At depth the wing has to provide buoyancy for the weight of gas plus the wetsuit buoyancy lost by compression. While you can easily calculate the weight of gas, the wetsuit buoyancy must be tested. You could throw the wetsuit into the water and see how much lead it can carry. Add that to the weight of gas, then you know the lead weight you'd have to drop at depth to be neutral with an empty wing.
Balanced Rig - GUE - NEWB
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EireDiver606
Contributor
Basically, take the least amount of weight you need to sink with an exhaled breath and half empty wing.
Holy spreadsheets, batman! Forget the rec pass, if you can successfully complete that spreadsheet you can probably take over for JJ.
PfcAJ
Contributor
There’s no substitute for experimentation.
balanced rig:
a) enough weight to be neutral at 3m with no gas in your wing and minimal gas in your tank.
b) light enough so you that you can swim up from depth with a full tank and a compressed suit.
If a) requires so much weight that you can’t accomplish b), some of that weight needs to be ditchable so that you can b).
If your tanks are so heavy (steel doubles) that they prohibit you from being able to achieve b), then you require a drysuit or different tanks.
A SMB or a lift bag is NOT redundant buoyancy. It is not immediate as it requires digging it out of a pocket and inflating it. A drysuit does provide an immediate buoyancy source - just push the button.
balanced rig:
a) enough weight to be neutral at 3m with no gas in your wing and minimal gas in your tank.
b) light enough so you that you can swim up from depth with a full tank and a compressed suit.
If a) requires so much weight that you can’t accomplish b), some of that weight needs to be ditchable so that you can b).
If your tanks are so heavy (steel doubles) that they prohibit you from being able to achieve b), then you require a drysuit or different tanks.
A SMB or a lift bag is NOT redundant buoyancy. It is not immediate as it requires digging it out of a pocket and inflating it. A drysuit does provide an immediate buoyancy source - just push the button.
What AJ said
Basically:
1) can you hold a stop with near empty tanks? you have enough lead
2) with full tanks can you swim them up from depth? if not, you need enough ditchable lead so you can.
With a single tank the most gas you are ever going to have even in a 16 or 18L tank is not going to weigh that much. So you're rarely required to have ditchable lead in a single. But its prudent to have some ditchable just in case you are stranded on the surface or something where ditching is helpful
Basically:
1) can you hold a stop with near empty tanks? you have enough lead
2) with full tanks can you swim them up from depth? if not, you need enough ditchable lead so you can.
With a single tank the most gas you are ever going to have even in a 16 or 18L tank is not going to weigh that much. So you're rarely required to have ditchable lead in a single. But its prudent to have some ditchable just in case you are stranded on the surface or something where ditching is helpful
Goingforsound
Contributor
Go back in your course material and study a little bit the table provided. You should be able to follow the example it is pretty clear.
David Novo
Contributor
Its really not that hard to swim up a 7mm wetsuit from 30m with a single full 95cf or 16L(?) tank. I have done it.
David Novo
Contributor
Jack Hammer
Contributor
It's better to check weighting at the end of a dive or after you've been wet for a bit. The air may not yet have worked it's way out of your suit, pockets, bc, gear, hood, etc. This is why starting some dives it'll feel hard to get below the surface like you are too light yet feel extra heavy at the end of the dive. Some gear does this more than others.
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