Stage Order/Placement on Body

[Rick Inman]

So, in order to garner support in a discussion I'm having, please tell me the order in which you clip in your stages (vote in poll) and tell us why.

One example, from a famous agence web site:

 

[do it easy]

Darn polls- I think you need to take a remedial class on polls!

For 1 or 2 bottles, I keep the highest ppO2 closest, since I will use the lower ppO2 bottle first and it's on the outside so that my buddy can verify the MOD.

For 3 bottles, last bottle/highest ppO2 will be hip clipped or leashed, and for the other two bottles, the highest ppO2 is still closest.

So generally speaking, I keep the higher ppO2 closest, although the last bottle is farthest.

 

[Rick Inman]

Yeah, I should have added about ten more poll choices.

 

[do it easy]

Hey Rick, do you ever notice a difference in how bottles hang in saltwater versus freshwater? I was moving some bottles the other day in freshwater and I had an AL40 and an AL80 on a leash, and I distinctly recall thinking that they felt like a ton of bricks.

I've never moved bottles in saltwater, but I know that my AL80's are nearly neutral when empty in freshwater. With a few hundred psi, they are positive, but you have to watch them for a second to see it.

 

[Rick Inman]

Hey Rick, do you ever notice a difference in how bottles hang in saltwater versus freshwater? I was moving some bottles the other day in freshwater and I had an AL40 and an AL80 on a leash, and I distinctly recall thinking that they felt like a ton of bricks.

I've never moved bottles in saltwater, but I know that my AL80's are nearly neutral when empty in freshwater. With a few hundred psi, they are positive, but you have to watch them for a second to see it.

I only have about 20 dives with stages in saltwater, and never with 3 (leash). I hauled an 80 around a couple of times in salt, but the rest were with 40's.

I never noticed nothin'. But that don't mean there ain't no dfference. But I'm still too much of a tech nOOb to notice those fine details.

 

[limeyx]

Darn polls- I think you need to take a remedial class on polls!

For 1 or 2 bottles, I keep the highest ppO2 closest, since I will use the lower ppO2 bottle first and it's on the outside so that my buddy can verify the MOD.

For 3 bottles, last bottle/highest ppO2 will be hip clipped or leashed, and for the other two bottles, the highest ppO2 is still closest.

So generally speaking, I keep the higher ppO2 closest, although the last bottle is farthest.

I think it also depends on size of the bottle. If you have an 80 and a 40, then keeping the 80 in toward the body will help the 40 float better.

If they are both 40's then (and I am not trained for this, but was practicing for a class with 2 deco bottles), I think the higher PPO2 on the inside because it's easier to deploy and re-stow for air breaks (I think that's what the 5thd-x DVD says anyway)

Also, when you are on the bottom, generally I think it's healthy to get the higher PPO2 bottles as far away from the mouth as possible

 

[rjack321]

I have done one dive with 2 stages and in that limited experience I would say put the one you use first on the outside (bottom gas + O2). Its easier to remove and stow neck clipped when you're done with it.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

For 1 or 2 bottles, I keep the highest ppO2 closest, since I will use the lower ppO2 bottle first and it's on the outside so that my buddy can verify the MOD.

I do the opposite, but that's because I mostly dive caves, where bottles are dropped (actually, clipped to the line) at various points as you penetrate, and then picked up in reverse as you exit. Under those circumstances, I find it much easier to work from back to front, and then outside in. Most "reasonable" cave dives (i.e. almost anything you care to do in central Florida on one or two stages) only require one deco bottle anyway (100%), which I clip initially to my hip. The deco gas is usually stashed somewhere near the cave entrance (if not in open water outright), so it's not like you are having to carry the bottle very far before dropping it.

For a single stage cave dive requiring two deco gases, I will usually hip-clip the O2 and then chest-clip the 50/50 on the outside, since it will get dropped sooner. For a double stage dive (which I confess I have not done that many of), I will either do a short setup dive ahead of time to put the deco bottles in, or else hip-clip them both on a leash and then drop them individually as I penetrate. The decision of which method to use usually depends on the particular cave and what the rest of the team wants to do.

I don't do much OW deco diving, but when I do I usually put the 50/50 on the inside, the stage bottle with bottom gas (if used) on the outside, and then hip-clip the O2. That way when I hit the 70 foot stop, I can switch to the 50/50, stow the stage, and the swap it out for the O2 bottle in preparation for the next gas switch.

And of course in the DIR system, we would never use the position of a bottle to determine anything about its contents - all gas switches are verified visually by the MOD markings on the bottles. I'm not implying that anyone here is not doing that, but did want to emphasize that for the benefit of folks who may not be as familiar with the DIR protocols.

 

[Meng_Tze]

And of course in the DIR system, we would never use the position of a bottle to determine anything about its contents - all gas switches are verified visually by the MOD markings on the bottles.

!! Yes, don't let 'protocol' kill you.

 

[JeffG]

One example, from a famous agence web site:

TDI?.