How much and where to put weight?

[britishtq]

Is 13 lbs of non-ditchable weight on my bp&w too much for me to swim to the surface in the event of wing failure? Right now my weighting is as follows:

5 lb back plate
2 lb single tank adapter
2x 3 lb weights

all together this is 13 lbs non-ditchable weight.

Also, what is the best way to add about 6 lbs more of ditchable weight?

I dive a aluminum cylinder and cant afford switching to a HP steel at the moment, unfortunately, not an option. I do however have a steel 72 but dont know if its enough air for me.

 

[scubamickey]

That's the setup that I have. The best way to know if you can swim it to the surface is to-well-swim it to the surface

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Is 13 lbs of non-ditchable weight on my bp&w too much for me to swim to the surface in the event of wing failure? Right now my weighting is as follows:

5 lb back plate
2 lb single tank adapter
2x 3 lb weights

all together this is 13 lbs non-ditchable weight.

Also, what is the best way to add about 6 lbs more of ditchable weight?

I dive a aluminum cylinder and cant afford switching to a HP steel at the moment, unfortunately, not an option. I do however have a steel 72 but dont know if its enough air for me.

Is 13 lbs your total ballast, or is this just the portion that is non-ditchable?
What is the buoyancy of your exposure suit?

There are two things to consider with non-ditchable weight in the event of a wing failure:

1.) Can you swim yourself up from depth with an empty wing?
2.) Can you keep your head above water at the surface, with a full tank and empty wing?

Both situations can be tested.

I do recommend keeping 6-8 lbs of your total ballast on a belt as ditchable weight if possible; but you can probably swim your rig up from depth without a problem with the setup you describe....

But would you need to ditch your entire rig at the surface to stay afloat in the event of a wing failure?

Something to test/consider.

Best wishes

EDIT: My total ballst requirement is 18 lbs. I dive with an Al80, 5 lb BP, 5 lb STA, and 8 lbs on a weightbelt. I have no problem swimming it up from depth, but it would take some work to keep my head above water for very long with an empty wing without dropping my weight belt, since I'm about 4-5 lbs negative with a full tank at the start of the dive.

 

[dkktsunami]

Is 13 lbs of non-ditchable weight on my bp&w too much for me to swim to the surface in the event of wing failure? Right now my weighting is as follows:

5 lb back plate
2 lb single tank adapter
2x 3 lb weights

all together this is 13 lbs non-ditchable weight.

Also, what is the best way to add about 6 lbs more of ditchable weight?

I dive a aluminum cylinder and cant afford switching to a HP steel at the moment, unfortunately, not an option. I do however have a steel 72 but dont know if its enough air for me.

Depends on what you are wearing for exposure protection and whether you are in salt or fresh water, in other words your total buoyancy. I carry as much as 19 lbs. total weight in a 7 mil. in salt water: 5 in s.s. plate, 2 4's and 2 3's in XS Scuba pockets on cam bands. All of this weight is non-ditchable. I can swim the rig to the surface and could take it off then remove weights from pockets to float the rig. To get in trouble I would have to have a double failure, the wing and my gas supply. In my case if I kept ditchable weight on a waist belt, or any place lower than it is, my trim would suffer badly.

 

[rstofer]

Other considerations: could the passer-by rescuer figure out how to a) get you off the bottom and b) get you positive at the surface?

In other words, depending on dry suit inflation precludes rescue by most wetsuit divers. For a fact, I know absolutely nothing about drysuits. Filling or venting...

If the rescuer has to ditch your rig to get you positive, what are you going to breathe from? The best case scenario has you breathing from your own regulator and the rescuer towing you by the tank valve. An air sharing do-ci-do is not one of my favorite techniques.

In my case, I have a very old back. I don't want any more weight on the rig than necessary. There is absolutely no way I want to add my weights to the rig. It is far easier on my back to wear them in a harness. That way I only have to lift about 50# at one time.

I think the thing to do is take a step back and look at the big picture:

1) If the wing is functional, can your rig float without the buoyancy added by your wetsuit?
2) Without your BP/W, can you float wearing your weights?

With this arrangement, you can get suited up in the water should you happen to dive off an overcrowded inflatable. I am assuming a weight harness that is donned before the BP/W.

3) If your wing is broken, can you get positive at the surface without ditching your rig?
4) Considering loss of wetsuit buoyancy at depth, can you get off the bottom should your wing happen to fail?
5) How fast will you be going when you breach the surface?

One idea that will work for heavy wetsuit divers is to modify your initial weighting. Tobin recommends (I hope I get this right!) that you set your weight so that you float eyeball level with an empty wing and a FULL tank. For the HP100 this means you can eliminate about 8# of ballast (the weight of the air in the tank). Sure, you have to swim down (or bounce up and then sink) but your wetsuit will lose several pounds of buoyancy at 15' and you should be neutral for your safety stop with a nearly empty tank. The neat thing about this arrangement is that you are slightly posittive at the surface with a blown wing and full tank. If you then drop the rest of the weight, you are VERY positive.

Just some things to think about. It turns out that meeting these criteria is much easier for a cold water wetsuit diver than a warm water T shirt diver.

Richard

 

[britishtq]

That is my portion of non-ditchable weight. I dive a 7mm suit, and al80. I dive 18 altogether on personal dives but i need to be able to add weight for students on training dives.