First OW class, lots of gear questions!
- Thread starter Aloha Joe
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OP
Aloha Joe
Contributor
I doubt it! Just an 80lb steel tank - it's not HP so I thought it would be called LP.
MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
The Faber LP85 tank holds 82.4, as I understand. So if one must round to 5's, LP80 is more accurate, if one is not in marketing. So I've seen it called either.
Which one is you?
The weighting and emptying your wing effectively are things you will need to work on. Also it is important to not control your buoyancy with your fins when vertical. As your tunnel vision of the new experiences opens up you will see more about what people are talking about. Sounds like you are on your way. Congrats.
The weighting and emptying your wing effectively are things you will need to work on. Also it is important to not control your buoyancy with your fins when vertical. As your tunnel vision of the new experiences opens up you will see more about what people are talking about. Sounds like you are on your way. Congrats.
Congratulations Joe.
I find putting 3 or 4 pounds (could probably use more if I needed it) on each side of my tank on the upper cam band a simple way to move ballast. One thing that helps is a strap to hold the wing/plate in position before locking down the cams. In this thread The new Freedom Contour - The Rolex of backplates. Satrekker has a picture nice one here:
Once you get the hang of emptying your wing, things will smooth out for you. BTW are you sure that's only a 30lb wing?
I find putting 3 or 4 pounds (could probably use more if I needed it) on each side of my tank on the upper cam band a simple way to move ballast. One thing that helps is a strap to hold the wing/plate in position before locking down the cams. In this thread The new Freedom Contour - The Rolex of backplates. Satrekker has a picture nice one here:
Once you get the hang of emptying your wing, things will smooth out for you. BTW are you sure that's only a 30lb wing?
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OP
Aloha Joe
Contributor
Thanks everyone! I'm in the front row (lower right) with sunglasses.
@couv thanks for that pic - I definitely need that strap! Even w/o cam band weights, lol. It's definitely a 30lb wing, because that's what it says on the label (jk - I checked in in the pool and it held just over 24lbs lead plus the plate/regs).
The tanks might have been the steel 72s. I think that's what I grabbed on Day 1, but we ended up making a huge pile of all the tanks and they got re-distributed. I know it was a steel tank, it was filled to 2600psi, and it was a bit smaller than the steel 95 the instructor had.
So when horizontal, what do guys w/ wings use to dump air? The 'butt' valve is on the wrong side so I thought the shoulder valve was the better choice.
@couv thanks for that pic - I definitely need that strap! Even w/o cam band weights, lol. It's definitely a 30lb wing, because that's what it says on the label (jk - I checked in in the pool and it held just over 24lbs lead plus the plate/regs).
The tanks might have been the steel 72s. I think that's what I grabbed on Day 1, but we ended up making a huge pile of all the tanks and they got re-distributed. I know it was a steel tank, it was filled to 2600psi, and it was a bit smaller than the steel 95 the instructor had.
So when horizontal, what do guys w/ wings use to dump air? The 'butt' valve is on the wrong side so I thought the shoulder valve was the better choice.
The butt dump is fine right where it is. Just adjust your attitude to slightly head down/left side rolled slightly up.
I knew that had to be you in the picture judging from the
OP
Aloha Joe
Contributor
Thanks - yeah, I really just need some time in the water now to work on this stuff. I'll be on Catalina for 3 days this coming weekend so maybe we'll get 2-3 days of diving in.
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@Aloha Joe the premise you have with using removable weights is predicated on the dive boat having weights on board and you not having to tote them around. This is sometimes the case, but certainly not all of it. Unfortunately this isn't the case. For an aluminum plate, you will at best save 3lbs from the SS rig, but since the aluminum is almost neutral, you don't get the ballast advantage
regarding dumps-the inflator hose assembly is only used for venting gas when you are making your initial descent when you are at the surface, and when you go vertical in the water column during the last 10-20ft of your ascent. lower dump is used for everything else while diving because you don't have to move that far to use it.
the butt dump is on the right side. When the wing has air in it, the wing taco's around your tank which puts the dump valve at the highest location when you go slightly head down and roll slightly to the right which is exactly where you want it. The inflator elbow is on the opposite side to keep it from digging into your back
regarding dumps-the inflator hose assembly is only used for venting gas when you are making your initial descent when you are at the surface, and when you go vertical in the water column during the last 10-20ft of your ascent. lower dump is used for everything else while diving because you don't have to move that far to use it.
the butt dump is on the right side. When the wing has air in it, the wing taco's around your tank which puts the dump valve at the highest location when you go slightly head down and roll slightly to the right which is exactly where you want it. The inflator elbow is on the opposite side to keep it from digging into your back
OP
Aloha Joe
Contributor
Ah, that makes sense - thank you. I guess we didn't really get into using the dump valve in class.
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