How much water in wing?

[Chavodel8en]

New divers (myself included) quite often are not sure that their BCD is totally empty (as it ideally should be) at safety stop. Hence they give it few tries to make sure any leftover air is gone. While doing so, water inevitably enters the wing.

I consider myself fairly experienced, but I still have a tendency to dump my wing even though its empty. Bad habit I need to break, although as you point out, NBD. Just means that I need to thoroughly flush out the seawater after every morning of diving.

Unless the wing is damaged, too much water in it is the result of improper weighting. People go overboard trying to use as little lead as possible. As a result, they just allow water in when they keep trying to dump air that doesn't exist. I used to do that on occasion and then realized it was nonsense. Add an extra 2 lbs, be stable, and have a dry wing.

And I think this was my problem too. When you're right at the precise point of "proper weighting," you really need to get every last burp of air out of your BC. I agree, an extra 2 lbs makes things alot easier.

 

[Lorenzoid]

And I think this was my problem too. When you're right at the precise point of "proper weighting," you really need to get every last burp of air out of your BC. I agree, an extra 2 lbs makes things alot easier.

Drysuit divers have a saying along the lines of "lead = warmth." Now I might add "lead = less water to dump out of your wing at the end of the day."

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I only use the rear dump when descending and need to let out more air. Once at depth, I use the inflator.

I prefer the inflator because it’s works better for small adjustments, and I can see how much air I’m letting out, instead of letting out some unspecified burp of air with the rear dump. I find that the rear dump sometimes lets out too much air, then I have to add back. It’s just not as consistent, depends on the size and position of the air bubble in the wing how much is vented with each pull.

I have a trick where I just roll slightly to the right to vent air with the inflator while staying horizontal, no need to go vertical.

 

[dmaziuk]

I use the rear dump also nearly exclusively. And I get water in my wing as a result. I weight myself light enough that at the end of the dive I am constantly trying to dump a little more air from my now flat as Kansas empty wing. That lets in more water. I do not care.

That's one of the reasons I prefer to be a couple of pounds "too" heavy.

 

[Altamira]

I have no idea what is a normal amount of water to have in the wing after diving, but I did a 75 minute dive last week and had less than 2 oz of water in my wing after the dive. There is a lot of good advice in previous posts as to ways to reduce the water intake into your wing.

 

[Kimela]

How much is a normal amount of water in a wing after a dive? I was testing out a new harness/wing set up in the pool for about 20 minutes. When I came to clean everything there was about 20 to 30 ounces of water in the wing. Is this normal? It’s a dive rite voyager xt

My husband and I have an ongoing contest to see who can have a bone dry bladder after a dive. We just did 6 dives and nothing came out of my BC when I tried to empty it. I was so proud!!! (Still have to rinse it because I'm sure there's so saltwater in there anyway).

Other than the ongoing competition, I like to allow as little into my bladder as possible so there's no extra weight as I'm coming up the ladder. We both try to get all the air out at the surface. If I'm overweighted and have to add air at depth I might have to purge with my rear dump valves - and that's when I end up getting water in my BC. Grrr. It's surprising how much that extra water weighs when you're climbing out of the water!

 

[Kimela]

Another thought - my Zena is sort of a wing style (definitely not a jacket style BC) and I can 'feel' each side to see if there's air in it still. There have been times that if I'm not sinking at the rate I think I should be, based on how much lead I'm carrying, I'll just check to see if they feel inflated.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Water in the wing is normal. Make sure you rinse the bladder with fresh water after use.

 

[BoltSnap]

Water in the wing is normal. Make sure you rinse the bladder with fresh water after use.

[mod redaction] why does water get into the bladder, how much should there be and how do you rinse the bladder? What type of BC do you use and how do you prevent water from entering?

 

[The Chairman]

I set my wing at the beginning of the dive on my initial descent. With a normal breath, I hold my BC hose over my head and let out the air continuously until the water just washes over my head. I immediately let go of the goesoutta button and drop the hose, exhale, and I will start to descend easily, albeit gently. If I need to descend faster, I go nose down and kick. If I have to breathe, I do, which stops my downward progress. I start my descent again when I exhale. I continue till I reach the bottom, inhale, and depending on how much thermal protection I am wearing, I might need to add a bit more air with the goesinta button, but it's never much. That's the last I'll probably touch my BCD until I ascend. Between ascent and descent, I only use my breathing to adjust my depth. A bigger breath will get me over a coral head, and a subsequent bigger exhale will get me back down again. A super inhale will start me toward the surface, and of course, exhaling will slow me down or stop my ascent altogether! At my safety stop, I'll usually breathe from the bottom of my lungs,

A few caveats:

TIming is crucial on the initial descent.​

You'll figure out when to let go of that goesoutta button after a few times.​

Never hold your breath!​

KYGO!!! (Keep Your Glottis Open)​

Use your chest muscles to pause your breathing cycle instead.​

Relax and have fun!​

Don't skip breathe!​

Don't push it as it will come easily enough with continued practice.​

Stay mostly flat​

Except when descending and ascending.​

Or to see a critter!!!​

I can't tell you how many times I have laughed at people trying to get that last bubble out. 2 phreakin phunni! Learning how to breathe from the bottom of your lungs will help you avoid the Shake it Loose dance. There's also another, you're gonna slap your forehead when you figure this out, method to keeping the water out of your BC. Hold your BC valve upside down, but above the air in your BC. It'll act as a reverse p-trap for the air in your BC. Yeah, it's a bit slower, but if you need to let out that much air, over and over, you have a leaky goesinta valve. Unplug it and operate it manually instead, which is the way the good lord intended you to use it.