Confused about BCD type choice- Help needed

[boulderjohn]

I mean commercial diving. That would be the job that suits me. Like working as a diver at the dams or some sort of underwater construction.

That is really very different from what most of us mean by technical diving. There are a number of schools dedicated to that. There is a commercial diving forum on ScubaBoard that will give you a lot of help.

Edit: Commercial Divers forum

 

[SangP]

Thanks for the answers. So how can I calculate how much lifting power do I need on a wing? I use a 10mm two piece wetsuit and if this is a factor, the coldest water I dive is around 64,4 F / 18 C and the warmest is around 78,8 F/26 C. That's Aegean Sea and Mediterranean area. I use 8 kg/ 17lb weights and I am 76kg/167,8 lb. When I go diving with the diving school, I use their BCD's and medium size fits me perfectly. I usually use a single 12 liter tank.

Sangp, is that setup's price really reasonable? Do you think that is that a good setup?

TSandM, you are really right about your budget assuptions consedering the tech diving. But I am trying to keep the cost as minimum as possible. I am saving money for the DSAT courses, the tech diving computer and for the extra regs. Diving seduced me and this cannot be reversed

I heard that there are doubles wings that has ropes on it to put the extra large wings togather for the singles so that it's size and volume becomes virtually smaller. How effective is that?

Thank you.

Well, if you're set on tech the prepare for some painful bills lol! Like TSandM I have never head of a 10mm wetsuit. Have a look around at scubatoys or leisurepro n you will the average price of a bp/w between $375 to $830 (halcyon), you can also check our the prices for a drysuit or single piece wetsuit.

The scubatoy's setup is not only one of the lowest around but you get one of the best singles wing imo, the mach v is not only very streamline, very tough and easy to patch.
A medium plate should do fine and forget bout the doubles wing till you really need one, get more dives under your belt first.

Just get a bottom timer at first, save the $ for when you can afford a vr3 or predator.

As for regs, I love my apeks ds4/xtx50. Affordable, bulletproof, easy to service and you can always use it for deco if, and when you upgrade to something like the xtx100 or scubapro.

SangP

 

[knowone]

Move from Mars to Atlantis buy Technical Diver Encyclopedia by Tom Mount then build it and go forth.

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

For what it is worth, I tried to go a cheaper route on a harness when I first got my back plate and wing. Here is what you should do: Buy 15 feet of 2" flat nylon weight belt type webbing, a stainless steel weight belt buckle, such as one from oxycheq or dive rite. Get 3 or 4 D rings and sliders for them and a crotch strap. I would suggest a crotch strap from dive rite. Don't go to home depot to get the hardware. It WILL rust in salt water.

I'd suggest calling scubatoys. They may be able to give you a good deal on a setup for a single wing. I would suggest oxycheq wings such as the mach 5 as this is my personal preference and well respected on the board even by those who go with Halcyon, OMS, dive rite or some other brand.

One suggestion for a backplate and harness setup would be to google hammerhead backplate or hammerhead scuba. They make a nice 316 stainless backplate and all the hardware for pretty cheap. This is what I have and I use it for all my singles and doubles diving. Oh, and by the way, doubles diving with all the extra gear and the wing for doubles does get expensive. Tech diving is not cheap from a training or diving standpoint and you need to recognize that fact.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Given the temps he is diving, I believe he is wearing a two piece five mil (10mm in the overlap). That, and the amount of weight would make sense.

But the amount of lift needed at depth would still be at or over 30 lbs (at the beginning of the dive). I would suggest a slightly bigger bag.

Note: While I am a bit bigger, when I am wearing a 7/5 combo suit, I can almost max out a 42 lb bag at anything over 100 ft.

It is nice to have a bit of safety space.

It sounds as though you'd probably need a 30 lb wing, based on your exposure protection. You need to be able to add lift to compensate for what your suit loses at depth. A 7mm suit, I have seen assessed as being able to lose about 23 lbs of lift, so I would assume a 10 mm suit (never heard of this!) as probably being more like 30.

The use of the bungied wings is controversial. They can cause you to lose more gas if you have a puncture. They can also cause gas trapping, as the wing surface inside is no longer smooth, so gas can get caught in the "pouches" that occur as a result of the bungie compression. They also make the outer surface of the wing rough, which increases drag. Most importantly, they are not necessary, if the wing is properly sized.

Even with the bungies, if you try to use a doubles wing with a single tank, you are having to cope with the wide center panel. Seriously -- I know you're trying to avoid spending money twice, but don't do this. If your money is that limited, you're going to have a hard time affording technical training, and even more, a hard time doing technical diving after you're trained. Tech diving ain't cheap!