double tank weighting issue?

[nereas]

This is very individual. For me, using double LP85s and the undergarments required to keep me warm in 42 degree water, I'm carrying 26 pounds of lead to be neutral at 5' with 300 psi, which is where I weight myself. And this has been checked, so I'm not overweighted.

TSM is exactly right (as well as very smart and beautiful).

Weighting is strictly individual. The best part about instructing is that you get to see all sorts of extremes, and everything in between.

 

[Rainer]

How would you disentangle?

I may have some pictures of our Farber experiment. I'd been out to Hawaii to work with Rich Pyle. That was some time ago, prior to the availibility of the Cis-Lunar equipment he now uses. I was looking into the use of his open circuit rig by some of our geologists who needed to do some very deep diving in the South Pacific. We had a couple of donated Farber 100s kicking around the dive locker. Nobody had any real use for them and we were using them as part of our fly-away surface supplied system. We decided to experiment with some concepts and used the 100s for that. If memory serves, they whole thing weighed in at about 100 lbs. (giving new meaning to the moniker "100"). In the water, with the foam, they were fine, with the usual inertia effects of that sort of load, but out of the water they were a complete pain.

Having talked to (three) buddies who've been tangled in gill nets (this is the NE after all), they've all said the last thing they would have ever wanted to do was ditch gear. All thought that would have made it worse. In two cases they called in a buddy, the other took time to cut himself out. He said it was dicey. He was sure he would have died had he removed his gear. Different views I guess. Gill nets scare the crap out of me (especially the chance of coming across one mid-water; just another reason to avoid drifting deco in the NE).

 

[nereas]

For most in this conversation the difference is between a balanced rig (DIR) or balanced rig+balanced diver (Thal). Not sure why you think ditchable weight is crucial. I know I'm much more worried about my belt detaching (which I had happen at 90' on the Yukon, and yes, I run it under my crotch strap) than about the need to ditch weight. I can stay at the surface with an empty wing and little gas in my suit just fine for short stays (I know, it's how I jump into the water), and can always ditch gear if needed.

Go back and re-read my posts on ditchable weight, if you are not sure.

If you are DIR-dependent, then someone has simply persuaded you with peer pressure to do something that is unsound. So forget all that, and try to think on your own.

 

[Rainer]

For single tank diving, my belt is normally around 6 lbs. This roughly approximates the weight of the gas in the tank, and therefore it is the perfect amount of ditchable weight for either a drysuit or for a thin wetsuit.

For twin tank diving, my belt is normally around 14 lbs, for the same reasons.

This is what I would also recommend for others, since that is what I am doing as well.

Weighting is strictly individual. The best part about instructing is that you get to see all sorts of extremes, and everything in between.

Wait, is it strictly personal or should we do what you recommend, since it's what you do?

 

[Rainer]

Go back and re-read my posts on ditchable weight, if you are not sure.

If you are DIR-dependent, then someone has simply persuaded you with peer pressure to do something that is unsound. So forget all that, and try to think on your own.

Wow. Welcome to "Ignore". [A decision made with no peer pressure needed.]

 

[JeffG]

Wait, is it strictly personal or should we do what you recommend, since it's what you do?

Give him time to google for the answer.

 

[nereas]

Wow. Welcome to "Ignore". [A decision made with no peer pressure needed.]

The feeling is mutual, Rainer. If you are afflicted with DIR-syndrome, then it is unlikely anything new will come from your posts, which has not already been read over and over again already, since the absence of thinking factor will weigh heavily on all your replies, since you have already been pre-programmed.

Ditchable weight is very appropriate, even critical, to at least equal your gas weight, no matter what you have been pre-programmed to believe.

 

[JeffG]

Ditchable weight is very appropriate, even critical, to at least equal your gas weight, no matter what you have been pre-programmed to believe.

Only in specific configurations is that correct.

You need to fine tune your googling skills.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Jeff you owe me a keyboard......... mine is full of coffee

 

[24940]

You need to browse with a ditchable keyboard.