Big cannister - still struggling...

[rsdancey]

I made a previous post about recently acquiring a Halcyon Explorer 50 light, and how large the cannister is (i.e. big!). Last night I attempted to mount it to my rig for the first time, and oh boy do I think I'm doing something wrong.

I have the light attached to the right belt webbing, pushed as far back towards the backplate as I can get it. Then I have a metal buckle threaded down the webbing, pressed up against the cannister to hold the unit in place.

In this configuration, the cannister has a tendency to spin 90degrees from vertical when I lift the rig to attempt to put it on, twisting the the webbing and making donning the rig very, very hard. Once I've got the rig on, the weight of the cannister pulling down on the webbing makes it very hard to get the "waist belt" cinched up correctly - I'm worried that once in the water, I'll be forced to readjust the belt every time (doable, but no fun with gloves, etc.)

The setup looks & feels so awkward I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out what it is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ryan

 

[pants!]

Get a smaller canister

 

[hermosadive]

Put your canister on after you get into your harness. Sit down against an open truck bed or bench which will support the weight of your canister and rig while you tighting your weight belt. No more problems.

 

[ericfine50]

It wont affect you in the water. I dive a pro-14 w. an HID-18 Head. Great for taking lead off the waist in cold water

 

[RTodd]

I made a previous post about recently acquiring a Halcyon Explorer 50 light, and how large the cannister is (i.e. big!). Last night I attempted to mount it to my rig for the first time, and oh boy do I think I'm doing something wrong.

I have the light attached to the right belt webbing, pushed as far back towards the backplate as I can get it. Then I have a metal buckle threaded down the webbing, pressed up against the cannister to hold the unit in place.

In this configuration, the cannister has a tendency to spin 90degrees from vertical when I lift the rig to attempt to put it on, twisting the the webbing and making donning the rig very, very hard. Once I've got the rig on, the weight of the cannister pulling down on the webbing makes it very hard to get the "waist belt" cinched up correctly - I'm worried that once in the water, I'll be forced to readjust the belt every time (doable, but no fun with gloves, etc.)

The setup looks & feels so awkward I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out what it is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ryan

I bet you have the newer "softer" H stamped Halcyon webbing. Go buy some old school stiff webbing and your problem will be solved for the most part.

 

[Jon C]

Have you considered the specially designed Halcyon "Canister Compensating Lift Bag"? It attaches to the canister and you fill it up as needed. Use helium on land. In the water, watch out for the "sideways uncontrolled ascent" and "UHH" effect (Underwater Human Helicopter)"!

After reading your post, I am sticking with my Scout and Phantom. I bought an old Explorer 50, painted it white, and now use it as my hot water heater for my house.

Seriously, you'll work it out. Just getting it into the water is the hard part.

 

[francousteau]

I have the light attached to the right belt webbing, pushed as far back towards the backplate as I can get it. Then I have a metal buckle threaded down the webbing, pressed up against the cannister to hold the unit in place.

In this configuration, the cannister has a tendency to spin 90degrees from vertical when I lift the rig to attempt to put it on, twisting the the webbing and making donning the rig very, very hard. Once I've got the rig on, the weight of the cannister pulling down on the webbing makes it very hard to get the "waist belt" cinched up correctly - I'm worried that once in the water, I'll be forced to readjust the belt every time (doable, but no fun with gloves, etc.)
Ryan

I've got that Pro4 , which is a big can as well. I have it set up the same way as you describe, but have since removed the tri-glide ("metal buckle") because it makes it hard to remove the can when finished diving and the can stays in place anyway once I've positioned it after my rig is on. When on a boat, my rig is on a bench and I put my arms through the harness and hold onto the right side of the waist belt with my right hand and stand up. Then I just buckle up and that's it. If you cinch the belt up good, you won't be "forced to readjust". If I'm diving at the quarry, I just set the rig on a table and don basically the same way. Once in the water, I don't even notice that the can is there

 

[rsdancey]

Made my first dive last night with the big cannister. Took everyone's advice regarding setup on the beach (used a concrete ledge as the support platform). I was able to get into the rig more easily than before, and got the cannister situated in a comfortable position. That first stand-up & walk was an experience though - that thing is heavy and threw my balance way off. Who needs Martini's Law when you can carry an Explorer 50 around on your hip?!

Once in the water, one of my concerns proved justified. Achieving a (relatively) neutral boyancy in about 15 fsw, I went "spread eagle" in the horizontal position, and sure enough, I rolled right (and head down, but that's another problem altogether). There may be something to the idea of having air in the wing compensate for the roll, but in relatively shallow water, wearing my 7mm wetsuit, I had almost no air in the bladder. As I'm concerned about being able to make stable safety stops, this is a probelm I have to debug.

I have a Halcyon ABS and I am thinking about attaching the left unit to the rig and putting a weight in it to compensate for the cannister. Anyone know what the actual negative bouyancy is of one of those cannisters? There's a pretty good airspace inside, so I can't just weigh it dry and assume that's the poundage.

Positive Comments: I don't know from HiD, but the 50w halogen bulb lit up the scene like a searchlight. I found the hand-mounted position of the lighthead to be very comfortable and had a pleasant experience pointing it around and looking at the bright colors. Overall I was extremely impressed with the performance. In the future I may consider upgrading to an HiD lighthead, but for now, this baby is plenty bright enough.

Negative Comments: I was holding the light in my left hand. Unfortunately, because of all the new equipment I was wearing, my bouyancy control was teh suck. As a result of my head-down position (fixable, but unfixed on this dive) I found that I had to dump air from the wing with the rear-mounted dump valve rather than with the power inflator hose. The dump valve is on the left side of the wing. As a result, I had to keep either switching hands on the lighthead, or creating distracting motions of the light while I reached for the dump valve.

Question: Wouldn't it make more sense to mount the cannister on the left, hold the light with the right hand, and then have the left hand free to reach the dump valve? Is there a DIR reason for the right-hip / left-hand lighting configuration?

Ryan

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Stage/deco bottles go on the left side. Holding the lighthead in the left hand was intended for diving with a scooter. I carry mine in my left hand, but if I need to reach my spg, get something from my left pocket or dump my drysuit I just switch hands for a moment. If you wear weights, just transfer a few pounds to the left side. It might also just take a little getting used to. It shouldn't be that heavy underwater. I have the Pro4, which is -2#.

 

[California Diver]

if you dont want you big cannister i will gladly look after it for you.