PADI is wrong! I have double HP130's plus 20 LBS of lead and have done a full deco with just my Drysuit and full tanks. Yes you need to stay horizontal but it can be done.
Double steels with wetsuit
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PADI is wrong! I have double HP130's plus 20 LBS of lead and have done a full deco with just my Drysuit and full tanks. Yes you need to stay horizontal but it can be done.
Gilldiver
Contributor
Back in the day - that means about 15 years ago it was common practice to not use a BC if you had a dry suit.
In cold water I weigh myself so that I can add a few pounds of lift in to my suit at 10' feet for warmth at the deco stop. This means that at 1/3rd of my back gas and an empty wing I am neutral at 10'.
Of course I do come from that back in the day time and it is rare that I have much if any air in my BC until I am back on the surface.
In cold water I weigh myself so that I can add a few pounds of lift in to my suit at 10' feet for warmth at the deco stop. This means that at 1/3rd of my back gas and an empty wing I am neutral at 10'.
Of course I do come from that back in the day time and it is rare that I have much if any air in my BC until I am back on the surface.
I can just barely compensate for a full HP130 with my suit -- I'm sure I couldn't compensate for Nitrox-filled double 100s with it. But you don't have. In the event of a complete wing failure (which, as has already been discussed, is rare) you only have to reduce the amount you are negative to something you can swim up. I've swum up 10 pounds negative without much difficulty; I know there is video on the web somewhere of *dave* swimming up 23 lbs. A dry suit should be able to get you to where you can swim your rig up.
ajduplessis
Contributor
Question if I may???
Firstly,
• I don’t own a dry suit and have never dived with one.
• I understand what a drysuit could be used as a redundant buoyancy device.
• I also understand that a drysuit does not inflate as fast as a wing (assumption/hear say).
If a wing fails at depth and you start "dropping" descent down, will the suit be able to keep up with the rate of compressing air to provide the lift/buoyancy compensation your require???
I know from experience during deep dives that you need to keep inflating your wing in advance during descent, if not you drop like a rock and the wing will not keep up. Does this not hold true for drysuit/lift bags and the likes?
I appreciate your feedback.
Firstly,
• I don’t own a dry suit and have never dived with one.
• I understand what a drysuit could be used as a redundant buoyancy device.
• I also understand that a drysuit does not inflate as fast as a wing (assumption/hear say).
If a wing fails at depth and you start "dropping" descent down, will the suit be able to keep up with the rate of compressing air to provide the lift/buoyancy compensation your require???
I know from experience during deep dives that you need to keep inflating your wing in advance during descent, if not you drop like a rock and the wing will not keep up. Does this not hold true for drysuit/lift bags and the likes?
I appreciate your feedback.
Gilldiver
Contributor
You need to add air on decent to a dry suit in order to relieve the squeeze. Therefore, you also need to vent the suit on accent to remove this added air.
If you are using a shell suit this means that your suit should have a constant buoyancy throughout your dive due to the normal management of the air in the suit
If you are using an expanded neoprene dry suit, then you will have the added problem of the neoprene compression and change in buoyancy in the same way as a wet suit. The Poseidon UNISUIT is the primary one I am thinking about and it was not unusual to see divers with 30+ pounds of lead diving it. But it is a very warm suit for very cold water.
So, if your suit has constant buoyancy you only need to compensate for the air in your tanks and any other items you may have. If you are a large diver, I am 63 and 250# I can add air to my suit to counter this gas weight without having a n unmanageable bubble in the suit. Twin 130s have 20# of gas weight = a bit over 2 gallon of air volume spread through the suit. My 100s and 72s have much less. A smaller diver may/ would find this bubble to be a major problem.
If you are using a shell suit this means that your suit should have a constant buoyancy throughout your dive due to the normal management of the air in the suit
If you are using an expanded neoprene dry suit, then you will have the added problem of the neoprene compression and change in buoyancy in the same way as a wet suit. The Poseidon UNISUIT is the primary one I am thinking about and it was not unusual to see divers with 30+ pounds of lead diving it. But it is a very warm suit for very cold water.
So, if your suit has constant buoyancy you only need to compensate for the air in your tanks and any other items you may have. If you are a large diver, I am 63 and 250# I can add air to my suit to counter this gas weight without having a n unmanageable bubble in the suit. Twin 130s have 20# of gas weight = a bit over 2 gallon of air volume spread through the suit. My 100s and 72s have much less. A smaller diver may/ would find this bubble to be a major problem.
Double 130 AND 20lbs of lead?!!! Are you diving in 34 degree water with like 14 layers of undergarments or something?
Shouldnt you stay horizontal while doing a deco stop anyway?
Yes very cold water and I am 6'6" with a crushed neoprene suit this mean lots of neoprene and lots of under suit.
Yes you should stay horizontal but I see many people who do not and or cannot.
Assuming your wing fails and you start filling your suit full of air you won't stop immediately. It won't be like grabbing a hold of the anchor line. But you will stop. Plus, hopefully you won't just be sinking like a lifeless stone. While you don't want to be vertical (all the air will leave via your neck seal), you can kick upward to assist your suit. When I practice this situation (double 119's with 10lbs on a belt), I can stop my descent within 10'. But also consider that I KNOW I am about to start falling like a rock. I am expecting it.
ajduplessis
Contributor
Thanks for the feedback thus far. Any other opinions???
PfcAJ
Contributor
I don't know if drysuits inflate slower than wings. I think a lot of that depends on the IP of your reg, type of inflater mechanism, and if there is a flow restrictor in the drysuit hose.
I have arrested a decent in earnest with a drysuit before, so it can definitely be done. I've also maintained a 20' deco stop with a hole in my wing once. You've got to close the exhaust valve and act fast, but its a viable option and certainly faster than deploying a lift bag. As always, you need to be close to neutral (always in control) throughout the dive, even if you're descending. Yes, you must add gas to a suit as you drop down in depth (its supremely uncomfortable if you don't) and you must release gas through the ascent.
When you close a drysuit exhaust valve, you can press it to release gas. When it's fully open, it automatically dumps gas. I typically run mine open unless I want to keep extra gas in my suit (usually on deco when its chilly).
I have arrested a decent in earnest with a drysuit before, so it can definitely be done. I've also maintained a 20' deco stop with a hole in my wing once. You've got to close the exhaust valve and act fast, but its a viable option and certainly faster than deploying a lift bag. As always, you need to be close to neutral (always in control) throughout the dive, even if you're descending. Yes, you must add gas to a suit as you drop down in depth (its supremely uncomfortable if you don't) and you must release gas through the ascent.
When you close a drysuit exhaust valve, you can press it to release gas. When it's fully open, it automatically dumps gas. I typically run mine open unless I want to keep extra gas in my suit (usually on deco when its chilly).
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