Has anyone tried this for AL80s?

[Mike1967]

What does it matter where it goes?

I don't care but people do lol

My tanks are part of my ballast.

Same

I'd much rather my tanks be negative.

Ditto

I'm also of the wider persuasion so my bands have a leash that would suck with a positive tank.

Huh? I assume you mean they're long, why does your width make your leashes longer?

 

[guruboy]

Maybe because the distance from his chest d-ring to side of body is longer? Just guessing.

 

[Mike1967]

Maybe because the distance from his chest d-ring to side of body is longer? Just guessing.

Oh I thought he was talking about the bottom clip.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Oh I thought he was talking about the bottom clip.

I was referring to the bottom. My buttplate d-ring is not out on the edge on my body like it would be for a skinny person. So my leash would have to be longer to get my tanks to my side.

As for the top I don't clip them. I use a loop bungee that goes around the handle.

 

[Mike1967]

My buttplate d-ring is not out on the edge on my body like

Ah ok, I don't use a buttplate. I have a Dring on my hip.

As for the top I don't clip them. I use a loop bungee that goes around the handle.

Same

Cheers

 

[Rollin Bonz]

What does it matter where it goes?

I can tell you by an advid user of steel tanks it's nice to not use something that is butt light and floaty. My tanks are part of my ballast. I dive FL caves so that may be a biased thing but I'd much rather my tanks be negative. I'm also of the wider persuasion so my bands have a leash that would suck with a positive tank.

That's what I assume I am missing not diving steels, the difficulties as the the AL80s get floaty. I dive SM in a Hollis SMS100 with 1 set of waist D rings. I clip there and never move them. I never really notice a problem, as long as I keep the tanks close to equal pressures, but I started SM with AL80s and haven't dove steels consistently enough to tell if I'm just "used to" the floatiness. Perhaps I am missing the SM nirvana that comes with neutrally or negatively bouyant tanks.

In checking out steel tanks, I saw where a couple of companies (XS Scuba and Catalina) make (or at least did at one time) a "neutrally bouyant" AL80. Doing the math, adding 4 lbs of lead to a standard AL80 gets you equivalent bouyancy characteristics with only an additional out of water weight of 1.2 pounds compared to the "neutrally bouyant" AL80. Figured I could make the ones I had neutrally bouyant for basically no cost. I wouldn't buy a neutrally bouyant AL80 if I were buying tanks, I'd just buy steel. BUT, given the numbers and the fact I already have 2 AL80s, I really see no reason not to go this route. If anyone has a legit reason please do share.

 

[victorzamora]

What does it matter where it goes?

The main problem with adding weights to the bottom of your AL80s for SM is trim. SM divers tend to all be extremely foot-heavy anyway....adding that much lead (2-5lbs, depending on who you ask) that far behind your center of buoyancy is going to lead to some aggressively foot-heavy and out-of-trim diving.

Managing AL80s shouldn't have to come at the cost of borking your trim.

 

[Rollin Bonz]

The main problem with adding weights to the bottom of your AL80s for SM is trim. SM divers tend to all be extremely foot-heavy anyway....adding that much lead (2-5lbs, depending on who you ask) that far behind your center of buoyancy is going to lead to some aggressively foot-heavy and out-of-trim diving.

Managing AL80s shouldn't have to come at the cost of borking your trim.

Thank you! THAT's an excellent point I had not fully considered. I'm tall and usually skip leg day at the gym ... I've actually had issues being foot-light in the past, so this may actually help.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

The only time I was ever foot heavy was when I dove Worthington steel but once I switched over to fabers I didnt have that problem.

I also dive the SMS 100 and when I had the worthingtons I had 2lb fastened to each shoulder. Now I have lighter tanks and no extra weights.

 

[divezonescuba]

I have experimented with different bungee thicknesses. It appears that a doubled section of 3/8 inch is appropriate for initial in water testing. The doubled over length also supports the tank well out of the water.

Aside of the single dring approach, I will also be investigating a dual dring on the belt approach where the tank is pinned by the shock cord between two Drings on the belt. In this configuration, the bolt snap on the end of the bungee will be secured to a dring positioned 180 degrees out on the tank band. The bungee will be fed thru both drings on the belt. This should not interfere with the deco or stage bottles. In theory, the primary tank will not be able to rotate around the single dring as was possible with that configuration.