Dumping weights......

[DiverBraz]

In an Emergency, Have you ever had to?

Braz.

 

[boulderjohn]

Did you consider making this a survey?

The times when dropping weights is a good choice are so few that I doubt you would get many positive responses.

 

[captndale]

In 30+ years of diving I have never seen anyone voluntarily drop their weights. I have seen a few instances of rescuers or "assisting divers" ditch the weights weights of someone in trouble. I have seen literally hundreds of instances in which divers accidentally dropped their weights. Accidentally dropping weights can and does precipitate accidents because it can lead to rapid ascents. It is my personal opinion that weights should not be easily ditchable underwater.

 

[Wildcard]

I agree. I live in constant fear that my ditchables will do just that, on there own. Unless your BCD gets destroyed, there would be little reason to ever dump them. In fact Im thinking of going back to a good old fashoned weight belt.

 

[ChrisA]

In an Emergency, Have you ever had to?

Yes, sort of. My Son's BC decided it was not going to hold air while we were at the surface. I took his weights from him and we both went in to shore.

The clasic case is when you have a paniced diver at the surface. Typically they are paniced because they think they are going to sink (yes I know why else would they be wearing scuba gear if not to sink?) but if ditching the weight cures the panic then ditch them even if there is no technical reason.

In my Son's case it was not panic. He just told me he had to fin to stay up and the BC leaked. I tried to fix it then decided I couldn't fix it in the water with gloves on and he was not going to be able to stay on the surface with his weights.

Turns out to be a stuck-open dump valve. fixed in in two minutes once on dry land and without gloves.

 

[Scottri]

I have never had to drop my own weights but I have had to drop the weights of 2 divers on the surface during rescues.

 

[ChrisA]

I agree. I live in constant fear that my ditchables will do just that, on there own. Unless your BCD gets destroyed, there would be little reason to ever dump them. In fact Im thinking of going back to a good old fashoned weight belt.

More people lose weight belts due to problems with the buckle. The best solution is to split the weights. Some in each pocket in the BC and some on a smaller belt. Then if you loose either one of them you are not a rocket/

Yes, I've seen someone loose a weight pocket off an integrated BC. It's not so bad as typically there is some non-ditchable weight i the BC back and there are two pockets, so only roughtly 1/3rd of the total was lost. This diver swam head down and picked up some rocks and put them in his BC pocket. and continued the dive. and ound the lost weight later.

 

[AlexMDiver]

I have seen a guy think it would be a bright idea to remove wb under water. He took it off, held it in one hand, then lost balance and dropped the weight belt. He went off like a rocket, I just managed to hold on and keep him down while the DM replaced the weight. It was relatively deep and so he would have just kept going.
After the dive he said he wanted to adjust his weight belt since it was not trimmed properly. I think he also was not trained properly either, never mind trimmed.

 

[boulderjohn]

More people lose weight belts due to problems with the buckle.

I agree. I had a weight belt come off while I was swimming (caught it in time). I use a weight belt working with students in a pool, and I find myself adjusting a loosening belt on more than a few occasions.

The velcro weight pockets did have a tendency to come loose, and if that's what you have, I suggest you get a newer style with a clip. (There are other styles, too.)

 

[DiverBraz]

I had mine autoditch, I have a Zeagle Ranger - The system is a single pull cord.
The cable had realeased the fisrt loop and my soft Bags Slipped through. I was going crazy trying to think what was throwing off my balance, I had a severe tilt to the left. At the time I thought my tank was askew or that maybe I had forgotten to adjust something - Here is the link to the post
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=139505&page=5.

I'm a novice.
I like the feature but am afraid it might happen again. The solution for now is going to be a pair of 5lb rubber coated curling weights in each one, (Please no Flaming) they fit perfect and would require a full deployment to drop out, and then a soft 5 lb on top. They won't be able to slip out if the same thing happens. I've tried it in my pool, 10ft deep, and it seems to work perfect. If you guys see something wrong with this picture let me know.

I'm 205lbs. Any trim weight can be added to the additional pockets. I've also been informed of additional weight pockets that can be added to the tank straps I think.


Braz