Bladder lift capacity and purchase help

[tampausmc]

Planning on making a move to cavern and cave diving....currently i have a zeagle ranger which will get thrown in the closet when classes start. I'm trying to get an idea of what kind of lift capacity i need. I plan on diving with dual steel 108s and probably go with an aluminum back plate. That being said I have no idea what kind of lift capacity would needed....can anyone give me a quick breakdown on this or point me in the right direction. Also recommendations for brands...currently looking at zeagle and dive rite around 51lb (dive rite) 55lb (zeagle). Any recommendations on the setup would be great.

One more thing....would like a setup that would work with single tank diving as well...i know this isn't ideal for any of the bladders to do both but i would like to sell my ranger to offset the cost if possible....

Gregg

 

[cool_hardware52]

Planning on making a move to cavern and cave diving....currently i have a zeagle ranger which will get thrown in the closet when classes start. I'm trying to get an idea of what kind of lift capacity i need. I plan on diving with dual steel 108s and probably go with an aluminum back plate. That being said I have no idea what kind of lift capacity would needed....can anyone give me a quick breakdown on this or point me in the right direction. Also recommendations for brands...currently looking at zeagle and dive rite around 51lb (dive rite) 55lb (zeagle). Any recommendations on the setup would be great.

One more thing....would like a setup that would work with single tank diving as well...i know this isn't ideal for any of the bladders to do both but i would like to sell my ranger to offset the cost if possible....

Gregg

There are no Wings I'd recommend using with both singles and doubles. Some are offered todo that, but they are compromises for eithr application.

To size the smallest practical wing for any application you need to know the tanks that will be used, and the buoyancy of the exposure suit. You have provided 1/2 the information I need to make a recommendation.

Tobin

 

[tampausmc]

Alright....I dive in a farmer john 3 mil overalls with 3 mil long sleeve shorty on top. I wear a 6 mil hood. the tanks i'm looking at and plan on diving with are steel 108s. I want an aluminum backplate since i shouldn't need any extra weight since i sink pretty easily, i was overweighted with 6 lbs in saltwater with a single steel 108 and that same wetsuit. Anything else? Thanks for your help.

 

[scarefaceDM]

EDT, you replied as I was typing...


You would need to provide a few more details.

How tall are you and weight?
what type of suit: Wet or dry?
( long range dives in caves you may need a drysuit later on)
Steel tanks or aluminium for single tank diving?

Single appilcation wings are for single tanks only. Doubles wing are for doubles only. They aer too large for a single tanks. So your going to have to either keep your ranger for singels or get two wings same back plate.

As Tobin mentioned you need to provide the other 1/2 of info to make a good assesment.

108's are big tanks, ball park a 55lb to 60lb. Some have gone with a 70lb wing. And I know of guys whom dive a 40lb wing

Singles 30lb is just fine.

Planning on making a move to cavern and cave diving....currently i have a zeagle ranger which will get thrown in the closet when classes start. I'm trying to get an idea of what kind of lift capacity i need. I plan on diving with dual steel 108s and probably go with an aluminum back plate. That being said I have no idea what kind of lift capacity would needed....can anyone give me a quick breakdown on this or point me in the right direction. Also recommendations for brands...currently looking at zeagle and dive rite around 51lb (dive rite) 55lb (zeagle). Any recommendations on the setup would be great.

One more thing....would like a setup that would work with single tank diving as well...i know this isn't ideal for any of the bladders to do both but i would like to sell my ranger to offset the cost if possible....

Gregg

 

[tampausmc]

EDT, you replied as I was typing...


You would need to provide a few more details.

How tall are you and weight?
what type of suit: Wet or dry?

Single appilcation wings are for single tanks only. Doubles wing are for doubles only. They aer too large for a single tanks. So your going to have to either keep your ranger for singels or get two wings same back plate.

As Tobin mentioned you need to provide the other 1/2 of info to make a good assesment.

108's are big tanks, ball park a 55lb to 60lb. Some have gone with a 70lb wing. And I know of guys whom dive a 40lb wing

Singles 30lb is just fine.

