Utter Disaster + Pinnacle D/S Undergarments

[Colliam7]

Is it possible that even with all that weight (2x steel 119's, regulators, lights etc) that the suit/undergarments are so buoyant they float me?

Yes. With 2x steel 120s (without deco bottles), and a lined DCI thinsulate undergarment, I am 'on the edge' in fresh water with a SS (rather than AL) BP, and sometimes add 3 lbs just to be sure I am in control atr the end. With your AL BP, even in fresh water, your experience is not altogether unusual.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

yeah....and I knew better than to do the class with the new gear. I had actually planned some dives before this with the new gear but life got in the way.
ah well, I'm going to play in the pool tomorrow. lets see, 238 cu ft of air at .5 cu ft/min SAC, planned depth 9' FFW......I have about 6 hours to practice

Hope you can find a COLD pool or you'll be dieing in that suit and undergarment. Hopefully you can stay in long enough to get your weighting down.

And good luck! Learn from what happened, put it behind you and move on. I'm doing Intro to Tech and Adv Nitrox/Deco later this year. This has just helped to reinforce the extreme importance of getting in plenty of practice time in the exact equipment I'll be training in. Thanks for helping to emphasis the importance of that.

 

[robertarak]

C'mon Robert chime in here. RArak and I went diving on new years day. He too has a shiny new Evo DS. He had 20(18?) lbs of lead, and looking at him I thought that was way too much. We agreed we would do a weight check at the end of the dive. So we're about ready to get out, on the surface talking, "lets drop down, and you can start handing me weights" "OK" we/I descend to the bottom, ~8' bellow, he is struggling to get down, I kinda have my way with him, gently pull him own a few feet, spin him around squeeze any extra air out of his wing, make sure theres no air pockets in his DS, and we decide he's actually about 2 lbs light! Mind you, Robert is not a real big guy! So last night he stops by my place and we hop in my pool so he can try his doubles for the first time (46F'n degrees!!!!) In double LP 85 (right?) he is bobbing on the surface and cant descend! I had to give him 10 lbs of lead so he could get his head wet! I'm thinking those Pinnacle drysuits double as life vests with their buoyancy characteristics.

OK, OK, I'll chime in, but you covered it all pretty good. Now let's look at the numbers.
In a 7mil full wetsuit, SS backplate and a single steel tank I use 12 pounds to venture into the underwater world (salt water). In my EVO2 with med. weight UG and the same single rig, I take 18 pounds (and yes, I was probably 2 pounds underweight). In David's freezing diver torture area it took 10 pounds in DOUBLES...and that was fresh water! I have to get into salt water and do some tests. I just can't figure how sucha heavy drysuit (almost 20 pounds) could take so much weight to sink.

 

[limeyx]

Is it possible that even with all that weight (2x steel 119's, regulators, lights etc) that the suit/undergarments are so buoyant they float me? Or should I look elsewhere for the problem?

Um, yes.

With HP119's and a DUI 400G thinsulate, I use a steel plate and a 15 pound weightbelt in salt water and I still may need 2 pounds more. The thick u/garments can be *really* buoyant.

i would have thought the very first dive in a tech class would have at the end a weighting check where you would have discovered if you were significantly underweighted.

 

[GDI]

don't sweat it just suck back and reload

 

[PerroneFord]

I just can't figure how sucha heavy drysuit (almost 20 pounds) could take so much weight to sink.

How much does a freighter weigh? How many pounds do you need to put on it to sink it? The particulars may change, but the physics remain the same. What something weighs is not necessarily related to what it takes to force it underwater.

Takes a lot of weight to sink 100 pounds of styrofoam.

 

[dkatchalov]

don't sweat it just suck back and reload

Lol, nice line!

 

[robertarak]

How much does a freighter weigh? How many pounds do you need to put on it to sink it? The particulars may change, but the physics remain the same. What something weighs is not necessarily related to what it takes to force it underwater.

Takes a lot of weight to sink 100 pounds of styrofoam.

I know, I know

 

[lowridersvt]

hey those undies are not very flexible and do trap air so make life hard when you trying to do skills in 20 ft of water best bet is ditch those undies and get somthing like a fourth element or diving concepts underwear not as warm but dosnt trap air and the fourth element is a 2 piece and make valve drills super easy

 

[MBH]

Flightlead and I did about 3 hours in 45 degree water yesterday evening...I think he got most of the bugs worked out.

His trim was spot on by the end of the evening.