streamlining deco bottles

[tomfcrist]

One of my pet peeves is a deco bottle going damn near vertical when I'm diving. I hate it, it's uncomfortable and it needs to stop.

Anyone have a method to make a deco bottle sit as if it was a side mount rig while in back mount?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Are you clipping it off to your hip and chest D-rings?

 

[scububa]

If you only have one deco bottle, why don't you have it chest and hip clipped? Even if over a stage?
When I dive with 50% in an 80 al and 100% in a 40 al in a cave, they get dropped going in. Coming out, pickup at 70' and clip off the 50% and breath it on the way out. At 20', pickup the 40 and clip it over the 80 and switch. Both are clipped and controlled.

In an open water trimix dive where I have a bottom stage, 50% and 100% or a cave dive where I have 2 travel stages and 2 deco bottles, something gets nose clipped to the hip, maybe with a leash. At the end of the dive, I don't know how to keep them all 'down'. In the cave with trimix travel stages on a scooter I can keep the stages clipped at two points and streamlined. By the time I get back to my 50% and the stages are pretty light, I have enough space in the cave that I can 'float' the stages and streamline the deco gasses as I pick them up.

I am a left side guy. I tried the right/left but found it more complicated for what ever reason. But, if right/left, I can keep two bottles clipped at two points on each side.

Now I am starting into SM and am using the SM stage top mount method and kits. Haven't figured out all of that yet but the theory is stages top mounted and deco bottom mount 'hanging' In the case of two stages, one top mounted on each side, so, I'd have bottom mounted deco bottles on the left. But, I haven't had all that on yet. I've dropped a 40 going in and had one stage with a scooter and that's as much as I tried to date SM.

 

[lowviz]

...//... Anyone have a method to make a deco bottle sit as if it was a side mount rig while in back mount?

Yes.

Tailpiece works well for just this purpose. Michael G sent me this link:Double Under the Counterlung Dee Ring #SR-RB2

 

[tomfcrist]

Yes I use standard stage rigging,and yes they clip on chest and waist, but since they are al, they eventually get floaty. Even maxbottomtimes pic is at a steeper angle than I am looking for....

Dropping bottles is fine in a cave, but doesn't work in my neck of the woods.

I am considering trying a bungee loop on my backplate that will pull the valve tight über my armpit, just need to figure out what I will have to do with the bottom clip. Maybe a buttplate?

 

[Pavao]

Could be several things, hard to say without seeing the whole thing, stage kit not rigged properly, harness D-rings not placed properly (both chest and hip), tail clip too long, a Catalina and Luxfer will float differently, and of course the amount of gas in it.

If I'm only carrying one stage, I will loop the tail clip behind the cord coming down, above the clamp, that takes all the slack from it and keeps the clip tight against the tank and therefor, the tank remains closer to the hip D-ring

 

[Doppler]

If you want it to behave like a sidemount stage, get rid of the ****ty stage kit like in the photo above, and try sidemounting it.

 

[kwinter]

If you want it to behave like a sidemount stage, get rid of the ****ty stage kit like in the photo above, and try sidemounting it.

Not helpful, Steve. Plenty of folks sidemount with standard stage kit. Maybe use bungee or ring bungee. Look at 3 sidemount divers and you'll see 5 different methods.


Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[scububa]

Yes I use standard stage rigging,and yes they clip on chest and waist, but since they are al, they eventually get floaty. Even maxbottomtimes pic is at a steeper angle than I am looking for....

I get your point, but that's not my idea of vertical. I thought you were floating balloons off your hip (empties nose clipped to hip). That's what vertical brings to mind for me.

My cave point is that even with drops, there can be a lot of bottles to handle and there you can't float balloons for the most part. At some point you have to consider that in your plan/configuration for the sake of the cave. My experience is limited to one cave for more bottles beyond deco and it has room to float a bottle from the 70' point.

But, I understand your question better.

 

[j2s]

You can attach the deco bottle to your BM tanks (between the two tanks) and run the 2nd stage under the manifold.....If your knees can handle the load.....