Under suit buoyancy

[soggybadger]

Hi folks. Just wondering if anyone is still using a thick padded under suit and if so how much weight are you carrying? The reason I ask is that at the weekend i tried out a padded under suit as I was quarry diving with a water temperature of 38f and thought I would go for a bit of extra warmth. This turned out to be a bad move. I thought I would compensate for the extra trapped air with an extra 2kg of weight and have no problems. On the pre dive weight check i ended up adding an extra five( with the additional 2kg already added) and a couple of big rocks and still couldn't sink. I quickly stripped the under suit off readjusted my weights and continued with no problems. Normally I wear shorts and a hoodie.

 

[HantsDiver]

No one can answer this. All you know if you need more weight than you have. Take extra lead and do another weight check next time.

 

[soggybadger]

I know I didn't have enough. But 7kg of lead as well as the big rocks seems an extremely large amount of extra weight to counteract the buoyancy of a suit. And I still couldn't sink!

 

[soggybadger]

I did four checks as it happens after each additional 2kg

 

[HantsDiver]

I know I didn't have enough. But 7kg of lead as well as the big rocks seems an extremely large amount of extra weight to counteract the buoyancy of a suit. And I still couldn't sink!

If you still could not sink you need more. My guess is that the new undersuit is trapping gas. Try washing it in the machine a few times.

 

[soggybadger]

No one can answer this. All you know if you need more weight than you have. Take extra lead and do another weight check next time.[/QUOTE

 

[soggybadger]

Its supposed to trap air and it had been washed several times. My point was it seems very excessive. I was asking if anyone is still using them and how much weight they carry. Seems a very easy question to answer. Either yes or no and x amount of weight.

 

[HantsDiver]

Its supposed to trap air and it had been washed several times. My point was it seems very excessive. I was asking if anyone is still using them and how much weight they carry. Seems a very easy question to answer. Either yes or no and x amount of weight.

It's not an easy question to answer. Everyone will have a different amount of weight. The size of your undersuit will be different to others. The brand will make a difference. The thickness of it will make a difference. The age of it can make a difference.

The only way to know is to do a weight check with more lead. You're not going to be able to get around that.

 

[Froggle]

I dive with plenty of people who use them and was using a 200gm thinsulate myself up until February of this year. I was using 9kg in fresh water with a membrane suit. If I was using my O3 neoprene suit with it I'd have needed a couple of kg more.

 

[soggybadger]

This was also a 200. I normally carry 9kg in a 7mm compressed neo with shorts and a hoodie. 17-18kg? Never known this before and I have used a slightly thinner 100 on my wreck cert with no problems and no extra weight needed.