Back inflate bcd tilting to the side

[rongoodman]

The bladder on that thing looks to be huge. Are the restraining straps on both sides tightened down equally?

 

[Belzelbub]

Besides to much weight I am certain I am doing something wrong

Too much weight is a common problem. Unfortunately, many instructors take a shortcut and start with their students heavy. It's easier to deal with a student that is over-weighted than under-weighted.

Now you get to dial it in. Too much weight leads to a lot of other problems. Trim problems, like you are experiencing, and also buoyancy and air consumption issues.

As mentioned, you should be neutral, or slightly negative at your safety stop with a tank on the empty side. On your next dive, once you've established neutral at your stop, feel your BC Bladder. If you have air like in your photo, try removing a little weight and handing to your buddy. (Assuming, you can easily remove some weight). Deflate your BC and re-establish neutral. Repeat. Once your BC is pretty much empty and you are still neutral, make a note of how much extra weight your buddy is holding. That's the amount you should remove on your next dives. (You can do this on multiple dives if you prefer.)

Also, you can do this post dive. At the surface with an empty BC and near empty tank, you should be eye level. If you sink beyond that, you have too much. Remove until you get that right. That should be your weight going forward, but if you want, maybe add a small amount back in, and do the buddy check above to gain confidence.

 

[billgraham]

Maybe this will help - its at 5m depth towards the end of the dive, and the left side of the wing is clearly inflated, and the right is not...
View attachment 795208

It looks like the left side is inflated more. If that's the deco bar and you're at the end of the dive, you might be able to shed some weight. I'm also wondering why it's taco'd upward, is there a strap that needs to be tightened up? The fact that it's flipped up might be making a fold across the top keeping the gas from moving to the other side.

 

[scubadada]

The bladder on that thing looks to be huge. Are the restraining straps on both sides tightened down equally?

Indeed, the small/medium has a lift of 45 lb, the medium/large 47 lb, and the Xlarge/XXlarge 49 lb.

Interestingly, my large Scubapro Knighthawk is said to have a lift of 46 lb. I have never had a problem with gas unequally distributed. With proper weighting, I do not have much gas in my BC. The Knighthawk is securely bungeed.

 

[The Chairman]

Wow! Tacos for dinner! Way, way, way too much air in that bladder and that one is not even controlled. Is that a bladder for a twinset? If so, you need a spreader plate or a bladder designed for a single... and less weight. Lose the weight. You're almost full at depth, so you won't have enough buoyancy on the surface.

 

[billgraham]

Looking at the photos of the rig, it seems that the retaining straps that go to the plastic d-rings on the wing run behind the rigid backplate. Are they fixed under there or do they slide back and forth? Is there a way to shorten those up?

 

[LuckyLuke]

Looking at the photos of the rig, it seems that the retaining straps that go to the plastic d-rings on the wing run behind the rigid backplate. Are they fixed under there or do they slide back and forth? Is there a way to shorten those up?

Unfortunately, they do slide back and forth, and it maybe even possible to shorten them up with some gentle diy. Honestly, I would get rid of the used error first, and then gor for this type of adjustments...

 

[scubadada]

Unfortunately, they do slide back and forth, and it maybe even possible to shorten them up with some gentle diy. Honestly, I would get rid of the used error first, and then gor for this type of adjustments...

Hi @LuckyLuke

When the Scubapro Hydros Pro was first released, it had a similar problem where the bungees that secured the wing slid back and forth, leading to uneven gas distribution as illustrated in your photo. Eventually, they secured the bungee, preventing the sliding. Perhaps you can find an easy way to secure the straps that control your wing. It seems like a design defect, maybe Apeks will help you.

The Hydros Pro problem is mentioned here, there is probably additional discussion elsewhere in this long thread

Has anyone seen or used the new Scubapro Hydros Pro BCD

Jules et al are incredible Who is "Jules"?

scubaboard.com

Good luck

 

[The Chairman]

could water in the bladder cause this?

No.

 

[danpass]

No, not a last resort, rather, part of the solution.
Get your total weighting correct without using the trim pockets, and see if you are horizontal when relaxed. If not, you are probably feet down, head up. Take 1kg from each side pocket and put it into the trim pockets --- don't change the overall amount of weight you have, just move some of it to the trim pockets. See if that helps the horizontal trim. If it is not enough, move some more. But make sure you leave enough in your side/front pockets that you can dump it at the surfacekif needed to establish buoyancy.

This is my goal in the next pool session. Total weight and then work out the distribution.