Drysuit Bouyancy Issues

[davehicks]

A couple of observations, some echo of other comments:

1) Leave your dry suit valve fully open - There is almost no situation where you benefit from closing this, especially as a beginner. Leave it fully open and you dump air by rolling that shoulder up. If you vent and need to refill then do that. You'll get better at controlling this with experience. The valve WON'T leak if fully open, and if you instructor is giving you that impression then have a conversation about it. About the only time I close mine is on the surface at the end of a dive to inflate and warm up.

2) From your story it is likely you are significantly over weighted. If you had to dump that much air from both your BC and Drysuit at 60 feet it's likely you are carrying too much lead. Make sure to weight check again. You should expect to SLOWLY sink in a head's up position when you dump your BC's air on the surface. Dry suit valve fully open so it can vent. If you sink more than about 1 foot per second from the surface you have too much lead.

3) You will not often need to use your BC for buoyancy if you are not over weighted. Inflate the dry suit to eliminate squeeze only. If you find you need the BC for more buoyancy at depth, that's fine. Make a note of it and consider removing another 1 pound for the next dive.

4) You seem focused on technical diving. That's a good goal but remember you are still a beginner. Once you have mastered Basics like dry suit and buoyancy control you will be closer to that goal. There is a reason you don't give a new automobile driver a Porsche 911 Turbo, they would get hurt. It's too much to control too soon. Get comfortable with the fundamentals first and your progression to Tech will go better. If you get hurt or discouraged by pushing too fast you may not achieve your goal.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

My divemaster doesn't let me dive in the ocean with a drysuit, at least not yet, but over there it will be warmer.

Why not? An open water diver with dry suit certification should have the confidence and skills to dive in the open ocean. If you will face significant currents that you are not used to, then I can understand.

 

[formernuke]

I'm having the same issue. I think i might be tightening my waist strap to tight because the air is trapped in my legs and feet. I brought myself vertical. Arms and chest are fine but feet are like the stay puff marshmallow man once I go up 1 atm. I'll play around later this week if the rain clears.

 

[SpeedyBob27]

A couple of observations, some echo of other comments:

1) Leave your dry suit valve fully open - There is almost no situation where you benefit from closing this, especially as a beginner. Leave it fully open and you dump air by rolling that shoulder up. If you vent and need to refill then do that. You'll get better at controlling this with experience. The valve WON'T leak if fully open, and if you instructor is giving you that impression then have a conversation about it. About the only time I close mine is on the surface at the end of a dive to inflate and warm up.

2) From your story it is likely you are significantly over weighted. If you had to dump that much air from both your BC and Drysuit at 60 feet it's likely you are carrying too much lead. Make sure to weight check again. You should expect to SLOWLY sink in a head's up position when you dump your BC's air on the surface. Dry suit valve fully open so it can vent. If you sink more than about 1 foot per second from the surface you have too much lead.

3) You will not often need to use your BC for buoyancy if you are not over weighted. Inflate the dry suit to eliminate squeeze only. If you find you need the BC for more buoyancy at depth, that's fine. Make a note of it and consider removing another 1 pound for the next dive.

Now that you mention it I most likely am over weighted. I weigh about 170Ibs and I am 5'11. I am not obese, I focus on strength training and lean bulking, so it is mostly all muscle and bones. I use a plated BCD, aluminum tank, the big one, and I usually dive drysuit. The amount of weight I use for freshwater is around 22Ibs. Which is exactly10kg.

 

[formernuke]

Suggest you try diving with the dump valve fully open. I set it and then don’t think about it. I don’t use my suit for buoyancy. That’s what my wing is for. Only enough air in the suit to combat squeeze.

For me so far its the same. The amount of air for comfort also makes me neutral. I'll see if it stays that way with summer undergarmets.

 

[SpeedyBob27]

Why not? An open water diver with dry suit certification should have the confidence and skills to dive in the open ocean. If you will face significant currents that you are not used to, then I can understand.

Well, by ocean we are talking about going 30 miles offshore near oil rigs, where the water is a lot deeper than my certification limit, so I need to be counted on as having good buoyancy in a dry suit, otherwise I could sink way too deep or go up too fast.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Another point to remember is that the dump valves on drysuit are nowhere near as fast as a BC inflator. If you have an out of control ascent it will be harder to get under control if you use the drysuit for buoyancy.

 

[Celt]

When we dived heavy neoprene drysuits and used them for buoyancy a feet up runaway assent from depth had to be avoided at all costs. A forced leg tuck and roll brought you head up and the air could be dumped out the neck seal.

 

[KenGordon]

I do not understand why there is a debate on using the drysuit for buoyancy. From what my instructor has told me, I need to use a BCD as a drysuit won't be enough for technical diving, and I need to get as much experience as possible with technical grade equipment and use a gear setup as close as possible to technical diving. As far as diving with a drysuit goes, I have been doing a lot better, although my instructor still doesn't let me use it for deeper dives.

There is a debate because people vary in skill, there are different applications and different priorities. What you are being told is purist at a certain level, but really you always have to adjust with the suit a little bit at least. If you are doing that it may be easier for some to use just the suit. At the other end of the spectrum, on CCR you have comparatively little in the wing and the suit is more important than it would be on a twinset.

Sometimes people take stuff too far, ignore the suit entirely and dive shrink wrapped for fear of a fast ascent. That is no use.

When teaching I try to point people at using the bcd but let them choose. Whatever works, works.

 

[Dominik_E]

"Shrink wrapped" is also cold. Although I have to say personally I prefer a bit of tactile feedback by the suit.