Boyancy Question regarding extra equipment

[SuSexFulDiver]

I was wondering how most divers compensate thier weights when they add a couple flash lights or a camera or any other type of equipment to thier BCD?

Suppose you have figured out your boyancy, knowing how much weight you need. You then take a night dive where you need to take a couple flash lights with you, and say a camera also. If those flash lights and camera weigh for example a total of 3 pounds, do you remove 3 pounds of weight from your weight belt / Intergrated weights? Suppose you do remove the 3 pounds from your weight belt, and during your dive for what ever reasons you must dump your weights. Will dumping the remainder weight from your weight belt be enough? Will the weight of the flashlights and camera keep you from becoming positive boyant?

I know your life is much more important than say a 2 thousand dollar camera and 2 hundred in flashlights, but would you actually dump them to become positive boyant?

Im just very curious how one would compensate for the extra weight of Cameras and Flashlights and such? Or are most flashlights and cameras positively boyant from the get go?

 

[Parrothead_Diver]

In most cases I have found that things like cameras and hand held dive lights tend to be fairly neutrally boyant. That is, they are usually within a pound of being positive or negative. So I usually do not make any knid of a weight adjustments. If, however, I did find a piece of equipment that affeted my weighting I would simply make the necessary adjustments on any subsequent dives.

As for your question about ditching equipment in an emergancy. My thought is that if I were holding a piece of equipment (camera) and I need my hands to actuate some piece of safety equipment (i.e. dumping a weight belt) I would drop the camera without a second thought. After all, I would rather be alive and out $2K. Then dead with a nice camera in my hand.

 

[erikp]

I would imagine that the extra weight you take on because of a couple of flashlights would be minimal enough that you would not need to compensate for it. If you are diving an aluminum 80 the bouyancy change between the beginning and the end of the dive of your tank will probably be more notable than the weight of your flashlight i'd imagine.

 

[Meng_Tze]

When the total weight shift is more than say a couple of pounds, I do change my weighting.

Camera's should be neutral, but if possible, make them slightly pos. This way if you 'drop' it, it floats up to the surface for you to collect later.

I try to have nicely balanced rig and this means different weighting factors for the dives and equipment at hand.

 

[Doc]

Your trim should be configured for your non-ditchable gear.

If you can't control your buoyancy if you should happen to lose or need to ditch any specific object- how would that make sense?

If your optional "mission specific" gear makes you a bit negative, compensate with your BC. This would include cameras, lights, reels, hand tools, but not objects being transported for placement. (ie: anchor devices, recovered items, etc)

 

[spectrum]

First I try to stay consistent with things like my DSMB, spool,and a 4 cell day/back-up light. On a night dive I don't worry about my 8 C-cell light. I do adjust for long term changes.

Remember that it's the buoyancy change, not the weight you are managing.

As much as we all harp on the need for precise weighting we do get carried away IMO. I have carried 4 extra pounds in a BC pocket in case my wife needed it late in the dive after she reduced her weight as she sorted out some new gear and it was not noticable at all. Should I or would I do that constantly, no but it's not big deal to do so on occasion.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

BTW on a skin-dive it can be of very real consequence so keep an eye on thngs if you intend to come up with everything.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

Some dive gear will actually have published values on how negative it is -- A lot of can lights do. I actually include my can light in my weight calculations, and took a little weight off because of it. It's such a SMALL part of the total weight I carry, though, that it certainly doesn't play a role in how much is ditchable (and I can't imagine a situation where I'd need to ditch it).

In general, I agree that most diving equipment is somewhere in the vicinity of neutral. Flashlights and cameras may add up to a little negativity, but diving one or two pounds more negative than you need to be is quite manageable, and much easier to handle than the reverse (too positive). People get wrapped up in getting their weight to the absolute minimum tolerable. Vast overweighting is undesirable, but being one or two pounds too negative is really not even very perceptible, at least to me.

 

[mudhole]

This is an every dive question, until you build up the experience with the equipment you carry. There will be changes in bouyancy in your dive future. Picking up an anchor, or buddy's dive belt, or any of the things that you may find during the dive. If your "find" is only a couple of pounds of negative bouyancy, it is easy to carry. If your "find" Is 15 or 20 lbs negative, don't use your BC to lift it. There is risk of dropping the weight and a "run away" ascent. Use one of the new submergible marker bouys to lift, if there is a problem, you are not attached to the problem. If you are planning a dive to recover an object, there are a lot of different size "lift bags" that after they are attached, inflate them to lift an object. When the time comes to search for something big. . . carry a marker bouy, it only marks the location of what you have found. Then on the surface you can make plans for recovery.

On nearly every dive, I carry a small marker bouy. . . it is neutral bouyant. On many dives I carry a 6 foot long inflatable marker bouy. . . it's purpose is to mark the divers location to boats. . . it will also bring gear, or a small anchor to the surface. Your weight belt is for your comfort underwater. . . For breaking out of the ordinary, use the tool that will do the job.

 

[wallacm]

whenever i dive i always carry atleast two lights with me. I have then figured out my buoyancy, as far as a camera, i dont count it as wait, what if i drop it or hand it off to a buddy.

 

[Quero]

I don't change my weighting because of the camera or lights I carry, but I do change the weight placement. I dive mostly in warm water, so don't need huge amounts of lead, which means that even relatively small changes in weight placement make a noticeable difference. I like a bit more weight on one side than the other to counterbalance the slight change in trim holding my camera produces, and I use a trim weight on my tank band for this.