LOL,
Sorry I have not achieved your approval.
Maybe if you would search back into your infinate wisdom teachings you might remember that OW classes do not teach you how to fine tune your ballast weight. They give you very basic guidlines and tell you to do the test that I explained in my previous post. If you would like I would be more then happy to quote it from the PADI book itself! 99% of the time people leave OW classess grossly overweight. But you already know that right?
Now that the fire has been PUT OUT, please continue with the great advice guys.
Hi mcavana:
Regarding:
Bouyancy Testing & Ballast Weighting: **Note: Testing is done with an empty wing. My personal opinion is that you do testing WITHOUT pony bottle, heavy dive light, or other removeable equipment because if you accidently drop or pass-off the item, you may end up too light at the safety stop or deco stop.
1.)
Method 1:
The "Agency" Method (PADI, et al): With all of your gear and exposure suit on and a full tank, add weight until you are neutral (floating at eye level) with a normal held breath. Then add the weight of the gas (an Al80 holds about 6 lbs of gas, but you hopefully will not breath
all of it
, so for most folks adding 5 lbs is about right). So, find "neutral" at the surface with a full tank, then add 5 lbs (or whatever weight of air you will use with your particular tank). Then do the dive, and test at 10-15 feet with 300-500 lbs in the tank. Are you neutral at the safety stop, light, or heavy? Adust weighting accordingly. Some folks adjust for neutral at the surface at the end of the dive, some shoot for neutral at the safety stop depth. So there may be a few pounds difference depending on
where you want "neutral" bouyancy to occur (safety stop or surface).
2.)
Method 2: "Old School", Pre-BC, Minimalist, and I believe Tobin @ DSS Method: Add weight until you find neutral at the surface with a full tank. Then go diving and have fun with the new, lighter you!
Method "2" is more difficult for new divers. You really have to "think heavy thoughts" to sink those first 10-15 feet. Many beginning divers just can't make this method work because they have not learned to relax and sink. And at the end of the dive, you REALLY have to be on top of your game to hold a shallow safety stop. But many of us in the Pre-BC days used this method (or a slight variation) to find our weighting. This results in diving "lighter" by at least 5 lbs than the lightest weight you'd acheive with Method "1".
I used Method "2" for all of my early years of diving in the '70's and '80's, before I had a BC. It does work just fine. It is bascially what I still use. But being able to hold the safety stop with 300 lbs in your tank depends on wetsuit compression and holding a deeper safety stop (15-20 feet) combined with the neoprene not immediately rebounding to it's full thickness after being compressed at depth.
The first dive of the day, when the neoprene is still "dry" and at full thickness, air is trapped inside the suit, etc., can be a little tough until you pass 10 feet.
The upside to Method "2" is that you are lighter at the surface (and at depth) in the event of a wing failure, and I typically do not need to add any air to my wing
at all until I hit about 50 feet.
Best wishes.