I'm 5'9 165...I dive in a farmer john 3 mil overalls with 3 mil long sleeve shorty on top. I wear a 6 mil hood. the tanks i'm looking at and plan on diving with are steel 108s. I want an aluminum backplate since i shouldn't need any extra weight since i sink pretty easily, i was overweighted with 6 lbs in saltwater with a single steel 108 and that same wetsuit. Anything else? Thanks for your help.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I'm 5'9 165...I dive in a farmer john 3 mil overalls with 3 mil long sleeve shorty on top. I wear a 6 mil hood. the tanks i'm looking at and plan on diving with are steel 108s. I want an aluminum backplate since i shouldn't need any extra weight since i sink pretty easily, i was overweighted with 6 lbs in saltwater with a single steel 108 and that same wetsuit. Anything else? Thanks for your help.

Now we know what wetsuit you are using. We still don't know how buoyant it is.... Neoprene varies quite a bit.

What do you currently use for a BC?


Overweighted with 6 lbs? Defined how?

Keep in mind that you will need to be negative by the weight of your back gas, ~17.3 lbs at the start of the dive, and the LP 108's are only -1 each empty.

Tanks -2
Bands and Manifold -5
Dual regs -5
Can light -2
Stainless Back Plate & Harness -6

Total -20

Weight of Back Gas 17.3

Remaining ballast to offset Wetsuit 2.7 lbs


Even with a SS plate you will need more ballast. I'm only guessing, but a 3mm + 3mm wetsuit is goint to be around 10-14 lb positive. With a light weight plate you will need an additional ~5 lbs in a belt.

If I'm correct you need aout another ~10 lbs in a weight belt to hold a shallow stop with empty tanks.

Your rig, with full tanks (air, or nitrox) will be about -38 lbs. I you are weighted to be -17 at the start of the dive you need another ~12 of lift to compensate for your wwetsuit compressing. 17 + 10 = 27 27 < 38.... You need a ~40-50 lbs wing.

Remember, this is based on my assumptions about your wetsuit. You should check the buoyancy of your suit yourself.

Tobin

 

[scarefaceDM]

what he said....

TOBIN..that is the best answer i have ever read.

Now what about in the case of a drysuit? Just to cover that aspect.

Now we know what wetsuit you are using. We still don't know how buoyant it is.... Neoprene varies quite a bit.

What do you currently use for a BC?


Overweighted with 6 lbs? Defined how?

Keep in mind that you will need to be negative by the weight of your back gas, ~17.3 lbs at the start of the dive, and the LP 108's are only -1 each empty.

Tanks -2
Bands and Manifold -5
Dual regs -5
Can light -2
Stainless Back Plate & Harness -6

Total -20

Weight of Back Gas 17.3

Remaining ballast to offset Wetsuit 2.7 lbs


Even with a SS plate you will need more ballast. I'm only guessing, but a 3mm + 3mm wetsuit is goint to be around 10-14 lb positive. With a light weight plate you will need an additional ~5 lbs in a belt.

If I'm correct you need aout another ~10 lbs in a weight belt to hold a shallow stop with empty tanks.

Your rig, with full tanks (air, or nitrox) will be about -38 lbs. I you are weighted to be -17 at the start of the dive you need another ~12 of lift to compensate for your wwetsuit compressing. 17 + 10 = 27 27 < 38.... You need a ~40-50 lbs wing.

Remember, this is based on my assumptions about your wetsuit. You should check the buoyancy of your suit yourself.

Tobin

 

[The Chad]

If your diving wet with steel dbls you might want to toss around the idea of a dbl bladder wing....or 2 independant wings, or lift bags and reels. There are alot of differnt ways to go, and it really comes down to what works best for you and your comfort level

 

[Jimmer]

If your diving wet with steel dbls you might want to toss around the idea of a dbl bladder wing....or 2 independant wings, or lift bags and reels. There are alot of differnt ways to go, and it really comes down to what works best for you and your comfort level

I was just about to add the same thing. I started diving double 108's last summer, in a wetsuit, and I picked up a used dual bladder wing to use until I get my drysuit (coming in a few weeks ). I cringed at the thought of having a buoyancy failure in Lake Erie, 120 feet deep with those things on my back.

Jim

 

[cool_hardware52]

If your diving wet with steel dbls you might want to toss around the idea of a dbl bladder wing....or 2 independant wings, or lift bags and reels. There are alot of differnt ways to go, and it really comes down to what works best for you and your comfort level

The OP stated he's headed for cavern and caves.

Tobin