perils with no dive weight?

[boulderjohn]

I see that the magnitude of the weight would be much greater with a set of doubles, so it makes sense that you would carry a spare inflatable buoyant something if you didn't have a drysuit. Presumably there's no one out there so bony and muscular that they are 10 pounds negative...

When I am wearing my Worthington LP 108s in freshwater in a drysuit, I use an aluminum backplate rather than steel to cut down on the weight. With my suit at normal inflation and my wing mostly filled, my head is barely above water. Yes, I defy the DIR people and use a dual bladder wing in case of emergency.

 

[hedonist222]

Dived this evening to 12 meters
Sans three mms and hoodie
Rash guard and boots

I needed an additional squirt to be literally buoyant

Nothing significant

Fondled my wing and it was still essentially empty

 

[wnissen]

Dived this evening to 12 meters
Sans three mms and hoodie
Rash guard and boots

I needed an additional squirt to be literally buoyant

Nothing significant

Fondled my wing and it was still essentially empty

That's great, sounds like you are essentially well-weighted!

 

[rongoodman]

That's great, sounds like you are essentially well-weighted!

Or a little light. You would have started with about 5 pounds of air in your tank.

 

[hedonist222]

Or a little light. You would have started with about 5 pounds of air in your tank.

How so?

Was a bit lighter with 3mm
Without the 3mm I needed a bit more air on the bcd

 

[rongoodman]

If you start out five pounds heavy, which you do(more or less) because of the gas you're carrying, there needs to be enough air in your wing/BC to compensate for it, about five pints by volume. As you progress through the dive and become lighter due to the air you've used, you can release the extra air from your wing to compensate for the buoyancy gained. If you start out with the wing empty, or nearly so, by the end you will be perhaps four pounds light with no way to adjust. Your wing/BC needs to be nearly empty at the end of the dive, not at the beginning with a full tank. I go a little head down while hanging out at my safety stop and reach back to confirm there's only a little air in the bottom of my wing, but that it's not completely flat. Before there were BCs the only way of compensating was with lung volume, but the older tanks were smaller with less of a buoyancy swing to manage, and the weighting needed to be more precise.

 

[Ayisha]

...Fondled my wing and it was still essentially empty

How so?

Was a bit lighter with 3mm
Without the 3mm I needed a bit more air on the bcd

I took it that you were referring to the end of the dive with a nearly empty tank and an essentially empty wing at your last stop, and you were also able to make a controlled ascent to the surface. You didn't pop to the surface after the safety stop. If the tank wasn't nearly empty, you should check that.

I believe the poster above took it as the beginning of the dive.

You have to be really specific on this board, lol.

 

[hedonist222]

If you start out five pounds heavy, which you do(more or less) because of the gas you're carrying, there needs to be enough air in your wing/BC to compensate for it, about five pints by volume. As you progress through the dive and become lighter due to the air you've used, you can release the extra air from your wing to compensate for the buoyancy gained. If you start out with the wing empty, or nearly so, by the end you will be perhaps four pounds light with no way to adjust. Your wing/BC needs to be nearly empty at the end of the dive, not at the beginning with a full tank. I go a little head down while hanging out at my safety stop and reach back to confirm there's only a little air in the bottom of my wing, but that it's not completely flat. Before there were BCs the only way of compensating was with lung volume, but the older tanks were smaller with less of a buoyancy swing to manage, and the weighting needed to be more precise.

yes

at the start of the dive I need a little squirt or two - by 120 bar I am starting to purge air

 

[hedonist222]

I took it that you were referring to the end of the dive with a nearly empty tank and an essentially empty wing at your last stop, and you were also able to make a controlled ascent to the surface. You didn't pop to the surface after the safety stop. If the tank wasn't nearly empty, you should check that.

I believe the poster above took it as the beginning of the dive.

You have to be really specific on this board, lol.

Ahh yes
I meant at the end of the dive

I really think scuba boards need people to mention details!