I just successfully completed my open water certification dives. I dove in a quarry in Indiana, which is (obviously) fresh water. I used a 5 mm wetsuit, and carried 16 pounds of weight. In June, I'm planning on diving in the Keys. I'll (obviously) be in salt water, and will be wearing a 2 mm shorty. Any advice on how much weight I should try?
proper weighting
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tentacle13
Guest
The Best recommendation for finding out your Buoyancy is to use the technique of an empty BC. and to add weight until you are eye level with the surface of the water. You will have to take the time to find what is the proper amount of weighting with the changes you are making to your equipment. You do not want to be overweighted and have trouble remaining neutrally buoyant. You do not want to be underweighted and float to the surface at the end of the dive.
It is hard to judge for many reasons: 1. You are moving from fresh water to salt. . 2. You are changing the wet suit size.
Another tip is to record what your weighting is in your logbook and how thick your Wetsuit is. It makes a great reference for future trips. It also can be a basis for having to add/or subract weight should you change wetsuitsor if you change from an aluminum tank to stainless steel.. (Whether you should add more weight).
Good luck and Happy diving,
:ghost:
It is hard to judge for many reasons: 1. You are moving from fresh water to salt. . 2. You are changing the wet suit size.
Another tip is to record what your weighting is in your logbook and how thick your Wetsuit is. It makes a great reference for future trips. It also can be a basis for having to add/or subract weight should you change wetsuitsor if you change from an aluminum tank to stainless steel.. (Whether you should add more weight).
Good luck and Happy diving,
:ghost:
It would be a pure guess, all be it educated, for anyone give you a number without doing a good bouyancy check. There are just too many varibles to give you a good answer here. Just remember, if you do bouyancy check as suggested above, either use a low tank, about 500 psi, OR add about 5 lbs (assuming an AL-80 tank)to your final weight to account for the weight of the air lost during the dive. I do prefer to be slightly overweighted than underweighted if I have to guess. It's a lot easier and safer to have to add air than to struggle to keep down. And by all means, log the dive including every bit of gear and your impressions on how you felt your weighting was.
These 2 threads should help:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4213
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8241
sharpenu's method in the 2nd thread seems like a great idea, but I haven't tried it yet so...
Good luck.
Mark.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4213
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8241
sharpenu's method in the 2nd thread seems like a great idea, but I haven't tried it yet so...
Good luck.
Mark.
ok I'm only tkaing a guess here, but I think you should wear the same amount of weight as you do now and then work from there on your dives.
Reasons:
You are diving in fresh water now, in the salt water you will need more weight.
You are in a 5mm now, going to a 2mm shorty, so that would mean you need less weight.
So I figure that the two cancel each other out and you will need roughly the same amount. Keep in mind that there is no real logic (if any) to this and I'm simply guessing, but it sounds pretty good though doesn't it? At least you will know that you aren't underweighted. Just see where you are at the end of your dive with 500psi in your tank and then adjust your weight from there.
Also I would recommend wearing a skin with the shorty. Just to protect your skin from things out there that sting or can scrape. Coral scars aren't pretty things.
Reasons:
You are diving in fresh water now, in the salt water you will need more weight.
You are in a 5mm now, going to a 2mm shorty, so that would mean you need less weight.
So I figure that the two cancel each other out and you will need roughly the same amount. Keep in mind that there is no real logic (if any) to this and I'm simply guessing, but it sounds pretty good though doesn't it? At least you will know that you aren't underweighted. Just see where you are at the end of your dive with 500psi in your tank and then adjust your weight from there.
Also I would recommend wearing a skin with the shorty. Just to protect your skin from things out there that sting or can scrape. Coral scars aren't pretty things.
MNScuba
Guest
I agree... I went from Newbie to Dive Master in one week using this board!
Just kidding of course, but I did feel like I'd been diving for years by the time I did my OW! There were so many tips that I'd read and things I wanted to try that I totally forgot I was diving for the first time.
As far as your question goes... Only experience will tell you, and even people that have been diving a while change their weighting constantly - always trying to find that ideal balance.
Here is a little equation my LDS uses to guestimate how much weight they will need for their students in FRESH water, maybe someone has a similar one for SALT water?
Cold water diving (thick wetsuit, etc)
Body weight x 10% + 5 pounds
(Example: A 200 pound man would need 25 pounds.)
Warm water diving (thin wetsuit)
Body weight x 5% + 5 pounds
(Example: A 200 pound man would need 15 pounds.)
Keep in mind that this isn't an exact science and adjustments need to be made, but this will help get you close.
The 10% + 5lb although common suggestion is based on absolutely nothing except making sure that the diver is planted to the bottom or a platform. The sad thing is that students are not told that is is not how much lead they will need for the rest of their diving lives.
If that formula was anywhere close, how can we explain a diver 155lb warm ocean, full 3mm suit, al80 diving with no lead?
The key is every diver weight/displacement is different. In addition bc control, comfort, physical fitness, equipment, etc are important factors.
If that formula was anywhere close, how can we explain a diver 155lb warm ocean, full 3mm suit, al80 diving with no lead?
The key is every diver weight/displacement is different. In addition bc control, comfort, physical fitness, equipment, etc are important factors.
MNScuba
Guest
Uhhh...
You aparently didn't read my post completely and missed the part that said:
"This is what they use as a GUESTIMATE when figuring out how much weight they will need for the class."
I didn't say it was written in stone.. just something to go by. The last phrase reads:
"Keep in mind that this isn't an exact science and adjustments need to be made, but this will help get you close."
You aparently didn't read my post completely and missed the part that said:
"This is what they use as a GUESTIMATE when figuring out how much weight they will need for the class."
I didn't say it was written in stone.. just something to go by. The last phrase reads:
"Keep in mind that this isn't an exact science and adjustments need to be made, but this will help get you close."
This amount of lead is not even close. Over the years it got lost in the translation. It used to be a suggestion to buy enough lead in various small increments so that there is a variety of blocks to make up the proper amount of weight. Now it' became a guide line to start with all the lead. This is one of the resons for the most common diver injury, ear squeeze. With all that lead they dump the bc and drop like rocks never having time to equalize. By the time they stop and kick they are few feet underwater which is too late as we all know.
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