Pre-heating a wet suit.

[ew1usnr]

We were getting ready to dive in a river yesterday. The weather was cool and we were wearing wet suits. My dive buddy showed up with an ice chest with three one-gallon jugs of hot tap water inside. We poured some of the hot water into our suits prior to getting into the river. After we got out we dumped some more of it down into our suits. The hot water stayed in the suit for a surprising long time. It's a cheap, simple idea that makes diving on a cold day a little more comfortable and makes jumping into the cold water less of a shock.

 

[Warren_L]

We were getting ready to dive in a river yesterday. The weather was cool and we were wearing wet suits. My dive buddy showed up with an ice chest with three one-gallon jugs of hot tap water inside. We poured some of the hot water into our suits prior to getting into the river. After we got out we dumped some more of it down into our suits. The hot water stayed in the suit for a surprising long time. It's a cheap, simple idea that makes diving on a cold day a little more comfortable and makes jumping into the cold water less of a shock.

I did that a fair bit when diving wet in cold weather. Water will get into your suit and it is what keeps you warm in a wet suit. But your body must heat up the water first, and by using pre-heated water, it saves you energy.

 

[scubasean]

We were getting ready to dive in a river yesterday. The weather was cool and we were wearing wet suits. My dive buddy showed up with an ice chest with three one-gallon jugs of hot tap water inside. We poured some of the hot water into our suits prior to getting into the river. After we got out we dumped some more of it down into our suits. The hot water stayed in the suit for a surprising long time. It's a cheap, simple idea that makes diving on a cold day a little more comfortable and makes jumping into the cold water less of a shock.

Several of my friends use that technique...It is especially nice between dives....

 

[Don Burke]

There are many variations on this, including warm water hoses for divers at their safety stops, getting in the water for a few seconds than then getting out (works in cool water), warm showers, and wetsuits converted to hotwater suits.

I like the jugs of water. They don't even need to be especially warm to have a big effect.

 

[Mike Newman]

Thanks for the tip - it will certainly be worth an experiment or two in the days ahead - it's more than a little chilly up in these parts right now.

 

[ygthad]

It works very well too.. as long as your wet suit fit well..

 

[Toolbox-13]

Thanks for the Tip I'll give it a try

 

[Bob3]

That one's an absolute must if ice diving in a wetsuit.
Happily I haven't had to do that since the early 70s.

 

[pipedope]

you can add a garden hose and pump warm water down to the diver. Makes a big difference.

In some places I have been we had to use the pump and garden hose to pump cool water down so the diver would not overheat.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It does not work as well with a semi-dry as the water will pool in your legs and eventually gets very cold.

But it works well with a wetsuit and was a very common practice when I started diving in the early 80's. A regular cofffee ithermos of water per dive is all you need to pack.

One critisim of the practice at the time was the theory that the warm water opened your capillaries and directed more blood closer to the surface with the result that you eventually lost more heat than you conserved. I never thought much of that particular theory.