Choker Clip Solutions...

[The Chairman]

What's with the twin ploughs? (or are those spgs? )

The tanks twisted a bit... I have that solved now.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The tanks twisted a bit... I have that solved now.

That's good. I noticed that this morning and was going to PM a suggestion to rotate the lower bolt snap position a bit more to the inside and angle the regs a little more toward your centerline on the valves. When you get both those spot on, the SPGs will stay pressed in against your chest just in board of the shoulder D-rings.

The exception to that tends to be AL 80s, AL 72s and near empty steel 72s, that become a bit floaty and start to rotate outward. You need to over do it slightly with those to accommodate/anticipate the change in tank position.

 

[The Chairman]

Those were AL80s... I put a weight pocket with five pounds of weight on each cam strap to keep their butt's down. The issue here were how the choker clips rotated rotating the entire tank to shift axially.

That's good. I noticed that this morning and was going to PM a suggestion to rotate the lower bolt snap position a bit more to the inside and angle the regs a little more toward your centerline on the valves. When you get both those spot on, the SPGs will stay pressed in against your chest just in board of the shoulder D-rings.

The exception to that tends to be AL 80s, AL 72s and near empty steel 72s, that become a bit floaty and start to rotate outward. You need to over do it slightly with those to accommodate/anticipate the change in tank position.

 

[The Chairman]

Here is my latest iteration of my tank harness. I spot welded the shackle to stop it from turning. I didn't notice it at first, but I ruined the butterfly clip by overdoing the weld. Now i just do a spot on the lower part of the clip so it doesn't screw up the spring.

Too much of a good thing. I have reduced the amount of welding I do on the clip by 90%.

A little blurry, but you can see how the belt goes around the clip.

A very streamlined tank. The bungees for the reg hoses won't move up and down much either.

From the front. I haven't put on the clip and strap to hold the tank onto my butt plate yet.

FWIW, I have really learned a lot more about sewing heavy materials through this. My squares are almost square! I got rid of the upper plastic slide and I have twisted the strap 180^o so that it really pulls down on the clip shackle when everything is tight. Also, I tighten the cam band down first so that the clip is about 3/4" away from the neck. When I tighten the Zip Tie, it really snugs down the strap.

I also found that www.DiveGearSupply.com is the best place to get hardware from, hands down.

I have created some more for my steel HP120s and will take pictures of them shortly. It's too bad I'll be diving solo this week. I would like to get an idea of how these trim out.

 

[The Chairman]

Here are a couple of clips from diving on the Vandenburg with the steel HP80s. I was lazy and didn't adjust the straps. As you can see, I have made shorter straps for these tanks so that I won't have to worry about errant hoses. I made sure that these tanks would not twist, so you don't see any "plows".

 

[The Chairman]

Here are the pics in the shop of my HP120s

Close up of clip

 

[The Chairman]

Here is an updated list of materials I am using for these tank harnesses:

Materials needed..

Tank harness (per side):
1- SS Butterfly clip Premium Stainless Steel Snaps - Dive Gear Express with the shackle spot welded on the end at right angle to the clip. Dip immediately into water so you don't ruin the spring with heat.
1- 9/16" extra large SS Bolt Snap Premium Stainless Steel Snaps - Dive Gear Express.
1- 34" of 1" wide webbing for the main strap (Reef Scuba, Scuba Gear, Scuba Diving Technical Products, Surgical Tubing, Bungee Cord, Brass and SS Hardware from www.reefscuba.com #RS113-BLU) (6" folded over and twisted 180^o with 3/4" square sewn 1 inch from the end and another seam sewn right on the end. The space is for the upper bungee to pass through.
1- 14" of 1" wide webbing for the bottom tank strap (Reefscuba #RS113-BLU) (2" folded over center of one triglide with 3/4" square sewn).
2- 1" wide triglides (SS or plastic) D-Rings, Belt Slides, and Clamps - Dive Gear Express.
1- 15" of 3/16" bungee for the top hose bungee. Tied as a prussic (two grape knots).
2- 24" of 3/16" bungee for the other two hose bungees. Tied as a prussic (two grape knots).
1- Tank cam strap. (I make my own).
1- D-ring to match cam strap size D-Rings, Belt Slides, and Clamps - Dive Gear Express.
1- SS Triglide to match cam strap size D-Rings, Belt Slides, and Clamps - Dive Gear Express.

Tank Cam Strap (per side):
1- Cam Buckle Plastic Cam Strap Buckle, Piranha Dive Manufacturing
1- 40" of 2" Web 2 Inch Nylon Webbing BLUE, Piranha Dive Manufacturing Folded 2 1/2" over sewn in a 1 1/2" square
1- 6" of 1 1/2" Hook Tape
1- 6" of 1 1/2" Loop Tape

SMS100 bungees (per side):
1- 2" SS Ring Quick Links, Rings, and Carabiners - Dive Gear Express.
2- 2" SS Quicklinks Quick Links, Rings, and Carabiners - Dive Gear Express.
1- 15" of 3/8" bungee (10 inches long after folding 2 1/2" on either end and using two zip ties to secure each end).
4- 3/16" wide zip ties.
2- 2" of 3/4" Heat Shrink Tubing (Used over the zip ties to eliminate any sharp edges or loose bungee ends).

The Bungee cord, heat shrink tubing, Zip Ties and the Hook and Loop tape I simply did a Google search and bought from the cheapest supplier.

The sewing was done on a basic Singer Zig Zag Sewing Machine using a heavy needle and outdoor polyester thread. The welding was done with a 225 amp generic buzz box using 1/8" SS rod. I would have preferred 1/16" or even 3/32", but they were not available locally.

If you need to add weight on an aluminum tank, make another prussic with 24" of 3/16" bungee.

 

[offroadr1]

forgive me if this is a silly question. what benefit does this method offer over a bungee'd boltsnap slipped over the valve and clipped to the dring and the bungee hooked over the valve? i do not dive sidemount, but i want to. just trying to absorb info for the time being.

 

[The Chairman]

First, the tank doesn't hang near as low. Second, with the 1" strap, I actually have a handle to easily handle the tank in the water. Finally, the strap keeps my reg hose bungees in place so they don't slip off the tank. This has been an evolutionary design for me. With each dive, I find shortcomings and resolve them. I think I might have finally run out of issues to resolve.

 

[offroadr1]

so the choker clips are just to keep the cylinders high and tight. the rest just evolved around hose management that way that suits you best. i see now. do you clip the butterfly clip onto the bungee directly?