Disadvantages of not having any weight to ditch?

[dumpsterDiver]

This is a pretty interesting string of posts here. I need to ask though, on the assumption that the diver is properly weighted, and we can assume that he/she does not have an excessively heavy tank or anything else along those lines, and still requires no additional weights, are some of you suggesting that he/she then add lead just for the point of being able to have lead to drop?
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Yes of course. If you can dive with zero lead and be perfectly balanced, it is best to add a lot more lead. In fact the more lead the better, 50 lbs is probably best, that way the diver can do the entire dive with their bc fully inflated and they will not have to dump any air from BC on ascent, because it will automatically vent from the over pressure relief valve.

Also have an extra 30 or 50 lbs of lead on is great in case your buddy is underweighted and needs to borrow a few weights. It is also great for diving in high currents (or rough seas) from an anchored boat.. should you find the anchor to be dragging, I often just tie off an extra 20 or 30 lbs on the chain, maybe 15 feet from the anchor.. it really helps to get the anchor to take a bite on the sand.

there are losts of other very valid reasons for wearing a ton of extra lead, it is not JUST to increase your safety.

 

[lowviz]

I think that I just heard a rhetorical answer, never knew there was such a thing...

What are some cons on not being able to ditch any weight? My current setup I can get great buoyancy without using any weight. Is this something to worry about?

Whatever your depth range is, next time you start a dive: at depth dump every last blessed bubble out of your BC / wing and convince yourself that you can swim an ocean loaded 119 and crushed wetsuit back home. If not, -you got some 'splainin to do.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I think most of the important points have been covered. I sometimes dive without ditchable weight, but prefer to have my rig set up so that I need about 8-10 lbs on a weightbelt.

One point: Most of these discussions revolve around getting back to the surface if you have a BC failure.... but I think the real danger (for recreational divers) is actually staying at the surface in the case of a BC failure.... can you keep your chin above water for awhile with an empty BC and full tank? Can you ditch your rig on the surface quickly and calmly if you begin to have trouble staying afloat?

Food for thought.

 

[drdaddy]

As TSM said, deciding to dive with zero ditchable ballast should NOT be taken lightly. I also engage in this practice but I would NOT recommend it for new divers.

It really only takes one simple screw up to kill yourself when diving with no lead.

It happens 100's, if not thousands of times to recreational divers each year.... jump off the boat with the air turned off...now you are sinking and have nothing to breath and no way to inflate the BC.... and no way to ditch lead. Of course if you are weighted properly you MUST start the dive heavy to allow yourself to be neutral when the tank is empty, so you WILL be heavy when you first hit the water and more so when you have completed that first exhalation.

Are you strong enough and calm enough to SURVIVE this unfortunately common screw up? I would sure hate to have a fin pop off when I was in a mad scramble to get to the surface and orally inflate my BC.

If you are gonna dive with no ditchable lead, then you need to make absolutely sure that you are not over weighted and that you are strong enough to swim the rig up from depth.

People, experienced people, have died because they made the common error of failing to turn the tank on and just sunk to their death because they had no lead to ditch and their eardrums popped and they panicked and couldn't solve the problem. If you are wearing a wetsuit, you will quickly loose bouyancy as you sink.

There are other situations, which can occur underwater where it might be nice to drop some lead, even just 6 or 8 lbs.

I personally feel more comfortable and confident when I am wearing some ditchable lead than when I have a big negative steel tank, a thin suit and zero lead. It is a risk that I am willing to accept in order to have the benefit of a large capacity tank.

I dive HP 3442 steel 100 (33 lb empty), because I have 20 lbs of ditchable weight when I use my farmer john 7mm wetsuit. A friend tried to get me to switch to a 119 (42 lb empty) because I could trade more capacity for less ditchable weight. No way! A 7mm wetsuit compresses the deeper you go and therefore less buoyancy. And sometimes I take on a load of dungeness crabs.

I know I'm weighted OK as I have to "push" myself down each time I get in for a new dive and then no "bobbing up". At the end of the dive I kick myself up and bob at the top and give a little air in my BCD and I'm floating.

I have found myself in a "situation" that I've shared before of being loaded down with dungeness crabs and coming up and having problems establishing buoyancy because I was out of air and waves were crashing around me. No way would I purposefully put myself in this place with no ditchable weight!

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

She said her wing is 18lbs. I am assuming that is singles wing, not doubles. HP100 (XS Scuba) are alone 20lb negative and add back plate, regulators etc... no way 18lbs wing is balanced for doubles. It is probably fine for warm water single tank.

Right you are. My singles wing is 18 lb, and it is perfect for the single AL80/63 tanks that I regularly use for recreational dives. I use a bigger wing (38 lb, which is a dedicated doubles wing) for the twins.

 

[iztok]

I dive HP 3442 steel 100 (33 lb empty), because I have 20 lbs of ditchable weight when I use my farmer john 7mm wetsuit. A friend tried to get me to switch to a 119 (42 lb empty) because I could trade more capacity for less ditchable weight. No way!

Difference between HP100 and HP119 (XS Scuba Worthington) is 0.9lbs (full) and -0.5lbs (empty). Basically HP119 is more buoyant empty than HP100 and only 0.9lbs less buoyant when full.

To compensate for it you would actually need to add 0.5 lbs (if weighted for empty) when switching from HP100 to HP119.

 

[ronbeau]

If you want to become more buoyant and you have no weight to ditch to achieve it how about just putting some air in your BC? Duh.

The assumption is that you have a failure of the BC bladder such that adding air to the BC just vents into the ocean.

 

[crogue]

I have not put any air in my bc for the last 200 or so dives. Last spring I removed my air cell completely from my bc. I have made about 90 ocean dives that way and love it. I carry a closed cell safety sausage in the event that I would have to spend a very long time on the surface at the end of a dive when my tank is about 4 pounds lighter.

 

[tuckerjt07]

So how would a person who is naturally negative ensure that they have weight to ditch. For example, when I was doing my checkout dives I was diving a jacket bc, al 80, and no weight and negative throughout the whole dive. Yes I could carry weight, but what good would it do me if I naturally sink anyways. How do you get around the conundrum of not having ditch-able weight in this case?

 

[Lobzilla]

So how would a person who is naturally negative ensure that they have weight to ditch. For example, when I was doing my checkout dives I was diving a jacket bc, al 80, and no weight and negative throughout the whole dive. Yes I could carry weight, but what good would it do me if I naturally sink anyways. How do you get around the conundrum of not having ditch-able weight in this case?

The important point is whether you can swim the rig up from depth where a wetsuit will loose buoyancy due to compression. With a jacket BC, AL80, and no lead you should be fine - even if you have a lot of metal in your bones

However, when you trade the AL80 for a steel HP100 (or something even more negative) and stay in a wetsuit you will be most likely at the mercy of a functioning BC with no redundancy and no means to escape BC inflation failure.

The goal is to have a 'balanced rig' that satisfies two important requirements:

• You can hold a safety stop with nearly empty tank(s)
• You can swim up with full tank(s) in case of BC failure

Sometimes that requires ditchable weight, sometimes it does not.