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reaching tank valve I never have an issue with. My 1st stage usually brushes the back of my head if i look up a decent amount, but my horizontal trim seems to be good. I would change your tank position an inch or so till you get good horiz trim with it and depending on how far it goes check to see if you can reach the valve. just make sure your cam band has a good grip on the tank and maby put a mark on your BC once you find the spot or tie a loop to hang the bc from the valve so you can kinda track your adjustments and once your good youll be able to remount the tank in the same spot to keep your trim consistantly good
I have no idea what the percentages are but am sure it would be better if everyone could turn their gas supply on in an emergency. I think most people could given some simple suggestions and where to position their tank and occasional practice. There may be some people who cannot reach their valves due to flexibility issues but they should be very few. So if 80% cannot it is mostly an awareness and training issue.
There is no such a thing as the perfect tank position as long as you can reach the hose of the regulator on the first stage. Note that you may need to get hold of the tank bottom and twist it to get hold of the hose.
However it is true that tank position will affect your buoyancy and make you go more horizontal or vertical.
My advice is to find a position that is comfortable so that you don't bang your head, allows you to get hold of the primary regulator on the first stage and gives you the desired position when you dive, taking into account that if you have a BCD with trim pockets you won't need to play with the tank position that much.
I personally prefer my tank to be quite high so that when I demonstrate air depletion I can close and open the tank valve myself but that is personal choice
Look in any dive mag and you will see photos of divers with tanks half way down their backs (Same as in the video in the first post in this thread) I dont believe there is any way those divers could turn their own valve off (or on!)
Probably not a big deal until the day jump unto deep water with the valve off and BC not inflated.
Well that's PADI's opinion. Since PADI wasn't around when I started diving I don't pay much attention to their opinions. Most statements of that nature would be a base line to start from. "At the top of the BC" probably fits most divers. IMO the best position is the one that allows you to control your valve, and keeps your head out of contact with your reg. If the position does not allow for optimum BC trim then attach some weight to the tank and position that weight where you will have all 3 attributes. Of course take an equal amount of weight off your belt. This last statement I make not because I think your not smart enough to understand that weight will need to be dropped from your belt, but others who will read this may not be that smart and start babbling about being over weighted. I dive cold water and need a lot of weight to gain optimum buoyancy. I put 12 lbs on my tank and it works great.
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