BC manufacturers must be Raking it in...

[SparticleBrane]

Man, I keep hearing all you guys talk about these tank monkeys. I sure wish I knew where you get them. I personally think a monkey that could fill tanks, mix nitrox, and maybe even do the cylinder cleaning, would be a lot cheaper than the full time, professional employee I currently have doing that task.

Sparticle, you guys got a monkey training operation over there in Raleigh? If so, give me the particulars. I wanna buy one already trained.

Added Information: I don't want a flying monkey like on the Wizard of Oz. I want one of those real monkeys like in the Career Builders (I think) commercial.

Phil Ellis

I wish!
I was home from my first year of college working at a dive shop when I was a tank monkey. I was paid $6.50/hour to sit in a shop that was mostly deserted. I ran most of the shop while my boss (shop owner) was out. I was the only employee besides the owner -- small mom and pop kinda place.

When people came in to get fills I asked them exactly what they wanted. They got exactly what they asked for. They want 32%? They got 32.0%, and exactly to the rated pressure of the tank. No one go short fills when I was filling, because I hate short fills myself.

Perhaps what you need is a motivated high school kid that you don't have to pay that much.

 

[Thalassamania]

Man, I keep hearing all you guys talk about these tank monkeys. I sure wish I knew where you get them. I personally think a monkey that could fill tanks, mix nitrox, and maybe even do the cylinder cleaning, would be a lot cheaper than the full time, professional employee I currently have doing that task.

NetDoc (and a few others') avatars might make them candidates.

 

[amascuba]

Man, I keep hearing all you guys talk about these tank monkeys. I sure wish I knew where you get them. I personally think a monkey that could fill tanks, mix nitrox, and maybe even do the cylinder cleaning, would be a lot cheaper than the full time, professional employee I currently have doing that task.

Sparticle, you guys got a monkey training operation over there in Raleigh? If so, give me the particulars. I wanna buy one already trained.

Added Information: I don't want a flying monkey like on the Wizard of Oz. I want one of those real monkeys like in the Career Builders (I think) commercial.

Phil Ellis

Here's my head shot... Want my resume?

 

[jeraldjcook]

Oops, double hijack.

 

[jeraldjcook]

Man, I keep hearing all you guys talk about these tank monkeys.

[hijack]

You mean trunk monkeys?

Suburban Auto Group :: TRUNK MONKEY COMMERCIALS

Some of the videos are hilarious
[/hijack]

 

[Otter]

...snip...

Perhaps what you need is a motivated high school kid that you don't have to pay that much.

You would have a better chance of finding gold at the end of a rainbow.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Therein is the REAL difference. I don't see most BCs as "junk" and I don't blame the gear for my student's successes. It's clearly MY responsibility to make sure they learn and learn well. As has been pointed out, a BC is a pretty low tech device. If you can't make one work, then you would probably have an issue using a hammer!

You're a funny guy. Again, I think I was specific enough about exactly what it is that I don't like about some of the BC's on the market. If you like them, buy them.

 

[The Chairman]

You're a funny guy.

Thanks Mike!

 

[Tom Winters]

When I started diving, I used a leather belt to hold the tank against me. You reached with your left hand to keep the tank from dropping and strangling you with the twin reg hoses. I was pretty stoked when I got a US Divers cam pack a few years later with my own steel 72.
My uncle who owned that first rig never did subscribe to the backback idea. He was Scottish and kinda slow to reach for the check, and he was proud of it.
So skip all that bc nonsense, go to Wal-mart, and get yourself a good thick leather belt. If you really want to get fancy, get a thickish yard waste plastic garbage bag and a short length of garden hose for some flotation. You can put the fortune you save towards a really fancy bagpipe and a nice plate of haggis.

 

[Thalassamania]

When I started diving, I used a leather belt to hold the tank against me. You reached with your left hand to keep the tank from dropping and strangling you with the twin reg hoses. I was pretty stoked when I got a US Divers cam pack a few years later with my own steel 72.
My uncle who owned that first rig never did subscribe to the backback idea. He was Scottish and kinda slow to reach for the check, and he was proud of it.
So skip all that bc nonsense, go to Wal-mart, and get yourself a good thick leather belt. If you really want to get fancy, get a thickish yard waste plastic garbage bag and a short length of garden hose for some flotation. You can put the fortune you save towards a really fancy bagpipe and a nice plate of haggish.

Er ... the Scottish National dish is "haggis." I believe the "Cam pack" was a ScubaPro product trade name, wasn't that the back pack with the lever actuated tank band?