My steel doubles and wetsuit - no mix?

[Gombessa]

I'm not going to claim I am a drysuit diver if I've used one less than a handful of times.

That's the point I'm trying to make here. What you've said so far about drysuits corroborates the above.

And if you're understanding my posts as me "telling it how it is", then you need to open your eyes and read everything that is written by other contributors.

My statements are in context to the other responses in this thread, where we have experienced instructors, manufacturers, technical divers and recreational doubles divers with hundreds or thousands of dives under their belts providing help based on a true abundance of practical experience. There's a difference there.

Look, I'm not expecting you to listen to the likes of me. Keep doing whatever you'd like to do, I'm just saying you're drawing attention to yourself because of it.

 

[RonFrank]

So the only rite way to dive steel tanks is with a dry suit and a single blader wing

Ahh, spoken like a true Disciple!

Regardless of the buoyancy characteristics of whatever setup you choose, I think the main goal is to be able to swim them up upon a bladder failure. If you can not do so, than some redundant buoyancy is in order. I would attempt a swim up from 50' or better, and see how that goes.

A drysuit is the #1 choice for redundant buoyancy, but hardly the only option. A Safety Sausage has at least 25lbs of lift (a small one). Mine has 50lbs of lift, and I *always* carry one when doing ocean divinig, and not difficult to carry one always.

DIR-F or whatever training you take is going to lead you down very specific pathways. However for us divers that are interested in safety without an agenda, make sure your rig can be easily brought to the surface using buoyancy devices on your person.

 

[Rhone Man]

I dive steel singles with a wetsuit (got a great deal on 'em), but I was always told that steel doubles and a wetsuit was a big no-no. Hence my doubles are aluminium.

Sorry, that has probably already been said many times in the thread, but just in case it hadn't.

 

[Gombessa]

I dive steel singles with a wetsuit (got a great deal on 'em)

Agreed, especially in cold water steel singles can be a great way to remove some lead from the weight belt (and move that weight up to a more balanced position). Even with a steel tank, I still carry something like 8-12lb on a belt with a thick wetsuit or drysuit.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I completely disagree. Who made this "rule of thumb" you’re talking about?

First of all, the ballistic material used in the outer shell of bladders (and even the inner shell) are equal or more resilient as the material used in dry suit. Due to the continuous construction of BCD’s I actually believe that there are more fail points in a dry suit than a BCD. Inflation device, purge valves, neck and arm seals, etc…

Running your dry suit off a separate post than your inflator gives no more added redundancy than a dual bladder. Both inflators have their own hoses which should be run off separate posts. You would leave your 2nd inflator hose disconnected unless there is an emergency to make sure you don‘t accidentally put air in it. I understand that this is extremely task loading for all levels of diving but in the event of an emergency, connect the secondary inflator hose and voila! You don’t even need to balance air between your dry suit and bladder!

Remember people we're talking worst case scenarios. Should both your inflation devices fail (and your third if you have a lift bag) then look to your buddy, signal, call the dive and return to the surface safely. He is your third (or fourth) redundancy. If you don’t have a buddy (I don’t condemn solo diving because this is an avenue I am pursuing) then your original dive plan SHOULD have taken into consideration the unlikely event that you would have to swim to the surface. Swims are in the OW and DM curriculum in order to ensure that you are fit to dive… and if you’re at 300 ft. depths alone then I’m sorry but you’re SOL.

I'm a wetsuit diver, always will be (perhaps a dry suit one day, because I would like to learn all aspects of scuba diving), I dive with heavy steel tanks, single or doubles and/or stage bottles because I like having lots of air and a back-up if needed. If you are unable to be positively buoyant without ditch-able weight, you need a redundant buoyancy device and I would highly recommend a dual bladder regardless of your exposure suit.

Can you ever REALLY be safe enough?

That rule of thumb is pretty good. I have seen several people with tears in their wings yet I have not seen a ripped drysuit. I have only seen drysuits that have had their seals fail. Never a torn drysuit.

 

[Rhone Man]

Agreed, especially in cold water steel singles can be a great way to remove some lead from the weight belt (and move that weight up to a more balanced position). Even with a steel tank, I still carry something like 8-12lb on a belt with a thick wetsuit or drysuit.

That, plus my slightly less noble reason is that because no one in this part of the world knows what pressure to fill steels to, so my 72s magically become 88s. Glad my wife suggested that, whilst helpfully suggesting I top up my life insurance.

 

[Gombessa]

Glad my wife suggested that, whilst helpfully suggesting I top up my life insurance.

Sounds like you should offer to subsidize the premiums for the fill station employees too

 

[WD8CDH]

Even diving dry (redundant source of lift), if my rig is so negative that I am still negative with no weight, I will add buoyancy, usually in the form of rigid foam, to make myself neutral. I won't rely on air in the BC or excess air in the suit.

 

[Gombessa]

Even diving dry (redundant source of lift), if my rig is so negative that I am still negative with no weight, I will add buoyancy, usually in the form of rigid foam, to make myself neutral. I won't rely on air in the BC or excess air in the suit.

That's a good argument for a balanced rig. If you're overweighted at the end of the dive and you're not using additional weights, the rig is unbalanced. I've never used the foam technique to try to correct overweighting, but I wouldn't dive that rig in that overweighted configuration.

 

[WD8CDH]

Foam must not be popular because the dive shops can't sell it for a few hundred dollars.

Seriously, rigid foam (like blue Styrofoam) is a very powerful tool for making a heavy rig safely dive-able. It doesn't change buoyancy noticeably with depth either, especially if you use the high density roofing grade foam. I also use it occasionally for small trim adjustments.

For deeper than recreational depths, there are other choices of rigid flotation.