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Thread: Diving without a BC

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    Wreck Diving Moderator acelockco's Avatar
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    Default Diving without a BC

    OK, this question is directed toward the more technical and advanced divers out there.

    I was wondering about diving without a BC. Actually to be more accurate, I was thinking about diving with my Dive Rite Trans Pac with an AL80 with no wing installed. I will have my dry suit to make minute adjustments as needed, but in my opinion if I am weighted perfectly I should be just fine.

    I am sure there are many opinions on this one, I just want to hear what yours are. Also does anyone of you do this or have done this. I am sure some of the older divers around here remember the days of diving before BC's even existed. Then the old horse collar BC's, then to plates and wings, then to jacket bc's and now back to plates and wings again.

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    Waterman Tigerbeach's Avatar
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    Gotta love it, Ace.
    You hit it on the head, if you are weighted properly, or can make minute adjustments, who need a BC? I never put air in it anyway.
    I loved using just a backpack to hold a tank.
    ASW


    "Don't believe everything you think"

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    Wreck Diving Moderator acelockco's Avatar
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    Ha! I was getting ready to hear the riot act, and the first response is actually in agreeance with me. Wow.

    Well I am going to try it out on Thursday to see how it is. I know if I don't have perfect buoyancy, I am going to get it down perfect now.

    Now I just need to get some new steel cylinders and I can get rid of some weights as well. I am already starting to feel more comfortable. I hate wearing weight.

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    Cave Diver amtrosie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by acelockco View Post
    OK, this question is directed toward the more technical and advanced divers out there.

    I was wondering about diving without a BC. Actually to be more accurate, I was thinking about diving with my Dive Rite Trans Pac with an AL80 with no wing installed. I will have my dry suit to make minute adjustments as needed, but in my opinion if I am weighted perfectly I should be just fine.

    .


    Several questions: 1. How deep do you propose to go? 2. In the event of a drysuit failure, what is your back-up? How are you going to compensate for buoyancy, at depth, then shallow again when the gas in your tank is depleted?

    You mentioned the drysuit for minute adjustments, what about for the initial phase of the dive where more gas is required for at depth dives? Especially when the depths are deeper than 100 feet (30 m)?

    Your contingency planning must be thought out completely! The drysuit failure, be it the inflator seizing up or free-flowing. The exhaust valve failing. A seal failing, dumping water into the suit. All these are very real and have all occurred. You might say that the dive is over in all these scenarios, but how do you make your way back to the surface SAFELY? Another issue is going to be your trim in the water, which is critical to proper diving. With all the additional gas in your suit, you will work far harder maintaining your posture in the water, hence consume far more gas, thus shorten your dive. And the advantage is?

    A drysuit will fail, just when is the question.
    DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHEN?
    Dollars-to-doughnuts it will be the most in-opportune moment.


    A thought: In the first days of diving they had no buoyancy compensating devices, and used all manner of items to try to perform that task. So they developed a devise. Why are you trying to remake the wheel?

    Trying to eliminate unnecessary gear is laudable. Simplifying equipment and placement is prudent. Diving with out essential equipment is miss-guided at best, and a death wish at its lowest common denominator.

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    Wreck Diving Moderator acelockco's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by amtrosie View Post
    Several questions:
    Sure, depth...well I was planning on using that setup for local quarry diving to start...about 42 feet depth in the area I like to hang out in.

    As far as a dry suit falure...it has already happened to me a few times (that is what you get for buying a used dry suit!!!), but it was not tragic enough to even stop the dive, but I was flooded pretty badly by the end of the dive. Even with both legs filled with water, I still had no problem getting to the surface.

    Anyway, back to why I was thinking about this:

    I usually only have air in my BC while at the surface and for the first 5-10 minutes of the dive depending on the depth.

    If I ever needed to get to the surface because of a dry suit falure, I could just swim to the surface. If not, I could use a line (anchor line on a boat, there are lines to surface bouys over every point of intrest in the quarry, or even Jersey line...which is a line you send up on a lift bag and attach to the wreck you are on so you can go up...in case you can not locate the anchor line.) or in a total emergency, I could drop a little of my weight.

    Considering the AL80 cylinder I am going to be using, I would probablly be a little positive at the end of the dive anyway.

    From what I have seen on a few local dive boats, I would not be the only one doing this.

    Anyway, I am not 100% sure it is going to work out well, but it is something to try (the reason for quarry diving for me is training and are my testing grounds...er waters).

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    Master of Mask Mold seasnake's Avatar
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    I'd have to say you may have just answered the question. If at any point in the dive you need to use your BC for positive bouyancy, then you should have it, and not just depend on your drysuit. The drysuit should be inflated just enough to keep the squeeze off, no more.
    Now if you didn't need a bc at all for bouyancy compensation, I'd say you might have something to look into.

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    Wreck Diving Moderator acelockco's Avatar
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    That's exactly what I am saying. I rarely use the BC for anything but a pack. The wing is there, but I don't use it.

    It's just a thought anyway.

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    Cave Diver BamaCaveDiver's Avatar
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    Brit sump divers make use of their dry suits for bouyancy, but then their dives are typically short and shallow (a tool to get to more remote sections of a cave, so gear is scrutinized for transport between sumps.) If you are doing longer dives to deeper depths you can see sme fairly major weight swings as you consume the gas tht you are carrying. This is exactly why early divers started carrying gas cans and clorox bottles with them until someone finally invented the BC.

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    Wreck Diving Moderator acelockco's Avatar
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    At this point it does not matter anyway. I was at the dive shop today getting fills and I found a nice wing sitting there with my name on it. Well it had my name on it when I left the dive shop anyway....

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    Registered Users Divingtoors's Avatar
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    Default Diving without BC

    HI

    I found that by changing to a wing and backplate, It almost felt as if I didn't have a BCD on when I dived.
    In my opinion, the STAB jacket BC is much more uncomrfortable and cluttered than a wing. Some people like the feeling of "security" the Stab. Jacket BC provides (by folding around them, and giving them that familiar squeeze feeling when inflated, something we grew accustomed to and learned to rely on and believe in, when we first started and learned to dive, and such things are hard to get rid off).

    The "freedom" experienced when diving with a single baldder wing and backplate (if you like that freedom) is a feeling you will never again give up for a jacket style BCD, but personal milleage may vary..

    Rgds

    Johan
    "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards!"

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