I'm a newbie who tried a BP/W for the first time today...

[Zef]

If you squeezed it and it felt full,that'd suggest the bladder was twisted or something like that, preventing it from filling the whole bladder, but leaving the part that was filling feeling full.

Yeah but he would not need much air at all to float properly at the surface unless they were using a ridiculously heavy cylinder. I train in a pool on weekly basis with a similar configuration, Dive Rite SS plate/Hogarthian harness, with 32lb Voyager wing.....bathing suit and Lycra rash-guard top. It does not take much air at all to have my head comfortably above the surface of the water...the only time I have a problem is when I don't re-adjust my harness/crotch strap which is typically overly loose in the pool as I am too lazy to keep adjusting for inside vs outside (drysuit) use....either way I don't need much air in the wing to keep my head comfortably out the water.

-Z

 

[dberry]

Wow, you must be 0% body fat and be solid muscle. And it'll be an important problem to solve. In a perfect world you want to be neutrally buoyant with nearly no air in the wing. Well, not quite neutral at the start, since you'll be approx. 4 lbs lighter at the end (safety stop) because of the air you use during the dive.

The more air in your wing while diving (bigger bubble), the more your buoyancy changes as you change depth. That's one of the reasons over-weighting makes it hard for new divers to control their depth. Too much weight = more air at the start = needing to constantly add or remove air from the wing as you change depth. Ideally you can just use your lung volume to control buoyancy. Hands off that inflator button!

Something does seem strange about what you described, and I'm not sure simply moving to the aluminum BP will solve it entirely. Since the shop person fitted the wing after she adjusted all the straps I'm guessing she used a STA (Single Tank Adapter) on the plate. In addition to adding a little weight, STAs can be used to store lead. Maybe you were carrying more weight than you realized?

Good luck solving this mystery!

 

[johndiver999]

Just think how dangerous that rig would be on a real dive if a little spring broke or zip tie failed. You will quite likely be on a one way trip. Something major needs to change with the configuration.

The bc has to have capacity to offset wetsuit compression, the weight of the air the tank and maybe another 10 lbs for comfort at the surface.
Some people like more lift for emergencies or special conditions.

 

[purbeast]

Wow, you must be 0% body fat and be solid muscle. And it'll be an important problem to solve. In a perfect world you want to be neutrally buoyant with nearly no air in the wing. Well, not quite neutral at the start, since you'll be approx. 4 lbs lighter at the end (safety stop) because of the air you use during the dive.

The more air in your wing while diving (bigger bubble), the more your buoyancy changes as you change depth. That's one of the reasons over-weighting makes it hard for new divers to control their depth. Too much weight = more air at the start = needing to constantly add or remove air from the wing as you change depth. Ideally you can just use your lung volume to control buoyancy. Hands off that inflator button!

Something does seem strange about what you described, and I'm not sure simply moving to the aluminum BP will solve it entirely. Since the shop person fitted the wing after she adjusted all the straps I'm guessing she used a STA (Single Tank Adapter) on the plate. In addition to adding a little weight, STAs can be used to store lead. Maybe you were carrying more weight than you realized?

Good luck solving this mystery!

The plate had 2 straps on it to wrap around the tank, which I commented was different than what I've used before with jacket style where you just have the 1 strap.

I don't believe there was any additional trim weight in the BCD either because I asked about adding weight to them if need be, before I got in the water, and she showed me there were pockets that were either already on the rear of the BCD or could be added, to add weight.

 

[dberry]

The plate had 2 straps on it to wrap around the tank, which I commented was different than what I've used before with jacket style where you just have the 1 strap.

I don't believe there was any additional trim weight in the BCD either because I asked about adding weight to them if need be, before I got in the water, and she showed me there were pockets that were either already on the rear of the BCD or could be added, to add weight.

AFAIK, all BP/W setups use 2 cam-bands (straps) to hold the tank, but most jacket BCDs use a loop over the valve and a single cam-band. There are two ways to attach the cam-bands to the plate: without an STA you thread the bands through the plate and wing. The STA bolts separately to the plate and the bands pass between the STA and the plate. It's easier to remove the bands and/or change wings with an STA. The STA is vee-shaped and hollow, and one can add a lead weight that is designed to fit inside the hollow. You wouldn't see that weight.

 

[eelnoraa]

Scubapro pro bp and STA are Halcyon made. So by default, the setup uses STA. The STA isn't V shape either. One possible reason for op to be over weight is the STA has a weight insert in it, which is another 6lb or so. Of that is the case, 5lb plate + 6lb insert + 6lb gas (full tank), 17lb negative, still doesn't explain why 30lb wing can float

 

[divad]

So I am not sure if I should get one [wing] that has a bigger bladder, or if I should get an aluminum plate.

Aluminum plate.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It depends on which x-tek OP is referring to. x-tek pure harness + back plate would be what we call bp/w.

Even the pure harness has unneeded padding that creates positive buoyancy.

 

[purbeast]

View attachment 522555
Even the pure harness has unneeded padding that creates positive buoyancy.

That is not what I used. There was no padding on what I used it was just the metal plate on my back. Other than that though, it looks similar. It had the harness just like that with the 2 over shoulder straps, a waste strap, and the one between the legs.

I already posted a link to the wing I used too.

 

[purbeast]

AFAIK, all BP/W setups use 2 cam-bands (straps) to hold the tank, but most jacket BCDs use a loop over the valve and a single cam-band. There are two ways to attach the cam-bands to the plate: without an STA you thread the bands through the plate and wing. The STA bolts separately to the plate and the bands pass between the STA and the plate. It's easier to remove the bands and/or change wings with an STA. The STA is vee-shaped and hollow, and one can add a lead weight that is designed to fit inside the hollow. You wouldn't see that weight.

Okay I see. I am not sure then because I didn't see that or really look at it. I saw the the lady put the plate onto the wing though and used the 2 wing nuts to tighten it.