diving wet with twin steel tanks

[kazinvan]

Nope - no redundant lift. On my next single wing, I'd opt for a heavier nylon than the regular Oxychek wing is made from. Their signature series is supposedly made from a heavier denier nylon. I had a 1" hole in my wing for a bunch of dives until I noticed it. It still held air since it was at the bottom of the wing. Oxycheq fixed it and I put some additional goop on it.
Unless your wing or bc cataclysmically exploded and every seam was ripped open, they hold air even with holes and leaks in them.
I had a drysuit but I eBayed it. It was a neoprene job and too warm except for a few times a year down here. A thin shell suit would be nice in the winter though.

What if your inflator is broken, dual bladder wings have a second inflator thus a completely redundant system.

 

[Soggy]

This whole problem is easily solved by just not diving double steel tanks wet...dive a balanced rig and these problems no longer have to be "solved"

 

[Miami_Diver]

dual wing bladder to me seems safe enough.if im unlucky enough to have 2wings malfuntion at the same time then it was just my day(and thats not an automatic death anyways either), probably I would have been struck by a truck crossing the streets that day anyways.

 

[Soggy]

The problem is if you leave both inflators hooked up and one starts leaking gas into the wing (autoinflating), you don't know which one it is (I've had several well maintained inflators autoinflate, so don't try the 'how often does that happen?' route). If you leave the backup inflator unhooked, if you have a buoyancy failure, you have to recognize the failure and attach a LP hose before you fall into the abyss.

Additionally, when you begin ascending, you can't easily tell which bladder to dump gas from.

Basically, a double bladder wing increases your chances of a runaway ascent and is adding gear to solve a problem that shouldn't exist in the first if you dive the right tanks for the job.

 

[tekdiver170]

I'm with Soggy. Why are you so set on diving duel steel tanks? In the Pac. NW I dove twin steel 95's but that was with a drysuit for redundent Buoyancy. After moving to Hawaii and making 1 dive on duel steel tanks I sold them and bought twin AL80's. With a SS backplate I wear no weight belt (don't have to) and am perfectly weighted at 10' stop with 250 psi in them; I have next to no air in my wing w/no stage/deco tanks. If you have unbanded wings you can shift the air to the good side to still provide buoyancy. The whole goal is to be balanced, it will put you into a better position for diving, give you more control and make you smile after every dive.

I also have a second LP inflator hoserunning off the redundant post that is straped to the bottom of my tank. This is used for SMB deployment and I can also use it as a second LP hose for my wing if I am forced to shut off my primary post.

Sell the steel tanks and just correcly wieght yourself - you'll also be more comfortable under the water when everything is working correctly. You won't have to make as many adjustments to your buoyancy, be more streamlined and use less air so you won't need super large tanks.

 

[tekdiver170]

Check out the DIR "Fundementals to Better Diving" book. I'm not a DIR "Nazi" but they do have some good ideas with gear and configurations.

BTW Soggy, nice trim.

 

[Tom Winters]

What if your inflator is broken, dual bladder wings have a second inflator thus a completely redundant system.

Absolutely correct. But I'm still waiting to see my first broken inflator after 44 years of diving. Redundant inflators are fine but unnecessarily add another hose and inflator assembly. Uh, what kind of breaking inflators are you using that you need two?

 

[Miami_Diver]

the unbalance rig is a great point thats the only reason that Im still not 100% commited to diving wet with steel doubles.the safety issue I have no problems with a dual bladder. its the unbalance and how much air I would have to play with to keep it balance but then again there are some people in this board and thread here that dive wet with 2 steels . I will try it once though and see if its a real issue with bouyancy controll. I dive with single steel 95 and wet with NO problem and can swim the rig up easy.so I will see when I try it.if its an issue I will try doubles 80 . love the ps E7 100 for doubles with their air capacity and their compact size though.

.

 

[Miami_Diver]

The problem is if you leave both inflators hooked up and one starts leaking gas into the wing (autoinflating), you don't know which one it is (I've had several well maintained inflators autoinflate, so don't try the 'how often does that happen?' route). If you leave the backup inflator unhooked, if you have a buoyancy failure, you have to recognize the failure and attach a LP hose before you fall into the abyss.

Additionally, when you begin ascending, you can't easily tell which bladder to dump gas from.

Basically, a double bladder wing increases your chances of a runaway ascent and is adding gear to solve a problem that shouldn't exist in the first if you dive the right tanks for the job.

There are documented DAN fatalities where a couple of people have had uncontroll accent from problems with the dry suit inflator. I was readin about one on an old issue of Advance Diver Magazine so the dry suit could also cause an uncontroll accent

thanks for your input.

 

[Soggy]

I didn't suggest otherwise, but at least with a drysuit inflation, you *know* where the gas is going and are sure where to at least try to disconnect. Whether or not you are successful is a function of how you train. With a dual bladder wing, you have a 50% chance of getting it right the first time. If you screw it up, you are likely on a rocketship ride to the surface.

Are there documented DAN fatalties from uncontrolled ascents due to problems with wings?

There are documented DAN fatalities where a couple of people have had uncontroll accent from problems with the dry suit inflator. I was readin about one on an old issue of Advance Diver Magazine so the dry suit could also cause an uncontroll accent

thanks for your input.