Can I Use Double Cylinders for Aqualung Pro LT

[Bent Benny]

I've looked through the owners manual and it says
"Aqua Lung does not offer a twin cylinder kit for your BC. If you want to adapt twin cylinders to your BC, you must consult with your professional dive retailer about after-market twin band kits that would work with your specific model.

Before adapting your BC for use with double cylinders, it is important to compare the lift capacity of your particular BC size and model with the buoyancy specifications of the cylinders, the amount of weight you will carry, and the type of exposure suit you will wear."

This leads me to believe that it is possible. I would like to get a backpack or wing style BC at some pont, but I just got this one so I would like to get at least a year out of it before I go and buy something that is made for doubles.

What, if any, options do I have for double tanks? Should I try to find a way to hold 2 tanks on my back or would I be better of wearing one on my back and one sidemount? I would really appreciate any help. If my logic is messed up here I would really appreciate a correction there as well from someone with more experience than I (which is probably 99.9% of you)

 

[runsongas]

getting a bpw or dedicated SM rig is far easier than trying to make this work. twins on conventional bcds doesn't even work well with the ones that do have a kit offered like the knighthawk or black ice.

you're basically asking how you can get a corolla ready for towing a boat when you really need a truck.

 

[Bent Benny]

That's what I thought from the beginning but I was hoping I could safely make it work. Thanks for the help.

 

[tbone1004]

@Bent Benny yeah, don't bother. There are bands out there IF you can find them. They look like this

that extra bow in the middle is made to help mount it to the plastic backpacks used in most BC's but it's really a semi-permanent solution not something you want to be swapping back and forth between on the regular.

Is it unsafe? as long as it has enough lift it's no more or less safe than any other bc with the same amount of lift. Is it smart? I'd argue no, especially with how cheap you can get bpw's these days with the move to sidemount from so many people

 

[Bent Benny]

Yeah I'll just get another BC. It's not like I have to have 2 tanks, it would just be a convenience. I'll keep my eye out. Are there any BC's you would recommend?

 

[tbone1004]

Yeah I'll just get another BC. It's not like I have to have 2 tanks, it would just be a convenience. I'll keep my eye out. Are there any BC's you would recommend?

if you want doubles, then you need a SS backplate and wing *assuming diving at home, fellow maineiac btw albeit reformed back in the south*. You'll appreciate the plate regardless of diving singles or doubles. Best bang for the buck right now is the singles rigs from @Bryan@Vintage Double Hose and then if you decide to go doubles down the road you can grab a used doubles wing for relatively cheap when you're ready to do that

 

[Bent Benny]

if you want doubles, then you need a SS backplate and wing *assuming diving at home, fellow maineiac btw albeit reformed back in the south*. You'll appreciate the plate regardless of diving singles or doubles. Best bang for the buck right now is the singles rigs from @Bryan@Vintage Double Hose and then if you decide to go doubles down the road you can grab a used doubles wing for relatively cheap when you're ready to do that

If I buy a new BC it will be because I want doubles. The one I have now has less than 20 dives on it, but I just want more bottom time. Would buying a single and converting it to a double still be the best option in your opinion? Would sidemount be a good option or is that more for tech/cave diving? What's so great about a back plate?

In the short time I have been diving I have been kind of amazed at how many people I hear say they are originally from Maine, yet I have a really hard time finding people around here who want to just dive for the fun of it.

edit- Also, I don't understand what you mean when you mentioned the user Bryan @ Vintage Double Hose. Does he have some for sale on here somewhere?

 

[tbone1004]

@Bent Benny Bryan own's the company Vintage Double Hose, his BC's are here
Store | Vintage Double Hose
He does not have a doubles wing yet, but you can find those used.

If you are looking for dive buddies, contact @Luis H . I didn't leave Maine because I wanted to, my wife was rather persuasive about wanting to move back to the Carolinas....

Now, you are in a real conundrum because you are saying you want to be an instructor on another thread, and if you're going to do that, then you are going to have to be in "uniform" if you are working with/for a shop which means when teaching, you are going to be in their gear, not your own. May or may not change the direction this is going to go for you.
Sidemount is something that you have to choose to be better for you in the circumstances you're diving. I can't tell you if it's better or worse. I can tell you I have been sidemount diving for 9 years and I do not dive sidemount in open water unless I am doing gear tweaks, training dives, or have a really specific reason to use it *i.e. penetrating a sideways shipwreck*, and I grab my doubles when I'm diving in open water.

You also need to go and figure out if doubles are really going to change your bottom time. I don't know your dive profiles, but doubles give you the ability to go about 2.5x as long as comparable singles. I.e. if your rock bottom says to reserve 25cf and you're diving an AL80, instead of being able to burn 50cf, you can now burn 125cf because your reserve is still the same. If your NDL is not 2.5x your gas limit, then going to doubles doesn't really make sense. They're also heavy, expensive, etc. and while I dive doubles much more than singles, when in OW it has much less to do with maximizing bottom time.

It is unlikely that you will be able to dive either sidemount or doubles while teaching if you teach through a shop. If you are teaching independently you can obviously use whatever you want

 

[Bent Benny]

Ok thanks for the replies. If I go instruct I'll wear whatever they want me to, but that could be 6-18 months from now. I haven't gotten anywhere near my NDL and I always feel like I'm running out of gas right after I get to the bottom. If I would make a dive to 80+ft where the NDL is much shorter than the dives I'm doing then I can switch back to my single tank BC.

Anyway I've spent plenty on dive gear lately anyway so I'm not going to run right out and buy another bc (unless I have a moment of weakness) I'm just trying to consider my options and learn a few things.

 

[tbone1004]

@Bent Benny how deep are you going?