To weight or not to weight

[helimvee]

Betty,

You hit the nail square on the head. The key to being a successful diver is thinking about what is happening while you are diving, then finding out why it is happening. Once you know the why you can make the needed adjustments.

Keep diving and asking questions.

 

[BettyRubble]

Great job working this all out Betty!
Be careful not to dump too much and find yourself positive at the end of a dive!

Do you know the buoyancy difference of your tank between full and empty?

When I started drysuit diving I found that the difference between the air I carried and couldn't get out of my drysuit before submerging and the increase buoyancy of an empty tank was about the same! This made it really easy to set the amount of weight I needed to carry.

Any plans to add drysuit to the mix?

Tried the belt this weekend. Hated it. Well to be honest, the whole setup this weekend was wonky. First, I had gotten myself down to 10 lbs with a steel tank and my usual 7 mil setup. But this weekend I could only get a AL80. Plus I had reconfigured my weights to have 6 in the BC and 4 on a belt. Except on first attempt at dive, I had not compensated for the Al tank (usually 4-6 lb differential from what I understand). So I could not even get down. Took me a couple of attempts to get it at the right weight - 16 lbs!!! UGH. . . anyway, because I had to spend almost every dive readjusting weights it was not a fun weekend. Fortuantely the last dive was 'dialed' in and pleasant. Now I have to do it all over again when I go back to steel! LOL

Betty,

You hit the nail square on the head. The key to being a successful diver is thinking about what is happening while you are diving, then finding out why it is happening. Once you know the why you can make the needed adjustments.

Keep diving and asking questions.

Thanks! Now I am starting to worry about gear maintenance . . there is SOOOO much to learn in this sport! LOL

 

[Elysian]

Because of this thread, I dropped from 16 pounds down to 12 (salt water, 3/2 full wetsuit) and it made a huge difference in my buoyancy control. Thanks Betty!

 

[BettyRubble]

Because of this thread, I dropped from 16 pounds down to 12 (salt water, 3/2 full wetsuit) and it made a huge difference in my buoyancy control. Thanks Betty!

WOW! That is AWESOME!! Don't thank me . . I just compiled all my learnings from this board and my instructor. Glad it helped!

 

[BettyRubble]

Great job working this all out Betty!
Be careful not to dump too much and find yourself positive at the end of a dive!

Do you know the buoyancy difference of your tank between full and empty?

When I started drysuit diving I found that the difference between the air I carried and couldn't get out of my drysuit before submerging and the increase buoyancy of an empty tank was about the same! This made it really easy to set the amount of weight I needed to carry.

Any plans to add drysuit to the mix?

As I understand it, the steel tank I usually dive has about a 3-4 pound differential when empty/full.

No dry suit yet primarily because I can't afford it. BUt it is also forcing me to learn proper buoyancy diving wet and also sans a wetsuit. IMHO it is critical for us newbies to learn proper buoyancy before moving on to the dry suit. I see how controlling buoyancy in a dry suit is different -- so I want to master the 'basic' way before going to the next step.

 

[W8less]

Not a rep!!

XS Scuba makes an excellent soft weight (5 lb. max) , single pocket ditchable pouch that threads on to any 2" web belt. Easy to dump a portion without ditching the whole belt.

Most of the proprietary pocket accessories for the BP/Ws are gargantuan (OMS & Hollis come to mind) The XS Scuba pouch is small and works well if you prefer dump weights on your BP/W.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Terrific post Betty1

Diving "correctly" weighted is one of the most important factors in a safe and comfortable dive, and it is fantastic that you are spending time and effort getting this "right".

Many new divers come out of basic OW training overweighted; many "old" divers who have not gone diving in awhile forget how much weight they need and over-compensate to make sure they can sink. Both groups of divers end up with less-than-optimal buoyancy and decreased safety as a result.

My opinion is that most recreational single tank divers (if properly weighted) will probably be able to swim their rigs to the surface in the event of a wing failure without ditching any weight (but it is very important that each diver test this!). If this is indeed the case, then ditching weights will primarily be to manage loss of buoyancy at the surface (failed BC), and decisions regarding how much weight should be ditchable should mainly take a surface emergency into account.

How much weight do you need to ditch to keep your head above water with a full tank, wearing your normal exposure protection?

In my case, I want to be at least couple lbs positive at the surface with a full tank, so I carry at least the approximate weight of the air in my tank plus 2 lbs on a belt (8 lbs in my case). The remainder of my weight is non-ditchable.

Best wishes.

 

[BettyRubble]

Terrific post Betty1

. . . My opinion is that most recreational single tank divers (if properly weighted) will probably be able to swim their rigs to the surface in the event of a wing failure without ditching any weight (but it is very important that each diver test this!). If this is indeed the case, then ditching weights will primarily be to manage loss of buoyancy at the surface (failed BC), and decisions regarding how much weight should be ditchable should mainly take a surface emergency into account.
Best wishes.

EXACTLY - that is exactly what was in my head - you just said it better!

 

[LollyO]

This weight stuff is so confusing. I have friends that only put wts in their BC and that scares me.

How does weighting relate to the amount of air in you BC before you start diving. Two of my friends have an ongoing feud. One swears your BCD should be totally empty of any air when you first enter the water, the other insists that your BCD should have a little air. Our instructer never addressed this issue. I have never joined the discussion. What do most folks do?

If your BCD is initially empty then you would need less weights.

 

[BettyRubble]

This weight stuff is so confusing. I have friends that only put wts in their BC and that scares me.

How does weighting relate to the amount of air in you BC before you start diving. Two of my friends have an ongoing feud. One swears your BCD should be totally empty of any air when you first enter the water, the other insists that your BCD should have a little air. Our instructer never addressed this issue. I have never joined the discussion. What do most folks do?

If your BCD is initially empty then you would need less weights.

I'm hoping some experienced divers answer your question. My take on it is that it is more important to know your weighting for the end of the dive when you have about 500 psi in your tank and need to hold a safety stop at the 15 ft depth level. You get lighter as your air depletes so you have to have weight to hold you down.