Balancing out my Rig??

[ermaclob]

You have already been given the proper answer and you don't want to hear it. Your instructor told you and you don't want to listen. Don't become a tank collector, sell the 95's. I need a set anyway. Lol.

the GUE instructor im asking said that a dry suit is defiantly a solutions to the issue. as long as i can find one for around the cost of getting new al80 doubles and wing.

 

[JamesK]

And that is one of the answers that folks here have given you and you don't seem to want to accept it. I may be reading you wrong, but it seems ou don't want AL tanks and you don't want o spend the money for a dry suit. What other answers are there?

 

[JamesK]

But seriously, sell me your tanks.

 

[lv2dive]

If your diving wet I would switch to AL 80's or better lp85's which are a sweet tank and at 3600 hold a lot of gas.

How is that better for the problem that the OP has?
Faber LP85s are 4.4 lb heavier each in the water. Just like LP98s

Are Faber 85's heavier than AL80's with an 11lb v-weight?

 

[elan]

Are Faber 85's heavier than AL80's with an 11lb v-weight?

The proper way would be to say they are more negative. Yes they are as I remember neutral when empty.
I use 16 lb with AL80 doubles and 8 with LP85s

 

[elan]

I Just re-read your question. LP 85s are more positive and lighter on land that AL80 doubles paired with an 11lb weight

 

[lv2dive]

If your diving wet I would switch to AL 80's or better lp85's which are a sweet tank and at 3600 hold a lot of gas.

How is that better for the problem that the OP has?
Faber LP85s are 4.4 lb heavier each in the water. Just like LP98s

Are Faber 85's heavier than AL80's with an 11lb v-weight?

The proper way would be to say they are more negative. Yes they are as I remember neutral when empty.
I use 16 lb with AL80 doubles and 8 with LP85s

I wasn't going for proper, I was just using the terminology that already been introduced

I Just re-read your question. LP 85s are more positive and lighter on land that AL80 doubles paired with an 11lb weight

Isn't that where the OP is trying to get? (more positive, or neutral?)

Al80 and Al backplate is the only answer IMHO. You will be able to take about 13 lb off.

I have to disagree... AL80's - with an aluminum backplate, with or without a wetsuit, will need a lot of lead to stay down once a certain amount of the gas is used - a balanced rig means being able to hold a stop, too. Most of the people I know who dive AL80's do so with steel plates and v-weights or tailweights.



OP: First off - the easiest, most simple solution, would be to change out the BP from steel to Aluminum. Several people have mentioned this. There is a decent probability, that this would work for you, without going through any kind of a learning curve with a drysuit, or becoming, as you describe, a "tank collector." Can you borrow an aluminum BP and then go diving (with a buddy of course) and "fail" your wing at the beginning of a dive and see if you could ascend with a full tank? Secondly, if you choose to go down the path of the drysuit, realize that you are going to be managing a third buoyancy source (in addition to your lungs and your wing) and it's not something most people master in one or two dives. Good luck.

 

[elan]

I wasn't going for proper, I was just using the terminology that already been introduced



Isn't that where the OP is trying to get? (more positive, or neutral?)



I have to disagree... AL80's - with an aluminum backplate, with or without a wetsuit, will need a lot of lead to stay down once a certain amount of the gas is used - a balanced rig means being able to hold a stop, too. Most of the people I know who dive AL80's do so with steel plates and v-weights or tailweights.



OP: First off - the easiest, most simple solution, would be to change out the BP from steel to Aluminum. Several people have mentioned this. There is a decent probability, that this would work for you, without going through any kind of a learning curve with a drysuit, or becoming, as you describe, a "tank collector." Can you borrow an aluminum BP and then go diving (with a buddy of course) and "fail" your wing at the beginning of a dive and see if you could ascend with a full tank? Secondly, if you choose to go down the path of the drysuit, realize that you are going to be managing a third buoyancy source (in addition to your lungs and your wing) and it's not something most people master in one or two dives. Good luck.

You have ro reread the OP. He is 21 lb negative when the tanks are empty. Switching to an AL backplate and tanks will reduce that number by about 12-13lb.
Switching to just a backplate will change it only bt 4 lb.
The AL 80 does not require LEAD d to think they require WEIGHT to sink. There is enough weight in regs bands and manifold.
The fact your friends dive AL80 with tail or V weights is irrelevant as they probably have different exposure protection. You have to think about your gear as a system it contains positively buoyant and negatively buoyant components that compensate each other. For example I dive the AL80 with a 11 lb V weight and 4 lb tail weight but my suit is about 20 lb buoyant. So if Switch to a shorty I have to take that weight off. And I will still be negative with empty tanks because I will have enough weight in the hardware to sink the positive AL80