1st OW This weekend need help....weights

[westladog]

The wife, her father, and I are going to Monterey, CA this weekend for our open water certification. The instructor just told us that we will need 4-8 lbs of additional weights. I don't think this is really helpful because I don't want to be running into and out of the water to add or remove weights.

When I was in the pool, I used 16 lbs with a full tank of air, and I was barely neutral.
My guess for the salt water is to go to 22 lbs just to be safe. I can always add air to the bc. It's better to be heavier than not enough weight. Right?
I weigh 140 lbs. The tank is 25 lbs, the bc is 5 lbs...add 10 lbs for the rest? So that's 180 total without weights. Come to think of it, I should go with 24lbs?

My wife is 120 lbs
I think her dad is about 170 lbs.

 

[Gen732]

All depends on what your wearing. For my pool dives, wearing trunks, tshirt, BC, AL80 tank, I need 0 weight. Being 5'8" and 125 pounds with pretty near zero fat helps in that department. But open water, wearing a 6.5mm semi-dry, hood, boots, gloves, same BC and tank, I need minimum 22 pounds or I'm not going under.

Did you do your pool dives wearing the exact same gear (wetsuit and all) as what your going to be wearing for your checkout dives? If not, then I'd ask the instructor and see if you can get all your gear on and hit the pool one more time to check your weighting. Searching threads on here comes back with some useful tips too. 10% of body weight plus 10 works fairly well as a starting point for us cold water divers all bundled up up here in the Northwest. May be too heavy for some, too light for others though. Just my 2psi. Hope this helps.

 

[msg]

We generally tell our students to use 10% of their body weight plus 6 pounds. They are wearing a two piece 7mm suit, hood, boots, and gloves. The 6# is for the tank at the end of the dive. We are also diving in a quarry, therefore you will probably need a couple of extra weights. Nothing will beat a buoyancy check, but this should get you in the ball park.
Good luck with the OWs, I hope you have a great time.

 

[scubadiver888]

The wife, her father, and I are going to Monterey, CA this weekend for our open water certification. The instructor just told us that we will need 4-8 lbs of additional weights. I don't think this is really helpful because I don't want to be running into and out of the water to add or remove weights.

When I was in the pool, I used 16 lbs with a full tank of air, and I was barely neutral.
My guess for the salt water is to go to 22 lbs just to be safe. I can always add air to the bc. It's better to be heavier than not enough weight. Right?
I weigh 140 lbs. The tank is 25 lbs, the bc is 5 lbs...add 10 lbs for the rest? So that's 180 total without weights. Come to think of it, I should go with 24lbs?

My wife is 120 lbs
I think her dad is about 170 lbs.

Buoyancy is about weight and volume. Or another way to look at it is water displacement. Two pounds of lead displaces less water than two pounds of cork. Lead sinks, cork does not.

The density of 'human' is not fixed. One person will have a different weight/volume. So how much you weigh alone is not enough. Two people can weigh 140 pounds but require different amounts of lead to be neutrally buoyant.

When you first start diving the general attitude is, better to have too much than not enough. This is not always the best idea. Being a little overweight is okay but being a LOT overweight is not good at all.

If you are struggling with your buoyancy the dive is going to be unpleasant. If you are doing a boat dive, let everyone know you want to do a buoyancy check. Get in the water with all your gear on but put 10 lbs in your pockets (two 2 and two 3). See if you are neutral. If negative, hand a little weight to someone on the boat. Try again. Once you are neutral, add 5 lbs. You will become 5lbs lighter once your tank is empty.

If you are doing a shore dive, as if someone can come out with you without all their gear on. Go to water deep enough, check your weight, go to the person, hand them some weight, etc. Basically, same procedure as the boat dive but you have to work a little hard.

Trust me, once you have your weight down you can focus on everything else you need to focus on. If the instructor is not willing to help you out with this, maybe you need another instructor.

By the way, if you were barely neutral with 16 lbs in the pool you probably need 21-22 lbs when your tank is empty. More in salt water.

 

[CoralSeaMan]

Since your instructor told you to go with 4 to 8 pounds more weight, you have to assume that he or she knows the environment (salt water) and gear (7mm). If you have trouble staying neutral with a full tank in a pool (fresh water) you will want more weight (unless you mean you have to keep your BC full to keep from sinking; then you want less weight). How much depends on the type of tank (steel vs aluminum) and size. I would call the shop or instructor and ask for specifics.

 

[SkipperJohn]

My first 3 dives I dove with no suit using 12 pounds. With a 7 mill suit it took me 30 pounds to get down (& the slightest puff of air in my BC at depth) When I rented my equipment my local shop said I would need 30 pounds, they were spot on. I put all my faith in them & it worked out.