, I can go to my minimum weight because of the suit compression. Sometimes requires a bit of a duck dive . If I'm doing a shallow dive, I need another pound or so, because I'm warm but floaty

 

[stephen1254]

Interesting. I had understood that the correct weight was the least amount that still allowed you to get down at the start of a dive. After reducing weight, I now get down by deflating my BCD and fully exhaling my lungs until I'm 3' to 4' underwater. I then take a breath, but it seems like water weight and momentum is enough at that point to get down. Is it possible to be too light on weight, even though I can get down with the weight I am using now? I consider myself neutrally buoyant at 15' on a nearly empty tank, but that position changes with the amount of air in my lungs - deep breath sends me up and exhaling sends me down.

 

[Umuntu]

Is it possible to be too light on weight, even though I can get down with the weight I am using now?

Yes, especially if you are diving with aluminum tanks which become buoyant at the end of the dive.

 

[Kimela]

I suspect you'll get some controversy going with this question! There is the "ideal" and then there is your reality. Especially with so few dives under your belt you may want to add a pound or two - just my opinion. There are other things to also take into consideration. If you're diving at 15-20 feet in a lake you may not need the extra weight - but if you're in the ocean, and especially if you're close to shore and there is surge, the extra weight may come in handy. This has been the case for me and my buddy - surge makes it much harder to stay at 15 feet.

 

[Chavodel8en]

If you have trouble with buoyancy at the end of shallow dives with your BC completely empty, then IMO yes, it would make things easier to add a few pounds instead of having to be constantly guarding against corking. Make sure you are properly venting the BC completely, and if you are, IMO a couple extra pounds wont hurt. I don't strive for perfect weighting (some do), but rather weighting that makes my diving easy, while remaining safe.

Interesting. I had understood that the correct weight was the least amount that still allowed you to get down at the start of a dive. After reducing weight, I now get down by deflating my BCD and fully exhaling my lungs until I'm 3' to 4' underwater. I then take a breath, but it seems like water weight and momentum is enough at that point to get down. Is it possible to be too light on weight, even though I can get down with the weight I am using now? I consider myself neutrally buoyant at 15' on a nearly empty tank, but that position changes with the amount of air in my lungs - deep breath sends me up and exhaling sends me down.

Remember that you lose ~5 lbs of gas from the tank as your breath it down. Thus the general process of doing a weight check so that you can just descend with empty BC, and then add ~5 lbs for your gas. I always use the end of dives, not the beginning ), to really determine my best weight (shurite7 describes the process above). I recently dropped 2 lbs off my usual set up, as I was a bit heavy at the end of dives with a empty BC.