To weight or not to weight

[paddler3d]

@Bubbletruble: Whatever. The principle is still the same. Whether it is a 5# or 6# swing, the process is still the same.

The point being, if you know what is strapped to your back, or sides, you can figure out what your swing is going to be and compensate for it so that you are neutral for you stop.

Weighting is not rocket science and it shouldn't be hard. It is a piece that is academically covered in OW but typically instructors gloss over it so the students can get to the bottom and cover skills.

 

[Scubadam]

Not only know how to drop your weight belt, but also know where the releases are on your BCD. I can't tell you how many people will jump off of a boat or a platform without knowing where their dive buddies releases are and more so their own releases. This is one of the safety checks you should go through before you dive, BCD, Weights, Releases, Air, and final overall check.

 

[R2K2]

Also for those diving Wet (7mm specially) once you few compression cycles on your suits the suits will be less buoyant compared to when you first got it it allowing you do shave a couple of pounds.

I had to adjust my weighting several times as my suit "broke in" and I do this at the end of dive and with 500 psi (I start my decent with about 900) of air in my tank as most have said. I will then follow a line down or do it in a spot that is between 12 and 15 ft deep and try and hold bottom with no air in my BC until I have 500 psi left.

I have also found that at the beginning of every dive when you are still "Dry" there is some air still trapped in your suit making you seem quite buoyant. I like going feet first for the first few feet to squeeze all the air out thorough my neck then get horizontal shortly thereafter.

I have even taken gear in a pool and attached weights to it to see how much each piece (suits, gloves, hood) needs to become neutral.

Buoyancy IMHO is the one the most important aspects to be mastered.

my 2cents

 

[BettyRubble]

Just got back from a peak buoyancy class with Indian Valley Scuba. Jim is an AWESOME instructor. Very patient, knows his stuff. I shed 7 lbs. Highly recommend taking the class as part of your process for shedding unneeded weight. It really helped my trim and my enjoyment of diving!

 

[parzdiver]

Just got back from a peak buoyancy class with Indian Valley Scuba. Jim is an AWESOME instructor. Very patient, knows his stuff. I shed 7 lbs. Highly recommend taking the class as part of your process for shedding unneeded weight. It really helped my trim and my enjoyment of diving!

Congrats again on the weight loss. Sorry the Sundae probably added it back.

As many have said before, you have put more thought into the "hows" and "whys" in a few short months of diving than most people do in years. I would be happy to dive with you anytime, anywhere.

 

[BettyRubble]

Congrats again on the weight loss. Sorry the Sundae probably added it back.

As many have said before, you have put more thought into the "hows" and "whys" in a few short months of diving than most people do in years. I would be happy to dive with you anytime, anywhere.

Aw shucks Mike - thank you!!! Looking forward to our next dive and of course the related surface interval! Next time you gotta join us at Pig Pen . . .

 

[OnceLoyal]

Thx Betty I think this is a good read....

 

[drdaddy]

Good post!
Good buddies will be glad to carry a couple extra pounds they can hand you at a safety stop if you're underweight - and let you experiment safely. Ankle weights are especially convenient to to pass around as you can attach them anywhere in 10 seconds - just not on the ankles .

Jetty diving in surge, surf, and boat wakes can make it difficult to run up and down to get just the perfect weight. So -

When I'm diving with new divers we try to estimate their weight needs. I then attach a "crab buoy" to my dive flag and put a few clip-on weights (ankle weights are fine) onto it. With this x-tra 6 to 9 pounds, it's no problem if they are a bit underweight. I did have an instance when a guy was in in brand new farmer-john 7 mm wetsuit and we could hadly get him underwater and we were glad to have all this extra weight!

It's also common to be a little overweighted myself when diving with a new diver - helps slow them down to keep them from an uncontrolled ascent and I can hand off (clip on) a weight if they start bobbing up when their aluminum tank gets empty (I love my HP steel!!! - I see you've found this out too).

A note about releasable weights -

All of my weights are now releasable. For a while I used only BCD weights - releasable and non-releasable. I have removed my non-releasable BCD weights and started using a weightbelt again (just like beginning classes), along with my releasable BCD weights. I found this to be extra important since I am using a steel tank (negative buoyancy at empty) and a 19 cu ft pony bottle (a bit more "non-releasable" weight since it is mounted on my main tank).

 

[NAM001]

BETTY

GREAT POST, i dont see this kind from new divers. every one has thier way of controling bouyancy. so here is one more. jump in check for aster on the face mast..... bha humbug ... it took me a long time to get mine where i could be confortable with my weight. i did 20+ years on submarines. so i have had some exposure to ballasting. i did mine from the point of being neutral at 300 lbs at safety stop, none if any air in bc. there are 2 weighting factors in ballasting. light or heavy overall and light or heavy foward /aft aka head /toe. i did my ballast in a pool with a 500 lb tank and got the weight where i was neutral overall. then adjusted weight top to bottom to control my trim (fwd/aft) so i could hover horizontal with minimal fin action. moving tank up down, weights right and left. i did this with normal gear wet suit ect. my tank is marked with the weight on it. i changed tanks from my 95 to my 120 and did the same. perhaps for aluminum users catalina to luxfer ect. dont go by the tank weight charts, they are mostly hosed. my faber chart is off a couple of pounds. (diffferent valves usa vs italian).. then with the weight determined i split the weight between internal and belted weight. most weight internal and perhaps 4-6 lb on the belt. ( you could do it the opposite if you want)i know i need 16 more lbs when i go to salt water from fresh. 10 internl and 6 on the belt at most. dropping the belt will only drop 1/4 of the weight. if i mis my safety stop, oh well its just a safety stop and not a mandatory stop in 99 percent of the cases. in salt water i carry an additional pouch on the belt with 5of the 16 lbs in it so i can drop the pouch first (and the belt closer to the surface) to control assent rate. frest water normally i just drop the belt with 4-6 lbs in it. remember you are going to be negativly weighted overall untill you get to 300-500 lbs. air being apx 8lbs per 100 cu ft makes you neg 5.5 lbs with a full 80.... see where the 4-6 comes in .. dropping the pouch of belt makes you neut on a full 80 or slightly pos if less than full 80. i also minimize the amount of depth changes on a full tank as that is the time when your bc has the most air in it to comp for the 5.3 heavy. get to 2/3 tank you have much less air in the bc to affect air expansion. less bc filling and venting air lasts longer more dive time.. after that its shifting or adding perhaps a pound if you want to be neutral at a different tank presure. tweaking for each dive is different. correct ballast and sar skyrockets ,, thats what it is all about...

for what it is worth

kws

 

[LollyO]

.... frest water normally i just drop the belt with 4-6 lbs in it.
kws

KWS,
Do you literally drop a weight belt? I have never seen anybody drop a weight belt. I thought you did this only in emergencys.

I am probably not understanding this, as your post is highly techincal and over my head.
It would be really expensive to drop weight on a regular basis, so I am sure that I am not reading it correctly.