Question about ditching a BC with all your weight in it?

[diver 85]

What do you guys/gals do when/if this would ever happen??....Just suppose you're down @ 40', in a 5 mm suit(ie pretty bouyant) & for some reason you have to ditch it----for good--remember all your 30+#s of lead is in your intergrated BC & not on you anymore....What's the plan??....TIA---I have always used a belt until last year when I started putting about 1/3 to 1/2 my weight in a new BC so I'm just curious.....

 

[NadMat]

I would pull out the quick release pockets and carry one or both with me as needed to offset wetsuit.

 

[hlsooner]

Grab something heavy, or if nothing else, tie a line to something and slowly ascend letting out line. Another reason to always carry a spool.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Since I started diving a BPW and teaching classes I've gotten into the habit of using a belt even when using my jacket bc. And the more I think about it the more sense it makes. Now I believe there is never any reason to drop all your weights at depth. So along those lines I have come to the conclusion that no matter how convenient it is, putting all the weight in the bc is a bad idea. Now assuming you have to ditch your bc unless you are going to relase the tank and reg and take them with you, you have a finite amount of air to work with. At this point it's either try to stay down and drown in order to do some kind of controlled ascent,say on a line, or just exhale continuously and accept that depending on how long you've been down a chamber ride may be in order. I would be curious though as to why you'd need 30 plus pounds in a 5 mil though. For me with an al 80 even in a jacket bc it's more like 16-18. ALso just how much lead do you really need to drop to start an ascent?

 

[rab]

What do you guys/gals do when/if this would ever happen??....Just suppose you're down @ 40', in a 5 mm suit(ie pretty bouyant) & for some reason you have to ditch it----for good--remember all your 30+#s of lead is in your intergrated BC & not on you anymore....What's the plan??....TIA---I have always used a belt until last year when I started putting about 1/3 to 1/2 my weight in a new BC so I'm just curious.....

30#??? I only use 10# with my 3/5 full (3mm arm/leg; 5mm torso). Of course, I've got a steel tank, too, but still that's a whole lotta lead!

I just can't imagine what would make me ditch the entire BC.

Ditching weights should be done at the surface, not at depth.

-Rob

 

[leapfrog]

Emergency Free Ascent.

 

[Thalassamania]

If you needed to do that, you could easily slow your ascent to an acceptable rate with a flare (well, it might be harder than I think since you've likely never practiced it).

More's the problem if you have to take off your rig and then put it back on, chances are your positive buoyancy and its negative will separate you and if your are tangled in something ... your situation just got much worse.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

It is not about the amount of weight he carries, it is about the bouyancy his wetsuit regains as he surfaces. Depending on physical size and body composition, 30# is certainly possible with a 5mm.

Anyway diver 85, as a precaustion I'd recommdend a weight belt to carry a portion of your weight, maybe 10-12 lbs? And the rest in the integrated BC. Less convenient, but that way you should not have to dump ALL your weight at depth.

As far as your BC-ditch scenario: Entanglement is the main reason I could see having to ditch the BC/scuba unit underwater. As previously posted, if this is the case, then you are going to be doing a faster than normal ascent anyway, and I probably would not be concerned about having dropped all of my weight. Exhale, flare and pray. If you keep your airway open you'll hopefully prevent embolism, and DCS is better than drowning....

Safe Diving!

Edit: Ooops, sorry, just noticed you said you put 1/3-1/2 your weight in the BC, so I assume the rest remains on the weightbelt.... in that case if you ditched the BC, you should be able to control your ascent speed (by keeping weightbelt on and flaring).

 

[RJP]

As far as your BC-ditch scenario: Entanglement is the main reason I could see having to ditch the BC/scuba unit underwater. As previously posted, if this is the case, then you are going to be doing a faster than normal ascent anyway, and I probably would not be concerned about having dropped all of my weight.

Well, assuming that getting out of your BCD gets your body free of the entanglement you should now be able to get your BCD untangled and put it back on. Air supply dependent of course. (Air being like money: if you have plenty of it, you can solve any other problem.)

 

[ucfdiver]

Why is everyone with AL tanks so concerned making weight ditch able, yet no one considers it unsafe to dive heavy steels?