General BP/W questions

[Brian Roebuck]

I am considering making the switch to BP/W but have a few questions. I currently have a Zeagle stiletto and use 6lbs with my 3mm full suit. What I’m mostly concerned with is, if I choose a SS BP and I’m not in my 3mm would I even need added weight and if not what would be the procedure if a “weight dump” situation occurred? Should I choose AL BP to keep some dumpable weight on a belt or in pockets? I live in SE Florida and will use a skin suit half the year while the water is warm and I don’t want to be overweighted and I also want to be safe.

 

[tbone1004]

dumping weight is not necessary, get a steel plate and enjoy being free of any added weight. You'll be a couple of pounds overweight in a skin, but it's not "dangerous" you'll certainly be less overweighted than most divers

 

[Topper133]

what tbone said! Enjoy the freedom, you'll never go back to a jacket style BCD again!

 

[johndiver999]

I am considering making the switch to BP/W but have a few questions. I currently have a Zeagle stiletto and use 6lbs with my 3mm full suit. What I’m mostly concerned with is, if I choose a SS BP and I’m not in my 3mm would I even need added weight and if not what would be the procedure if a “weight dump” situation occurred? Should I choose AL BP to keep some dumpable weight on a belt or in pockets? I live in SE Florida and will use a skin suit half the year while the water is warm and I don’t want to be overweighted and I also want to be safe.

What tanks do you use?

If you only need 6 lbs with a full suit and your current BC, then I would think that diving with the current BC and no suit would put you pretty close to neutral. Obviously depends on the size and condition of the suit.

If you buy a steel plate and use no wetsuit, then you are (most likely) going to be heavier than needed. You will always need air in the BC to stay nuetral and you will have no ballast to ditch and if the BC fails, your ability to reach the surface (or remain there) will be made more difficult. That type of scenario presents dangers that would not be present if you were using a lighter (less negative) BC/plate.

 

[Brian Roebuck]

What tanks do you use?

If you only need 6 lbs with a full suit and your current BC, then I would think that diving with the current BC and no suit would put you pretty close to neutral. Obviously depends on the size and condition of the suit.

If you buy a steel plate and use no wetsuit, then you are (most likely) going to be heavier than needed. You will always need air in the BC to stay nuetral and you will have no ballast to ditch and if the BC fails, your ability to reach the surface (or remain there) will be made more difficult. That type of scenario presents dangers that would not be present if you were using a lighter (less negative) BC/plate.

 

[Brian Roebuck]

Steel 100’s. That was the scenario I was afraid of, having an issue at depth w/ no ballast to ditch in case of emergency. May opt for aluminum BP and carry a few lbs.

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

I dive whit a steel plate and steel sta.

When i dive in warm water, thin wet, i use AL tanks, and when dry i use steel tank.
For me a 2mm wet gives me 2-3 kg on the belt. (~4-6#)

I prefer the steel plate, but if you must dive steel tank in warm water and don't have the possibility to use AL tank, maybe a lighter plate will have advateges.

 

[tbone1004]

@Brian Roebuck what you haven't told us is how much lead you normally dive with in the skin. That's important.

The 100 will have 8lbs of gas in it. Assuming that you are using an AL plate instead of steel, that's an extra roughly 3-4lbs of negative buoyancy. All lifeguards, and we require all of our bsaic divers as well, are required to retrieve a 10lb diving brick from the bottom of a pool, and bring it to the side of the pool, in a bathing suit with no fins. You have an extra 2lbs, but also have fins on. If you can't kick that up, you really shouldn't be diving because you likely can't pass a diving physical. More importantly, the 8lbs is something you have to kick up regardless of any ditched weight since ditchable weight should never exceed the buoyancy shift of the wetsuit during compression. With a 3mm, that's 6lbs, so if you ditched, you'd still be kicking 8lbs of tank up.

Ditchable weight is a ridiculous notion in any diving scenario and is not something you should worry yourself with. Dive a balanced rig, and if you're a couple pounds heavy, so be it, it's not the end of the world as you can see with the example above. It's when you are diving some stupid rig like a 7mm farmer john at 100+ft where the suit can lose something like 30lbs of buoyancy due to the depth compression, AND are starting the dive overweighted by 6-8lbs like most divers that you have to get concerned. At that point, to quote @cerich, that's an equipment solution to a skills problem and you need to address the real problem before you try to bandaid it with ditchable weight. Planning to ditch weight only adds risk to your dive as you are increasing your chance for a runaway ascent and a subsequent embolism

 

[Brian Roebuck]

I dive whit a steel plate and steel sta.

When i dive in warm water, thin wet, i use AL tanks, and when dry i use steel tank.
For me a 2mm wet gives me 2-3 kg on the belt. (~4-6#)

I prefer the steel plate, but if you must dive steel tank in warm water and don't have the possibility to use AL tank, maybe a lighter plate will have advateges.

Yeah, I’ll have to compare the BP/W setups I’m considering and see which BP will be best suited all around, looks like aluminum is in the lead but I’ll have to research further.

 

[Brian Roebuck]

@Brian Roebuck what you haven't told us is how much lead you normally dive with in the skin. That's important.

The 100 will have 8lbs of gas in it. Assuming that you are using an AL plate instead of steel, that's an extra roughly 3-4lbs of negative buoyancy. All lifeguards, and we require all of our bsaic divers as well, are required to retrieve a 10lb diving brick from the bottom of a pool, and bring it to the side of the pool, in a bathing suit with no fins. You have an extra 2lbs, but also have fins on. If you can't kick that up, you really shouldn't be diving because you likely can't pass a diving physical. More importantly, the 8lbs is something you have to kick up regardless of any ditched weight since ditchable weight should never exceed the buoyancy shift of the wetsuit during compression. With a 3mm, that's 6lbs, so if you ditched, you'd still be kicking 8lbs of tank up.

Ditchable weight is a ridiculous notion in any diving scenario and is not something you should worry yourself with. Dive a balanced rig, and if you're a couple pounds heavy, so be it, it's not the end of the world as you can see with the example above. It's when you are diving some stupid rig like a 7mm farmer john at 100+ft where the suit can lose something like 30lbs of buoyancy due to the depth compression, AND are starting the dive overweighted by 6-8lbs like most divers that you have to get concerned. At that point, to quote @cerich, that's an equipment solution to a skills problem and you need to address the real problem before you try to bandaid it with ditchable weight. Planning to ditch weight only adds risk to your dive as you are increasing your chance for a runaway ascent and a subsequent embolism

I haven’t dove the skin suit since switching to steel tanks so I’m not sure, but going from AL to steel with current BC and 3mm I went from 14lbs to 6lbs of ballast, and in skin suit with AL tank used 10lbs. So would use 2lbs by that metric, but then adding a SS BP I may be overweight. I don’t wear lead with the intention of ditching it but would if the situation called for it. I’m just trying to assess potential risk(s) and possible solutions.