help with a balanced rig ...

[Andy692]

Hi all ..

Looking for a little advice and a point in the right direction ...

I am recently certified , but prior to that my diving really only involved yacht maintenance / scrubs cleaning etc .. On my courses in the pool and open water, I seemed to be well weighted for all my dives ..

since then I have been using my own kit , neoprene drysuit, wing backplate SS 2.5kg , 5mm gloves, 5mm hood, rock boots , 12ltr / 100Cf Steel tank empty -0.75 full -4.25 , all normal kit knife , reel , dsmb .. fresh water ...

I have been testing out different weighting, I started with what I used on my course 9.5 kg , I have dived 10.5 kg , and reduced to 8.5kg .. what I have found is this , the first 2 meters I feel buoyant after which going down is ok , at a depth of 5-6m I'm needing air in my bcd to get natural on all occasions even with empty tank (50 bar) , obviously further down I go 10m I need a little more air ...

with a empty tank 60-50 bar , with my weighting at 8.5kg I can hold a stop at around 3 meters , but when I try to come up slowly I find it difficult to hold the same stop at 2 metres and inevitably end up surfacing ...

I feel that at depth I could reduce a little more weight Im carrying, but at a cost of being more buoyant close to the surface .. ??

On my last dive , there was a guy, in the same suit , and very similar setup to me , and wasn't that different in size and weight , he was diving with only 6.5 kg , which made me think if Im actually over weighted or not ..

Ideally I would like to be balanced as this seems to be the most efficient way to dive any advice would be really appreciated .... Thanks ...

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I dive a neo drysuit. If I'm diving cold (usually) it can sometimes be hard to vent all the air out on ascent because of the heavy undergarments. It just takes a while to work its way to the exhaust. As long as I remember this on the way up it's not an issue.

I guess it also depends on how bouyant your suit is. I know there's compressed and regular neoprene drysuits. Mine is compressed so the buoyancy doesn't change as much as regular neoprene does.

Comparing your weight needs to someone else's is probably never a great idea... you're just chasing your tail. You need what you need. I need about 10lbs more than my buddies, but they all dive trilam.

 

[inquis]

Are you shifting your breathing range? The difference between the end of a normal exhalation and fully exhaled is equivalent to about a kilo of weight.

 

[kmarks]

If you are holding your safety stop and able to then come to the surface with an empty/near empty BC fully under control, then I'd say you are properly weighted. The purpose of your buoyancy compensater is to compensate for the loss of buoyancy (even with a dry suit there will be a little change - wet hood an gloves could be worth up to half a kilo) at depth to make up for the added weight you need to get you under water.

Is your buddy who was diving with a few kilos less much more experienced than you? New divers tend to be nervous divers, even if you don't realize it, and you may find with more experience that you need less weight because you have better breathing control - you may think you are getting all your air out of your lungs, but you might not be. He could also just be more dense than you, even if you think you are pretty similarly sized.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

I feel that at depth I could reduce a little more weight Im carrying, but at a cost of being more buoyant close to the surface .. ??

Carry more weight until you get it sorted out

 

[rick00001967]

it is very important that you can ascend under full control at all times. that is the first priority. so if you feel "slightly over weighted" while at depth that is fine. better than loosing control on an ascent. remember that as you descend, all your equip with be compressed and you will effectively be "heavier" as you get deeper. if you have a 7mm neoprene suit for example, you will loose a significant amount of buoyancy. so adding air to the suit and to the bc is inevitable.

that said.....with a drysuit, i personally think it is very important to vent any excess gas in the suit prior to getting shallow. i try to make sure i get all the gas out that i can and then add extra gas to the bc if needed to remain neutral. i say this because it is much easier / quicker to let gas out of the bc than the suit. so when you get above 30 feet, and the gas starts to expand, it can be tough to exhaust the suit gas fast enough.

are you sure your suit is empty on your stop ? are you sure you are exhausting gas as you ascend from your stop ? if the answers are yes, and you cannot control your ascent, then you are too light.

 

[VikingDives]

Hi all ..

Looking for a little advice and a point in the right direction ...

I am recently certified , but prior to that my diving really only involved yacht maintenance / scrubs cleaning etc .. On my courses in the pool and open water, I seemed to be well weighted for all my dives ..

since then I have been using my own kit , neoprene drysuit, wing backplate SS 2.5kg , 5mm gloves, 5mm hood, rock boots , 12ltr / 100Cf Steel tank empty -0.75 full -4.25 , all normal kit knife , reel , dsmb .. fresh water ...

I have been testing out different weighting, I started with what I used on my course 9.5 kg , I have dived 10.5 kg , and reduced to 8.5kg .. what I have found is this , the first 2 meters I feel buoyant after which going down is ok , at a depth of 5-6m I'm needing air in my bcd to get natural on all occasions even with empty tank (50 bar) , obviously further down I go 10m I need a little more air ...

with a empty tank 60-50 bar , with my weighting at 8.5kg I can hold a stop at around 3 meters , but when I try to come up slowly I find it difficult to hold the same stop at 2 metres and inevitably end up surfacing ...

I feel that at depth I could reduce a little more weight Im carrying, but at a cost of being more buoyant close to the surface .. ??

On my last dive , there was a guy, in the same suit , and very similar setup to me , and wasn't that different in size and weight , he was diving with only 6.5 kg , which made me think if Im actually over weighted or not ..

Ideally I would like to be balanced as this seems to be the most efficient way to dive any advice would be really appreciated .... Thanks ...

There are many factors that contribute to proper weighting. I recommend you do weight checks as often as possible as a new diver. Because what was proper weight for you when you were certified will likely be much too much by dive 25.

Here's a couple of reasons, right off the top of my head. In open water training, you're being evaluated and watched by people you don't know. Even if you don't feel it, that causes stress. Top that off with a little bit of biology that has kept humans from trying to inhale water for thousand of years and regardless of how comfortable you felt, there was some stress. Any instructor will tell you that stress floats. As you gain experience, you comfort level in the water equals less stress, and you'll need less weight.

Other things that contribute to needing now weight include new wetsuits being more buoyant than older wetsuits, body composition (fat floats) and muscle tension.