Drysuit Weighting

[Jodie]

Can any one tell me quickly what the proper way to check weighting when diving in your dry suit?

 

[mossym]

open your automatic valve all the way, dump all the air from your bc, and with a tank with 500psi left weigh yourself so that you float at eye level with a held breath...

(or so the PADI book says anyway!)

 

[divenut2001]

Can any one tell me quickly what the proper way to check weighting when diving in your dry suit?

New suit? If so did you get a dry suit course with the purchase? If not you can still buy the book and video to get a general idea and learn other useful tips. Some dry suits require more weight than others. It will be a learning process until you get use to it. You can ask divers with similar suits to get an idea of how much to start with. It's better to go a little heavy at first to prevent run away ascents. JMHO!

 

[String]

DS weight check is the same as a normal weight check in every respect. Make sure its empty, do it as normal, preferably in a pool first then shallow water before proceeding.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I say if I sink slowly with all air from BC and suit with a full tank I'm fine. No nead to float at eye level. As long as I dont sink like a rock Im usually fine. I may add a couple of pounds on top of that. I havent had to time to practice with just 500 psi due to all the different clothings configs ive used which make a difference.

 

[crpntr133]

Don't know what your definition of slowly is but I don't think I would weight myself that way. Maybe add 4 lbs when tank is full, that is still a shot in the dark. Of course this all depends upon what tank you are diving.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Can any one tell me quickly what the proper way to check weighting when diving in your dry suit?

How quickly you sink tells you bupkis.

One of your primary goals is safety. One of your primary safety goals is "avoid decompression illness" (DCI), which means LNB - "Let's Not Bubble".

When the day comes that you suffer what is afterwards called "an adventure", you might find yourself staying deeper, for longer, than is commonly considered prudent.

On that day you'll (hopefully) ascend, but likely with your tank(s) nearly empty.

The whole idea behind proper weighting (esp. with a drysuit - which implies cold water - which is one of several contributing factors to DCI) is to ensure that you can hold a safety stop under worst-case circumstances for at least 3 minutes and more if gas allows. That implies a precision ascent; an ability to hold a deco stop/safety stop say at 10' without any exertion (another contributing factor to DCI) with near-empty tanks.

[The caveat "with no gas in your wing" means that you don't want to carry any more weight than you have to in order to be neutral at 10' either - too much weight is just as undesirable as not enough weight - the trick is to hit it on the button.]

So you want to weight yourself so that with zero gas in your wing, your drysuit valve wide open, and with nearly empty tanks - say 500 psi - you can comfortably hover indefinitely at a 10' safety stop.

Start in a pool, ensure your tank is empty or nearly so, all gas out of your suit and wing, and begin adding weight in small increments until you can hold a 10' stop. Then try the same thing in confined open water.

Best of luck,

Doc