Hey drysuit divers: Do you use your exhaust valves?

[jiveturkey]

I'm in the process of learning to use my new drysuit. After a second pool session I'm much more comfortable with it and ready to head to an easy open water dive. I'm really excited. It's something new and exciting for me after my 4th year of diving.

So far, I haven't actually touched my valves. I use my BC for bouyancy and have the exhaust opened a quarter turn shy of all the way. Is that what most people do? It was recommended to me and seems to be working fine. However, the manual talks about opening and closing the valve. Do you ever close yours? Or do you usually have it opened all the way? Why would I even want to close it?

 

[jepuskar]

For me, its like learning to dive all over again...

I'm too new also to even give advice, although I do have some to give, but I'll let the veterans answer.

 

[dilligaf368]

When first using the drysuit, I think You should handle the suit the way You are now. Later, when You get used to the suit You can close the valve more to help carry things like goody bags.
I rarely use the BCD to control the bouyancy but instead use my suit. I am used to using the suit because I was trained in the old MK5 and later dove the hat for a job. I have used the dry suit the same way ever since.
Over inflating the suit will give You a great ride to the surface so, in the beginning use the suit as You are trained. A slight squeeze on the suit with no over inflating is good. With more experince You will learn to control Your suit better. Bill

 

[lamont]

i dive with the valve all the way open. it holds enough gas in to keep me warm, that's all i really need it for...

 

[steve2281]

All the way open, all the time.

 

[japan-diver]

All the way open all the time. Use the BC for buoyancy and you should not have to touch the valve.

 

[JeffG]

So far, I haven't actually touched my valves. I use my BC for bouyancy and have the exhaust opened a quarter turn shy of all the way. Is that what most people do? It was recommended to me and seems to be working fine.

I don't have a choice...I have a cuff dump that will always dump when pressure > ambient.

But when I dove a suit that had a valve that turned...it was always wide open.

However, the manual talks about opening and closing the valve. Do you ever close yours? Or do you usually have it opened all the way? Why would I even want to close it?

Close it when you want to find a leak

 

[kazinvan]

wide open all the time. I never use the BCD for buoyancy, empty it at the surface and just use the suit for the whole dive. Way more comfortable and only have one thing to empty/worry about on the way up. I don't see how you can overfill the suit, as you go down you need more air to prevent squeeze and keep a neutral trim. As you go up, you dump air. It all works out. If you start adding air into your BCD, then you have to dump from both as you ascend. Some people prefer that, but it never made sense to me. Everyone I know uses drysuit only, up here (in Canada), most dive dry.

 

[jiveturkey]

Looks like I'm on the right track for the time being. Thanks for the responses. I have another question.

I shouldl be heading to the ocean for my next dive. The water will be much colder (around 8 degrees C) so I'll have my thick Bare CT-200 undies on rather than the t-shirt and shorts that I wore in the pool. Any idea on how much extra weight I'll have to add considering I have the heavy underwear and it'll be salt water?

 

[SDAnderson]

I close the valve at the surface as soon as I have purged all the excess gas from the suit and don't reopen it until I have reached depth. This helps avoid any little infiltrations that can result in a chilly shoulder. At the bottom, I open it and it stays open until I reach the surface again. Once at the surface, I sometimes overinflate for warmth and will close the valve to keep the gas from escaping. It's a little fiddling but not bad and it keeps my shoulder dry and lets me know that the valve is fully functional.

I dive with very little gas in the suit (I reduced my ballast when switching from a 7mm wet suit to a dry suit) and use it only for insulation.