Do you count weight of regulator?

[DrWilliam]

Quick simple question

VAST majority of my diving has been in warm water and I've usually been good with just a 6 pound steel back plate (but I also carried 2 metal flashlights that maybe weighed 1 lb combined). I'm average build and body fat and basically all diving has been done with Al80. I have about 200 dives total.

So, for the first time I'm going to be diving a 5mm full suit and online calculators say I need 17 - 20 pounds (depending on which online calculator).

So my question is, do you factor in weight of regulator / flashlights etc to these estimations?

I'm diving a Halcion Infinity. My current thought to achieve this is:
Halcyon 6 lb SS backplate and add my weight bar (weighted STA) = 12 lbs on back.
Regulator = 2lbs.
And then add ~3-4 lbs on each hip integrated weight pocket on the belt strap.

Does this make sense? And should it result in safe and trimmed equal weighting? (I have a 20lb lift wing). SITF scenario is 12 pounds integrated weights plus regulator = 14 pounds to kick against if BC failure...

Thanks!!!!

 

[Marie13]

Never occurred to me to include reg weight.

 

[johndiver999]

I think your problem is simpler than you might realize. If the only change you are making is from your current exposure suit to a 5 mm suit, then you need to add lead for that difference. It sounds like you may not have been wearing a suit before? You can probably start the "experiment" by adding about 8 lbs to offset the 5 mm suit - if you wore none before.

 

[Blackcrusader]

If you are doing a pre dive buoyancy test with a near empty tank of say 30 bar then your regulator is already part of that. So you can get weighted that way then don't count the camera and flashlight as a little extra weight is better than being underweighted.

Let's say you had a bladder failure your backup is your DSMB which you can use as a buoyancy device to do a slow ascent to end the dive.

 

[inquis]

Yes, ballast is ballast. That said, 17 lb sounds like too much. The online calculators are notoriously high (from personal experience and past threads).

You sound way overweighted normally at 12 lbs ballast IF that's without a wetsuit. If that's the case, then I suspect you can use the 5mm with your plate and STA alone (12 lbs).

 

[loosenit2]

calculators are going to overestimate your weight requirements. I am 6 ft 185 lbs. In warm salt water skin diving I need about 7-8 lbs, 5-6 in fresh water. If I take the same setup but add a 5mm wetsuit I need 10-12 lbs in salt water and 8-10 lbs in fresh water; in a 7mm wetsuit, 3mm hood, 5mm boots, I need 17-18 lbs in fresh water and 20-22 in salt water.

I would say the calculator estimate of 17-18 lbs is likely high. Only way to know for sure is dive it and keep removing weight. With the 6 lb backplate I would start with an additional 6 lbs (12 total) with the 6 being in 1 lb weights you can take out and throw back on boat/shore until you get dialed in and then check weight at end of dive with nearly empty tank to ensure you can hold the 15 ft safety stop.

 

[Damselfish]

I’ve never heard of anyone counting reg or light weight when doing this, and who knows what the calculators are doing. (My husband pays attention to his camera as he needs a few more pounds if he doesn’t take it on a dive, but its a DSLR in a big metal housing with the works.) Calculators really just provide a starting point, doing a weight check will provide your real answer.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

You’ll probably need 6-8 more lbs on top of your 6lb backplate. No I don’t count lights or regs or anything as “weight.”

 

[Shabaday]

I went diving in West Palm recently with an xDeep Ghost and a new 5 mil wetsuit. I needed 16 pounds to descend. I was at 90 feet and of course overweighted as the suit compressed. During the safety stop I had very little air in my BC. I am 5'9" 188 pounds average old man (60) build

 

[Scared Silly]

It depends on the calculator. There is one that is a sticky in the BCD forum that includes the reg weight, light, etc. Also in includes the tank, valve, and bands.