balance bcd

[farsidefan1]

I recently purchased a balanced bcd because it packs so much better than my super glide and I wanted a back inflate rather than the jacket style. I took it to Palau and ran into an unexpected difficulty. It seems that most of the air stays on the side of my inflator/air2. I most frequently vent air be sticking my butt up (sorry snorkelers) and using the lower vent. That virtally never worked on this trip as the air never seemed to flow over to that side of the bcd. At first I was consistantly fighting to stay even keel as the bdc was just inflated on the one side. After a while I just said screw it and finned along on my side. Is it something I'm missing or doing wrong? Why doesn' the air distribute more evenly? Thanks

 

[tphillipp]

Hi Farsidefan1,
If you have a newer Balance, which it sounds like you do, the air can crossover from left to right and back both at the top of the air cell and at the bottom of the air cell. The air will migrate to the high spot. My advice is to have your buddy follow slightly behind and above you and watch how you swim to see if you are fairly level. You may naturally lean towards one side without knowing it. Also, have them watch you lean one way and then the other to make sure that the air is truly moving from one side to other. The extra set of eyes will be the key to understanding what is happening.

Tom Phillipp
Product Manager
Aqua Lung

 

[farsidefan1]

thanks, I did that but no listing to the side except as caused by the failure of air to transfer from one side to the other. Even if I roll over toward the side to force the air to move to the other chamber, no joy. As soon as I stopped struggling to stay on that side I was immediately rolled back over. I have over 200 dives, most on my jacket bc and a dozen or so on other rented bc's. Never had this problem before. I dropped it off at the shop where I purchased it and they are going to use it in the pool tonight to see if they can figure it out.

 

[chile7236]

i have a new balance as well (in addition to the dimension and pro qd) and notice that i have to "wiggle" when i want to "move the air" around to vent/deflate from my shoulder.

 

[farsidefan1]

When in Palau I also used a larger airtank. I wonder if that exacerbated the problem. I used an 80 while on the Aggressor but a 100 when with Sams. I can't remember if that made a difference. At any rate it seems clear that there is not an easy smooth flow of air from one side to another, If it continues to be a problem at Roatan in a few weeks I'll sell it cheap in here and ether go back to my scubapro glide plus or get a different back inflate.

 

[chile7236]

i can say that there are no deflate issues on the i3 .

 

[tphillipp]

Hey Farsidefan1,
Did your LDS take it in the pool as stated? What was their opinion?
Another thought is whether or not it is the proper size for you? What size do you own and what is your height and weight? Encourage your LDS to give us a call. We'd be glad to take a look at it if need be.

Tom Phillipp
Product Mgr.
Aqua Lung

 

[farsidefan1]

I have an extra large. I'm 5'11' and my weight is 237 lbs. I am at a national conference in Las Vegas so I won't be able to hit the pool till next week. Thanks for your response. I tried it out in their pool befoe I bought it and told them about the problem but I was leaving for Palau so I just said I'll deal with it when I return. I'll let you know as soon as I get over there next week. Thanks again, Jay


Note, I usually use 16 lbs in the ocean. I put 5's in back and 3's in front which helps me stay upright when on the surface. I will try different configurations in the pool, adjusted for fresh water of course.