how to attach 2 80 tanks to my bcd

[telitalabella]

please forgive my ignorance but i starting thinking on making a double set, but i don't know how to attach the tanks to the bcd, any insights? do you recomend 2 regulators? any advice will be appreciated. thank you

 

[fdog]

These are actually the two least painful options. Really.

1. Find someone who dives that way, and throw yourself on their mercy for mentoring.
2. Find and enroll in a Fundamentals, or Essentials, class.

Really. It will be cheaper in the long run than trying to figure it out piecemeal.

Example: You'll doubtless get lots of responses recommended a backplate & wing. But...what size? How do you adjust it right? Getting the adjustment wrong will make it miserable, and you'll swear and curse the people that told you to get one - if it's adjusted right, it is amazingly comfortable and useful.

The question you asked is not quite as complex as "How do I parachute out of an airplane?", but close.


All the best, James

 

[merxlin]

I can't tell from your profile what your real level of training is so am not trying to be insulting, but do you know how to handle all that air? Diving doubles is more than just the ability to stay down longer without running out of gas.

 

[diver 85]

Look @ this setup.......2 regs needed

pony bottle bracket,quick draw brackets,ultimate ponybottle bracketscuba,dive,dive equipment

 

[Colliam7]

. . I starting thinking on making a double set, but i don't know how to attach the tanks to the bcd, any insights? do you recomend 2 regulators?

As others have said, we may be missing the mark, and misunderstanding your question. But, assuming (with all the inherent risks of assumptions) that you are thinking of a 'back-mounted' set of twin tanks (two tanks of the same size, carried behind you / on your back), you have two primary options, both of which involve at least two 1st stage (and second stage) regulators: 1) You can double up two tanks, with a manifold between them, using tank bands to hold them in place; 2) you can double up two tanks, with no connection between them, but with a pair of tank bands to hold them in place. In both cases, the tanks will connect to a properly configured BCD (BP/W) by using the bolts on the tank bands to attach them to the BCD. NOT ALL BCDs have the appropriate attachment grommets, so do not assume that any BCD will work. There are older (aka 'more mature') styles of backmounted tanks, where you can manifold the two tanks together, and use a single 1st and second stage - watch some episodes of Sea Hunt to see how this might be done. Or, you can pursue a sidemount configuration, with the tanks independently secured, with a first and second stage regulator for each tank. where you end up with two independent tanks (with two first and second stage regulator for each tank). This is a VERY simplistic response, however. I think you might get more useful information if you could share a few more details of what you are trying to accomplish. But, be forwarned - at that point, we will probably inundate you with the 47 caveats about requisite training necessary before venturing into doubles (or even daring to actually think about doubles), the minimum amount of experience you should have before even thinking about doubles, etc. But, we may also, quite by accident, answer your actual question.

 

[TSandM]

There are really two reasons to carry two tanks into the water -- increased gas supply, and redundancy. Technical and cave divers are generally interested in both, which is why, whether it's in an independent or manifolded configuration, you will see open circuit divers in both realms using two tanks and two completely independent first and second stage setups.

If you are doing open water diving within no-deco limits and simply want a bigger gas supply, it's less costly and less complicated to obtain a larger tank.

If your diving application warrants moving to double tanks, there are a number of ways to accomplish this. Backmounted, manifolded doubles are most often carried on some type of rigid support, to which they are bolted. There are, I believe, some fabric BCs that can carry double tanks, but even then, I believe the attachment is via the bolts. This is different from independent, back-mounted doubles, which can be attached by a pair of cambands. (This is a fairly uncommonly used setup, though.) There is also the increasingly popular strategy of sidemounting independent double tanks.

James is right -- the best way to work through this is with an experienced mentor, or through a class designed to help with precisely these types of questions. But the first question to answer is the purpose for the doubles, because that can answer a lot of questions right there.