SeaQuest Black Diamond and other Back Inflate Users

[partridge]

Thanks for all the input guys. I was able to drop 2 lbs. Maybe because the padding on the Black diamond is pretty thick and it took me 15 dives to water log it. Wetsuit was also new.

I agree it is the air. I am used to it by now. As someone said previously, just lift your head for a second to even out the air. I noticed that it only happens when I inflate the BC when not in a vertical position.

 

[geraldp]

I need help. I just bought a SeaQuest Black Diamond. Have used it for 6 dives so far. I feel I already have the weight right; 4 in the rear and 8 in ditchable.
I am very happy with it as I can keep horizontal or vertical. My problem now is if I am not moving and am horizontal I have a tendency to roll to one side. I have no problem when vertical. It is very slight but is betting frustrating.

I have nothing on me to make me heavier on one side. Weight is equal, no clipped on stuff, just the basic scuba setup.

Anybody have any ideas on this?

The first half-a-dozen dives I made with my DeepOutdoors wing BC it was a constant struggle to keep from rolling over. All my weight was evenly distributed (except a small flashlight). The problem eventually went away, and I decided it was because I was mounting the tank incorrectly, and I think it was restricting the flow in my BC from left to right. I was also overweighted, causing me to have too much air in my bc at depth.

 

[gzscuba]

I noticed a similar rolling problem in Monterrey with my new SQ Balance. Granted, that was about my 3rd dive on that BC, and I was most likely badly overweighted (and fighting some nasty surge conditions). That was my first time in salt water with my 6mm suit/6mm hood/vest.

I did notice some weird air trapping issues when I was diving the Balance in Cozumel (3 mm wetsuit).

I'm going to be logging some time in the freshwater lakes in WI with the Balance, and I'll hopefully figure things out.
I think it just takes a bit of time to get completely accustomed to the BC.

 

[partridge]

geraldp mentioned mounting the tank wrong.......

I looked in the manual and in figure 5 I do not see the carrying handle around the neck of the tank. That is how I set mine up currently. It seems lika good way to make sure the tank is in the same position every time I setup.

Is this wrong?

 

[geraldp]

I noticed a similar rolling problem in Monterrey with my new SQ Balance.
...snip
I did notice some weird air trapping issues when I was diving the Balance in Cozumel (3 mm wetsuit).

I was in Cozumel as well when I noticed I was flying lopsided. The drift dives in Coz are an incredible experience... flying along a few feet above (or alongside) the coral formations at several knots. Doing that when you're rig keeps rolling you onto your side is no fun at all.

 

[geraldp]

geraldp mentioned mounting the tank wrong.......

I looked in the manual and in figure 5 I do not see the carrying handle around the neck of the tank. That is how I set mine up currently. It seems lika good way to make sure the tank is in the same position every time I setup.

Is this wrong?

Not having the Black Diamond I can't say for sure (about your tank handle), but in my case I was mounting the BC too high on the tank, and the tank kept hitting me in the butt. My tank was not in-line with my back, which made me roll as I propelled through the water. My DeepOutdoors has a tank loop strap as well as a carrying handle, and I now ensure that the BC is as low as the tank loop will allow me to put it. That seems to have cleared up the problem. There may have been an air-flow constriction in my BC, but more than likely it was skewed tank profile.

I also was not ensuring that the valve on the tank was pointing exactly at the back of my head. I suspect that was throwing my reg out of kilter. I don't know if this had an effect or not, but I have not had any rolling problems since resolving these two issues.

I recently added a 13 cu ft pony, and moved a couple of pounds over to the other side to compensate... that seems to work fine.

Jerry

 

[LioKai]

Liokai- you were diving in hawii with a 75 lbs bc? How many sling bottles did you have? What size are your doubles?--Wait a minute that BC cant even use doubles... Why did you need so much lift?

Anyways I am glad to hear that you are now on the right path!

Aloha Rob_Robscott.

Sorry for the delayed response, I was on vacation.

I was diving the Recon BCD because I was asked to evaluate it for use by a dive company. When I was first approached about the Recon BCD it was supposed to have a 45lb lift. When it arrived it had 75 lbs of lift. Normally I would not dive a BCD with that kind of lift. But I had agreed to do it. At that point I was committed to complete the evaluation.

BTW, the Recon has a conversion kit for doubles.

I did have a few good comments about it, but not many. It is not a bad BCD for a very large person. I am 6' 0" 225 lbs and the Recon that I tested was an XL. It was HUGE on me. At the end of the evaluation I gave it to a guy who is 5' 10" 300 lbs. It fit him perfectly.

With the exception of the lift, it is a fair BCD.

 

[JPBECK]

How is this an example of why you should dive with a backplate and (back-inflate) wings? They still have the back inflate and the air can still move from side to side.

I'm glad some of you are so thrilled with your bp/w setup, but don't understand why you now feel compelled to force your opinion and experience onto everyone else.

I dive both setups, depending on the gear required for the dive and even on how my mood strikes me that day. I like both, but truly do not see any overwhelming advantage (for ALL cases) to either.

theskull

I can’t speak for Rob but since he has not answered, I will. Bad design, a simple wing setup will not trap air in any part of the bladder. This only happens in jacket style bcd’s and poorly designed wings. Not saying that there is anything wrong with the your BCD, except to say that if so many people get air trapped in the Black Diamond then there is some issue there.

As to fixing the problem of trap air, I don’t see how you can. If you compensate for the trapped air with weight, and you manage to get all the air out than you will be pulled to one side.

As to the rolling when the diver is equipped with a small Pony System, this can be fixed by adding 3lbs to the opposite side