Dry suit squeeze

[dirtydon]

new with dry suit asking alot of users about exast valve where do you keep your valves??? all open part closed ???? trying alot of options dif depth.squeeze??? 5 dives on it,asked many people said it is up to user asking for help from more people. thank you.dirty don

 

[lavachickie]

I dive a White's Fusion and I crank the valve closed, then back a turn. That, I found out by trial/error, gives me a good balance when I have to manually dump (raising the left arm) and exhausts air during ascent at about the right rate, too.

All open didn't work for me... it seriously would just dump air, so I had to keep pumping up. Waste of gas!

 

[devilkitty]

It's going to be different for every suit and (almost) every diver. I find undergarments will make a small difference as well.

Spend an easy dive or two getting it roughed in: start with the valve closed, raise your arm to the vent position, and press the valve; this will show you your maximum exhaust rate. Add air to the suit again to balance the squeeze, then it's arm up once more. This time, twist the valve open just enough that the air starts coming out at about half the rate of the full dump you just did. If it looks like a regulator free-flow, you opened it too far. Start over.

Swim around for a while, change depths; you know, do the kind of things you normally do on a dive -- and tweak the exhaust valve one click at a time if you need to. Pay particularly close attention during your ascent.

When you have it where you want it, count the clicks to the fully closed position during your surface interval and commit that to memory. You now have your starting point for each dive: x clicks from closed.

(The valve on my Viking suit can be a little fussy -- it's farther down the arm than a lot of suits -- so I tend to have it screwed down a bit farther and manually vent during the dive as needed. YMMV.)

 

[gcbryan]

I'm not exactly sure as to what your question is. Personally, I keep the valve all the way open. It doesn't vent unless I want it to...I have to raise my shoulder higher than the rest of my body.

On ascent, I'm still usually horizontal so no problem. I think you are also asking something about squeeze and that's the part I'm unclear as to exactly what you are asking?

I'll guess that you are just wondering how much squeeze is normal? It's more about the undergarments actually. If you are in a T-shirt and shorts you need to put more air in or you will have welts when you get out.

If the water is cold enough for a drysuit you will usually have on thick undergarments so a little squeeze is fine. You're not going to be crushed even if you put in no air. Too much air means you have a large air bubble to manage. Too little may mean that you don't have enough to loft the material in your undergarments.

It's a balance and I usually err on the side of more squeeze.

 

[FireInMyBones]

Almost all open, just a half turn closed if that. I like the control less air gives me, but if it is cold I close it more.
If I feel squeeze, I believe that it is an issue and address it promptly.

 

[FireInMyBones]

.....

 

[knowone]

Go diving. Listen to lavachickie. Experiment. Sometimes I wear no undergarments only to extend the dive. The only squeeze you should have is if your significant other is in the suit with you.

 

[fire_diver]

If you are asking about squeeze, start at the surface by venting all the air from the suit. Then drop down a few feet. This is how you should feel during the dive. Add air or vent as needed to maintain that level during the dive.

 

[TSandM]

I think a lot of people dive with the valve open, or clicked one or two clicks shut to avoid leaks (some valves, when fully open, will admit water).

On dives when I get really cold, I'll dump all the air from my wing and add gas to my suit, and to do that, I have to click the valve somewhat shut. Then I have to remember to open it on ascent!

 

[Doc Harry]

My dry suit valve is on my left shoulder and is always wide open