Weighting for Stages/Deco Bottles

[Michael Guerrero]

Does anyone add weight to compensate for potentially empty stages or deco bottles, or do you just figure you'll unclip them and let them float if you breathe them down?

Does this change if you're in a cave?

 

[PfcAJ]

I will add some weight if I plan of having a bunch (more than 3) light bottles and diving a high helium backgas.

 

[tbone1004]

depends, most tech divers don't have to add weight because we are grossly overweight as it is. It's unfortunately unavoidable especially when diving wet. The newer AL72's are nicer because they don't require a terrible amount of lead compared to an AL80, but still needs some help. If I'm diving a lot of helium, then you have to add weights, some divers will just go back to SS backplates if they're in doubles. Sidemount it gets a bit tricky though.

 

[PfcAJ]

depends, most tech divers don't have to add weight because we are grossly overweight as it is. It's unfortunately unavoidable especially when diving wet. The newer AL72's are nicer because they don't require a terrible amount of lead compared to an AL80, but still needs some help. If I'm diving a lot of helium, then you have to add weights, some divers will just go back to SS backplates if they're in doubles. Sidemount it gets a bit tricky though.

It all starts with a balanced rig though. The thing is that a set of full doubles with say 12/70 is similar in weight (in water) to a set of nearly empty doubles.

In fresh 400g thinsulate, 104s, and a steel plate, I'll still add an 8lb v-weight if I'm doing a cave dive with a bunch of stages where I'll have to move them a good distance. In the ocean, you can send them up the SMB line if they get too floaty. No such luxury in a cave.

 

[tbone1004]

with that much helium it's easy, but if you're doing 3 stages, it's not quite so easy. In a drysuit diving sidemount with HP120's I'm still a few pounds heavy. I sink enough naturally that at 10ft I can hang out baretank breathing off of an AL80 in a 5mm steamer. Most people diving doubles or sidemount are at least 4-5lbs overweighted unless they are on the west coast or up north diving in properly cold water. In those situations when I am heavy, I will swap AL80's over to LP72's for deco and stage bottles since they are about neutral when empty.

I do believe in balanced rigs, but I also know that it is almost impossible to be in a balanced rig when you're diving wet at any depth beyond about 10m, and any time you are in a drysuit in water warmer than 70f. There just isn't enough buoyancy to offset the weight of technical gear. Stuff is heavy! hot helium mixes are an exception I'll give you that, but how many of us are diving 12/70 regularly these days? Hell, who can afford to fill a set of 104's with 12/70? I sure as hell can't justify it.

 

[PfcAJ]

I'm apt to use 30/30 stages and backgas when at all possible when diving in shallow caves. Less gas in the wing, the bottles are neutral sooner, and are easier to manage in the water.

18/45 bottles and higher helium are a dream to work with compared to a brick 32% stage.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I guess I should have added my typical diving conditions to zero in on things more. I'm diving in water between 56F and 43F. So we're diving large steel tanks and drysuits with thick undergarments.

Oh, and I'm 6'3", 215lbs so there's a lot of fabric to my undergarment.

As an aside, I think it also depends on what you're weighting for. A set of empty LP120s are 8lbs positive without the manifold, bands, etc. So if you were to breathe these down in an emergency, you'd need to be able to compensate for that buoyancy on top of your exposure protection.

This is where I start scratching my head, because if I look just at the numbers, I would need more weight to compensate for an empty set of LP120s (+8lbs empty) than LP95s (+3lbs empty) due to the extra buoyancy.

 

[tbone1004]

are you diving the brand new fabers? If you are, no offense but that was a huge mistake. The new tanks are nicer than the old ones as far as alloy is concerned, bu they are the absolute last tanks you should be looking at for cold water drysuit diving. For that, you really NEED to find a set of LP104's from PST, they are 6.6lbs negative for the pair and will be much better for your type of diving.

If you are leaving all of the stages on you during the dive, you can go to LP72's, or steel 45's/50's and cave fill them and use that to help with your ballast situation. Otherwise you have to weight cam bands if they're being dropped off, or just wear a mc****ton of weight on your back....

 

[PfcAJ]

I guess I should have added my typical diving conditions to zero in on things more. I'm diving in water between 56F and 43F. So we're diving large steel tanks and drysuits with thick undergarments.

Oh, and I'm 6'3", 215lbs so there's a lot of fabric to my undergarment.

As an aside, I think it also depends on what you're weighting for. A set of empty LP120s are 8lbs positive without the manifold, bands, etc. So if you were to breathe these down in an emergency, you'd need to be able to compensate for that buoyancy on top of your exposure protection.

This is where I start scratching my head, because if I look just at the numbers, I would need more weight to compensate for an empty set of LP120s (+8lbs empty) than LP95s (+3lbs empty) due to the extra buoyancy.

Yeah man. Weight yourself to be neutral with empty tanks. Its what you've gotta do. Make yourself a v-weight. Its the cleanest solution and keeps the weight over your chest.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

The v-weight is on order, and the tanks are the shop's not mine. Outside of my LP85s, which I really like for OW, I haven't decided what I want to do for tanks yet. But the weight is an issue. I hate the idea of adding 12lbs of lead to an already gargantuan set of LP120s.