33 replies to this topic

[finley]

If you have read my trip report this is the same story (summary version)...I continue to need an enormous amount of weight (20 to 30 lbs depending on gear) to sink...of course as soon as I have used some of my air (and sometimes as soon as I am down)..I need to get rid of some weight.....whats the deal....?

[ScubaHawk]

To sum up all the answers you are going to get. Make sure all the air is out of your BC, relax and exhale fully. When you are tense, you tend to hold more air in you lungs and not exhale fully. Once you get down and start to fell comfortable in your surrounding, you relax more and exhale more - thus needing less weight. Learning to relax before you submerge comes with time.

[drbill]

What kind of wetsuit are you wearing? Any changes there recently?

I found (as expected) that when I retired my largely deteriorated wetsuit in favor of a new one that I needed at least two additional pounds to sink me initially. Once down, there was no problem since the suit had compressed a bit. Then when I added my new 6.5mm hooded vest, another pound was beneficial to allow me to sink initially.

Before I added the weight, I simply used the buoy or anchor lines to take myself down. Once down, all was fine and I had no trouble doing my safety stop either.

[finley]

What kind of wetsuit are you wearing? Any changes there recently?

I found (as expected) that when I retired my largely deteriorated wetsuit in favor of a new one that I needed at least two additional pounds to sink me initially. Once down, there was no problem since the suit had compressed a bit. Then when I added my new 6.5mm hooded vest, another pound was beneficial to allow me to sink initially.

Before I added the weight, I simply used the buoy or anchor lines to take myself down. Once down, all was fine and I had no trouble doing my safety stop either.

well, last summer in Roatan (no wet suit) I was using 20lbs..up 5 from previous dives....I have gained some weight...could that be it...and then 30 last week with a 5ml...so not an unexpected rise with the wet suit...but 20 without is quite a bit don't you think,,,,

[Walter]

Without being in the water with you, it's impossible to know exactly what is causing this, but we can throw some ideas at you.

It's possible you simply need that much weight to get you neutrally buoyant.

I've seen divers dump their air and when they didn't sink, ask for more weight when all they need to do was stop kicking as they were already overweighted.

One thing you said does seem a tad odd, "as soon as I have used some of my air ............I need to get rid of some weight." As you use air, you are losing weight and becoming more positively buoyant. As you use air, you should need more lead, not less. That's why it's a good idea to weight yourself with a nearly empty tank. If you weight yourself with a full AL 80, you can add about 6 lbs for the air you'll use.

but 20 without is quite a bit don't you think

Yes.

What kind of BC are you using? Many (most) have padding that adds unnecessary buoyancy. Some (Zeagles, for example) trap air.

[finley]

Without being in the water with you, it's impossible to know exactly what is causing this, but we can throw some ideas at you.

It's possible you simply need that much weight to get you neutrally buoyant.

I've seen divers dump their air and when they didn't sink, ask for more weight when all they need to do was stop kicking as they were already overweighted.

One thing you said does seem a tad odd, "as soon as I have used some of my air ............I need to get rid of some weight." As you use air, you are losing weight and becoming more positively buoyant. As you use air, you should need more lead, not less. That's why it's a good idea to weight yourself with a nearly empty tank. If you weight yourself with a full AL 80, you can add about 6 lbs for the air you'll use.

but 20 without is quite a bit don't you think

Yes.

What kind of BC are you using? Many (most) have padding that adds unnecessary buoyancy. Some (Zeagles, for example) trap air.

my personal BC does trap air and I know I have to give myself a good hug (no one else seems to want to) but I seem to be very flotatious no matter the BC :anna: (This smiley is for you Walter )

[Walter]

Darlin', a hug rarely gets rid of trapped air. To dump trapped air, you need to place the dump valve at the highest point and have an unobstucted path for the air to travel to that point.

[scubafanatic]

If you have read my trip report this is the same story (summary version)...I continue to need an enormous amount of weight (20 to 30 lbs depending on gear) to sink...of course as soon as I have used some of my air (and sometimes as soon as I am down)..I need to get rid of some weight.....whats the deal....?

......well, for starters, wetsuits are the most bouyant at the surface, and the thicker the wetsuit, the worse the problem, so to break 'the surface barrier' and begin your dive, exhale completely and --stay--exhaled as you decend the 1st 10 or 15 ft....... it's OK to take a breath or 2 on the way down if needed, but inhale quickly and exhale ASAP so your lungs are at a low volume for as much of your descent time as possible.....once you're down the first 10-15 ft, you will have momentum and wetsuit compression beginning to work for you and the descent can continue more 'normally'......do this and you will be able to weight yourself more realistically so that you're not overweighted for the remainder of the dive.


Karl

[finley]

If you have read my trip report this is the same story (summary version)...I continue to need an enormous amount of weight (20 to 30 lbs depending on gear) to sink...of course as soon as I have used some of my air (and sometimes as soon as I am down)..I need to get rid of some weight.....whats the deal....?

......well, for starters, wetsuits are the most bouyant at the surface, and the thicker the wetsuit, the worse the problem, so to break 'the surface barrier' and begin your dive, exhale completely and --stay--exhaled as you decend the 1st 10 or 15 ft....... it's OK to take a breath or 2 on the way down if needed, but inhale quickly and exhale ASAP so your lungs are at a low volume for as much of your descent time as possible.....once you're down the first 10-15 ft, you will have momentum and wetsuit compression beginning to work for you and the descent can continue more 'normally'......do this and you will be able to weight yourself more realistically so that you're not overweighted for the remainder of the dive.


Karl

guess I need to gp tp the lake and practice

[ScubaDadMiami]

Believe it or not, being nervous at the beginning of a dive will also affect buoyancy. An excited diver tends not to full exhale, retaining some gas in the lungs. Also, the hyped up diver will keep rigid muscles.

After a while of diving and relaxing, this will stop, and then you will find that you do not need so much weight.

Perhaps this is contributing to your problem.

[finley]

Believe it or not, being nervous at the beginning of a dive will also affect buoyancy. An excited diver tends not to full exhale, retaining some gas in the lungs. Also, the hyped up diver will keep rigid muscles.

After a while of diving and relaxing, this will stop, and then you will find that you do not need so much weight.

Perhaps this is contributing to your problem.

HMMM..maybe but I don't consider myself a nervous diver(maybe pissed off on that last dive) but I do try to be first in the water so as to have time to fix and adjust etc....but maybe an extra minute to check my breathing wouldn't hurt..

[Walter]

Darlin', come to Florida, we'll go diving and figure it out.

[finley]

Darlin', come to Florida, we'll go diving and figure it out.

Keep calling me Darlin and I might move to Florida.........on a serious note...I think Im just too fluffy!

[Walter]

Better dive with me a couple times before you move here, Darlin'.

[finley]

Better dive with me a couple times before you move here, Darlin'.

You're too funny We'll have to set that up sometime.