Some daft Dive gear questions

[jb2cool]

just buy a £10 adaptor for holidays where the cylinders might not be compatible. On our recent trip to the Red Sea. Every cylinder on the boat was DIN compatible.

[Chris W]

Hi,

Update on my days diving with a shoulder dump.

Firstly made a sensible choice of dive site - Blue Lagoon.

Average depth 4.5M so at worst I would just look daft if I struggled. 4 Deg C so the dives were kept between 25 - 45 minutes. Viz was around 2-3M.

I did a quick check and set the valve on a platform just infront of the entry point.

I didn't get on with the shoulder dump from the start - a few minutes into the first dive I ended up on the surface wondering how in the hell I had got there.

after some practice my buoyancy returned to what it was in a cuff dump suit but I ended up with the valve set to fully open and still having to turn almost on my back to vent from my suit - surley this isn't right?

With a cuff dump I found it really easy just to hover and gently fin along - I have no problem doing a safety stop etc. - I just wouldn't feel confident doing a dive deeper than 10M with a shoulder dump at the moment..... I also found it hard not being able to see the air being vented - I could'nt tell how much if any was being vented without looking at the surface.

Any advice appreciated....... as most suits are now sold with a shoulder dump I must be missing something....

[big_si]

Originally Posted by Chris W

Hi,

Update on my days diving with a shoulder dump.

Firstly made a sensible choice of dive site - Blue Lagoon.

Average depth 4.5M so at worst I would just look daft if I struggled. 4 Deg C so the dives were kept between 25 - 45 minutes. Viz was around 2-3M.

I did a quick check and set the valve on a platform just infront of the entry point.

I didn't get on with the shoulder dump from the start - a few minutes into the first dive I ended up on the surface wondering how in the hell I had got there.

after some practice my buoyancy returned to what it was in a cuff dump suit but I ended up with the valve set to fully open and still having to turn almost on my back to vent from my suit - surley this isn't right?

With a cuff dump I found it really easy just to hover and gently fin along - I have no problem doing a safety stop etc. - I just wouldn't feel confident doing a dive deeper than 10M with a shoulder dump at the moment..... I also found it hard not being able to see the air being vented - I could'nt tell how much if any was being vented without looking at the surface.

Any advice appreciated....... as most suits are now sold with a shoulder dump I must be missing something....

Hi Chris,

I find that I can hear the air being vented from my shoulder dump. I generally have mine all the way open when starting to decend and then sometimes just a turn or so closed to stop air coming out when I put in a burst to keep me warm at the bottom.

When diving horizontally It generally only needs me to rotate my shoulder upwards a bit and it bubbles out. I've read of some people having issues with their undersuits getting sucked into the dump and not allowing the air out sufficiently. I believe they sometimes use some duct tape around that arm to stop it getting sucked in? I use Fourth Element underclothes and don't have this issue.

With regards to your buoyancy issues... Are you using the suit for buoyancy or your wing/bc? I tend to use my wing for buoyancy and just a squirt in the suit. This means that I don't really have that much to vent on my ascent.

HTH

Si

[DannyB]

Originally Posted by Chris W

Hi,

Update on my days diving with a shoulder dump.

Firstly made a sensible choice of dive site - Blue Lagoon.

Average depth 4.5M so at worst I would just look daft if I struggled. 4 Deg C so the dives were kept between 25 - 45 minutes. Viz was around 2-3M.

I did a quick check and set the valve on a platform just infront of the entry point.

I didn't get on with the shoulder dump from the start - a few minutes into the first dive I ended up on the surface wondering how in the hell I had got there.

after some practice my buoyancy returned to what it was in a cuff dump suit but I ended up with the valve set to fully open and still having to turn almost on my back to vent from my suit - surley this isn't right?

With a cuff dump I found it really easy just to hover and gently fin along - I have no problem doing a safety stop etc. - I just wouldn't feel confident doing a dive deeper than 10M with a shoulder dump at the moment..... I also found it hard not being able to see the air being vented - I could'nt tell how much if any was being vented without looking at the surface.

Any advice appreciated....... as most suits are now sold with a shoulder dump I must be missing something....

Depends how you are doing it. Are you using the suit for buoyancy? If so then you need to do as people have said and get it set "Just right" Practice, Practice, Practice. It took me 10-20 dives to get used to it, but it does happen eventually. If you are using the wing/BCD for buoyancy and the suit just to take squeeze off then run it fully open and it'll vent as you ascend.

My preference, suit for squeeze and wing for buoyancy. You can get gas out of a wing far, far quicker than you can out of a suit. if you are diving twins etc there is an awful lot of gas in there at depth to compensate for the weight of the gas in the cylinders at the start of the dive. When it goes wrong you want to be able to correct it fast, you cant do that on a suit without getting wet!

On the question of DIN vs A-Clamp, I have seen o-rings go on both underwater.

A-Clamp = Oh Shit get out fast.
Din = Hmm small trickle of bubbles, shall we go up or carry on the dive?

The guy on A-Clamp emptied a 12L 232 bar cylinder in about 30 seconds, the guy on DIN did 5 mins deco and surfaced with over 100 bar.

I've never had a problem with DIN cylinders except in the US, even there they are becoming more common, or convertible tanks (which most 232 bar DIN's are). I bought an adaptor when I went DIN about 5 years ago, I've never used it.

HTH

Danny

[Chris W]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies!!

I use my Suit for buoyancy and not my bcd. I also dive on a single cylinder usually 12L but sometimes 15L on deeper dives.

I couldn't hear the gas venting from my suit.... but there again I couldn't her the ascent alarm on my Aladin for my hood.

I'll probably give it at least another go before I just go for a Cuff dump.....

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by Chris W

Hi,

Thanks for the replies!!

I use my Suit for buoyancy and not my bcd. I also dive on a single cylinder usually 12L but sometimes 15L on deeper dives.

I couldn't hear the gas venting from my suit.... but there again I couldn't her the ascent alarm on my Aladin for my hood.

I'll probably give it at least another go before I just go for a Cuff dump.....

Hi Chris,

Before you go for the cuff dump option, have you thought about trying to use your BC for buoyancy and just enough gas in the suit to offset the squeeze. Surely worth a try in benign conditions to see if you get on with it that way?

HTH
Mal

[Zdu]

Hi Chris

A friend of mine had a similar problem with a new suit a few weeks back. Turns out the problem was that the suit was a little bit snug and he had an Arctic and two base layers which were obstructing the air getting to the dump...

[Chris W]

Originally Posted by Zdu

Hi Chris

A friend of mine had a similar problem with a new suit a few weeks back. Turns out the problem was that the suit was a little bit snug and he had an Arctic and two base layers which were obstructing the air getting to the dump...

Now that is interesting - It was a little snug in places...... a lot tighter than other Dry suits I have worn.....

I will try again with a bigger Dry Suit.

[Chris W]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

Hi Chris,

Before you go for the cuff dump option, have you thought about trying to use your BC for buoyancy and just enough gas in the suit to offset the squeeze. Surely worth a try in benign conditions to see if you get on with it that way?

HTH
Mal

Thanks Mal - I'll give this a try as well.