Side Mount MultiStage LIFT Question

[Aotus]

I think there's something wrong with your opv, Craig. Edd carries way more than that, stu too, without trouble, so I don't think it's a (potential)lift problem. Also, I watched for your bc dumping when you had both stages on and you seemed to ascend fine during training. It might be time to ask john if he would test dive your bc, it might be too sensitive and blowing off gas when at an angle or something.

 

[v101]

Zach -
good suggestion, I called the shop after I read your post, and John suggested taking the OPV apart, and checking the spring, he said it could be causing the OPV to dump a bit pre-mature, he said to gently stretch the spring, being careful not to stretch it too much, and then try it again, I am going to practice in the pool a bit, and see how the OPV valve does.

the day after you left, I took 2 full stages, and dove, and was able to stay off the bottom, w/ out the OPV dumping gas, which was good, but I had inflated my drysuit a bit more that i usually need to.. so that might have been why.. It was ok for the initial dive with 2 stages.. After breathing it down a bit I could dump the gas out, of my drysuit, and it was better, but the bottles were lighter.

Will let you know when I look at the OPV.

 

[Bennno]

I have to say that is strange. Are you wearing much weight other than your rig and tanks?

The lift/weight people need doesn't only depend on the gear they use but also on body type. If your tall and chubby you will need less lift/more weight, than sombody that's skinny.

@v101, try eating more deep fried foods and candy. And get those McGriddles for breakfast. Do that and soon you wont need the extra lift.

 

[v101]

The lift/weight people need doesn't only depend on the gear they use but also on body type. If your tall and chubby you will need less lift/more weight, than sombody that's skinny.

@v101, try eating more deep fried foods and candy. And get those McGriddles for breakfast. Do that and soon you wont need the extra lift.

LOL

if that is all i need to do to fix this lift problem ! Easy fix ! Ive been looking at the gear, and its me!

 

[rddvet]

Zach -
good suggestion, I called the shop after I read your post, and John suggested taking the OPV apart, and checking the spring, he said it could be causing the OPV to dump a bit pre-mature, he said to gently stretch the spring, being careful not to stretch it too much, and then try it again, I.

Unfortunately that seems to always be John's fix for a dump/opv issue. My girlfriend's SMS' dump sticks open, but only when wearing a stage. John's fix over the phone was to stretch the spring. Didn't work. Then he stretched it in person. Didn't work. Beyond that he had no suggestions. I know of multiple others with simialr opv/dump issues. The modded SMS is great, but unfortunately the mods lead to issues as well. It seems 99.999% of the time those issues always pop up with stages.

 

[tbone1004]

buy a dump from DSS and replace it. Works much better

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=1317

When you order, request a pull cord in whatever length you need for your rig. Should screw right in, it does on the Dive Rite rigs, should on the Hollis.

 

[bamafan]

Did you notice any difference in your TRIM when you untucked the top of the wing? my trim is spot on with 2 LP 85's/100's/120's etc. The Faber's as you said do get butt light after they get sucked down a bit, My LP 85's are all worthington, and I dont notice them doing this like the Faber's do.. my steel HP 100's are good throughout the entire dive...

I was thinking of un-tucking the wing a bit to compensate a bit, but I dont want to have my trim all messed up... :-(

I will check out the SMS 75 and see if it has any additional lift vs the modded SMS 100.

Someone was suggesting to me to stretch out the spring a bit in the OPV, and it will allow a few extra lbs of lift. But I am not sure about this... I would hate for the OPV to NOT work, and then risk blowing out the wing when I am far back in a cave...

the other option I was toying with was a SMB and just inflating that and carrying it under me, for the first part of the dive, I can deflate it and stow it once the bottles get sucked down a bit...

---------- Post added August 23rd, 2015 at 10:26 AM ----------

So, it would seem the Ed mods don't mix well with certain steels and multi stages.........


I think it depends on the person, the drysuit, etc. When you watch Edd dive with multi-stages, he is fine, no lift issues, even with 3-4 stages on... Another fellow was diving with us, in a SMS 75 and he had no issues either with 2 stages.. other divers I talk to with 2 stages in a modded SMS 100, they are fine, and others have the lift problem where they are having to inflate their drysuit a bit more than normal to give them the extra lift they need to stay off the bottom...

My wing was full, and I was blowing the OPV, but there are differences in body composition, drysuits, etc. so that might be the difference.. ??

I am using a crushed neoprene drysuit;

It helped my trim out some. One thing you might want to consider is what will happen if you suck all the tanks down to 500 psi or so. I think you will find you need weight. If you add a scooter or 2 to the mix they tend to get floaty at a shallow depth. The bigger diameter scooters seem to be worse than the small ones. I am of the opinion that finding out you have weighting issues at low gas volumes during a dive is a bad thing because you are already having a bad day. I think you will find that you need some lead and you can use it to trim you out. I personally had rather use the lead to trim out with vs the wing. What are you going to do if the wing fails? The biggest issue I have with the SMS's is the door handles sitting on top of the wing. Your tanks get jacked up when you put air in the wing. Do you set it up for the beginning or end of the dive. There are trade offs in everything but before I bought another SMS I would look at the Armadillo. I wish I had bought one instead of the SMS100. I asked about it but was pushed to the SMS100 when I was changing over to sm from bm. The buckles and all the padding on the front of the SMS's are something that isn't needed and you don't realize how nice and uncluttered it is till you dive something without it. Just my 2 cents on what I have found. Oh by the way I have a SMS 100 with the mods that I will make a great deal on.

 

[Subcooled]

The SMS100 with the mods has about 35 pounds of lift.

FYI: The UTD Z-Plus wing has 21 L of volume, that is something like 60 pounds of lift. Halcyon also makes a big side mount wing (although with some sort of backplate).

 

[Aotus]

FYI: The UTD Z-Plus wing has 21 L of volume, that is something like 60 pounds of lift. Halcyon also makes a big side mount wing (although with some sort of backplate).

That halcyon "backplate" is basically the same material (if not exactly the same) as on the Sms100(and 75). It's a Edd-modded sms100 copy, but without the expanding top. The only people who I've spoke with who dive it have to add weight to the top, which should be factored into the max potential lift... but my sample size isn't very big (2!), so don't take my word for it.