Mikemath,
Your build sounds a lot like mine. I'm 240 lbs. and 6' tall. I don't have a lot of fat on the extremities but a bit of a tire around the middle.
When I tried diving just my 7mm (no 7mm tunic) I was using 26 lbs. in the pool. This was with an AL80. Wearing 32 lbs and a steel cylinder seems like a lot more weight for someone who sounds a lot like my build.
It could be trapped air. I make sure I squeeze out any air pockets in the crotch and armpits when putting on my wetsuit. Additionally, I've learned where air flows in my BCD and developed a technique for rolling and dumping to get rid of ALL the air in the BCD. I found for my style BCD, it was easiest to go head down for a few seconds, rolled away from the side with my bottom dump valve then pull my bottom dump valve.
If you have an air bubble rolling around in you BCD this could explain why you are okay with hovering but will occasionally get into a head up or head down position (bubble rolls to bottom of BCD and you'll go head down but still neutrally buoyant).
I figured out I had an air bubble in the BCD by pulling the dump valves (each one) with it in the highest position. I heard the bubble come out the bottom dump valve and saw it when I turned around.
I'm now realizing that a good BCD will not trap as much air or it is easier to clear. This is one reason I'm considering switching to a wing.
Your build sounds a lot like mine. I'm 240 lbs. and 6' tall. I don't have a lot of fat on the extremities but a bit of a tire around the middle.
When I tried diving just my 7mm (no 7mm tunic) I was using 26 lbs. in the pool. This was with an AL80. Wearing 32 lbs and a steel cylinder seems like a lot more weight for someone who sounds a lot like my build.
It could be trapped air. I make sure I squeeze out any air pockets in the crotch and armpits when putting on my wetsuit. Additionally, I've learned where air flows in my BCD and developed a technique for rolling and dumping to get rid of ALL the air in the BCD. I found for my style BCD, it was easiest to go head down for a few seconds, rolled away from the side with my bottom dump valve then pull my bottom dump valve.
If you have an air bubble rolling around in you BCD this could explain why you are okay with hovering but will occasionally get into a head up or head down position (bubble rolls to bottom of BCD and you'll go head down but still neutrally buoyant).
I figured out I had an air bubble in the BCD by pulling the dump valves (each one) with it in the highest position. I heard the bubble come out the bottom dump valve and saw it when I turned around.
I'm now realizing that a good BCD will not trap as much air or it is easier to clear. This is one reason I'm considering switching to a wing.