Evolution of my Dive Rig

[NoHurry]

Newbie question: why would the wetsuit go from +6 to +22, just because the tank is empty? Thanks.

 

[nimoh]

Back to the drawing board. I switched the 6lb steel bp for the 2lb Kydax plate and the 18lb wing for a Hollis 25lb wing and then tried the dives again. Wow, and not in a good way! Something about the physics of that particular plate did not match with the physics of my body and I bounced up and down like a yo-yo unable to hold any sort of reasonable buoyancy. Back to the drawing board, I put the steel plate back on and did a lot more research while just using my steel plate, AL80 and the 25lb wing. During this time I also discovered that not only was I too negatively buoyant but I was also diving an unbalanced rig as I could not swim it up from the bottom with no lift in the wing.

do you have any theories on how the kydex plate causes a buoyancy swing such that you are bouncing up and down like a yo-yo?

 

[ams511]

Newbie question: why would the wetsuit go from +6 to +22, just because the tank is empty? Thanks.

The assumption is that when the tank is full you are at depth and the suit is compressed (less buoyant) and when the tank is empty you are at the safety stop and the suit is less compressed (more buoyant). However, 22 lbs is a lot of a 3 mil suit, the rule of thumb is usually 2 lb per mil for a single layer suit. You could always measure the buoyancy in a pool to see how much weight it takes to sink the suit without you wearing it. Your intuition is correct, tank pressure has nothing to do with the buoyancy of the wetsuit.

BTW, there is a buoyancy calculator in the BC forum.

 

[DiveDaddyDale]

do you have any theories on how the kydex plate causes a buoyancy swing such that you are bouncing up and down like a yo-yo?

So interesting. I do not know the "why" of the DSS Kydax plate and how it factors into the whole equation.

Just got the S.Pro aluminum plate and a OxyCheq 30lb Mach ?
V wing. I guess I will know more after some test dives.

Also, I got hooked up w a local pro to help me achieve buoyancy and good trim.