vertical sweet spot on BP/W?

[FFMDiver]

Strange question. I just purchased a shorter (but wider) steel 95 w/ an H valve to put my pony inside my tank instead (pls no pony or doubles arguments) and when I slid my cam straps on there wasnt a lot of room to grab the H valve so I hiked the STA higher on the plate to compensate. Of course it was very top heavy in the water and I was nose diving. Anyhow, I moved the camstraps into the narrower slots and the tank appears to be more centered on the plate. The heavier tank also got the ABC pockets off my harness. My question is, is there a sweet spot on a plate? When I lift the plate with the tank attached holding it with a hand on each side of the plate, the balancing point appears to be at the break of the plate angle (see pic). Is this where the tank should be balance so the tank will not pearl or pull me or is it just trial and error? Thank you.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Strange question. I just purchased a shorter (but wider) steel 95 w/ an H valve to put my pony inside my tank instead (pls no pony or doubles arguments) and when I slid my cam straps on there wasnt a lot of room to grab the H valve so I hiked the STA higher on the plate to compensate. Of course it was very top heavy in the water and I was nose diving. Anyhow, I moved the camstraps into the narrower slots and the tank appears to be more centered on the plate. The heavier tank also got the ABC pockets off my harness. My question is, is there a sweet spot on a plate? When I lift the plate with the tank attached holding it with a hand on each side of the plate, the balancing point appears to be at the break of the plate angle (see pic). Is this where the tank should be balance so the tank will not pearl or pull me or is it just trial and error? Thank you.

Don't take this the wrong way but I think it more likely the sweet spot is on you based on your body type and the gear you are carrying. You'll probably have to "trial and error" to find the ideal positioning and it might vary if you use more than one size of tank.

 

[WJL]

I just purchased a shorter (but wider) steel 95 w/ an H valve to put my pony inside my tank instead

I am having a hard time understanding what you are describing here. Your diagram doesn't show a pony as far as I can see. You can't possibly mean that your pony is "inside" your 95. After that I am just lost.

My question is, is there a sweet spot on a plate? When I lift the plate with the tank attached holding it with a hand on each side of the plate, the balancing point appears to be at the break of the plate angle (see pic). Is this where the tank should be balance so the tank will not pearl or pull me or is it just trial and error? Thank you.

It is trial and error. You need to be able to hold horizontal trim, and you need to reach your valves. Within those requirements, you can move the tank up and down on the plate until you find a comfortable balance point. You can test this in the water using the CG drills you learned in your Fundamentals class.

 

[FFMDiver]

Pony in the tank was a metaphor.
Just got rid of slinging one in front & put more gas & redundant regs on my back(not redundant air of course).
anyhow looks like trial & error. Thank you.

I am having a hard time understanding what you are describing here. Your diagram doesn't show a pony as far as I can see. You can't possibly mean that your pony is "inside" your 95. After that I am just lost.

It is trial and error. You need to be able to hold hozontal trim, and you need to reach your valves. Within those requirements, you can move the tank up and down on the plate until you find a comfortable balance point. You can test this in the water using the CG drills you learned in your Fundamentals class.

 

[detroit diver]

Pony in the tank was a metaphor.
Just got rid of slinging one in front & put more gas & redundant regs on my back(not redundant air of course).
anyhow looks like trial & error. Thank you.

You may have more regs and more gas, but you still have one potential major failure point-the neck o-ring. If that goes, you can have 8 regs, but none of them are going to be able to help you.

I'll assume you are diving with a buddy. If that's the case, then you've got his/her gas to use (assuming that you've planned for this).

If you're diving solo, well, you would be far better off with that pony bottle.

 

[FFMDiver]

Not interested in this argument - sorry.

 

[matt_unique]

You need to be able to hold hozontal trim, and you need to reach your valves.

This is the baseline - the rest is academic......Trial and error, weight and trim adjustments, etc.

--Matt

 

[detroit diver]

It's wasnt' intended to be an arguement. You stated that you were putting "my pony inside my tank instead" and my comment simply dealt with the fact that you've narrowed your options down to one failure point.

 

[FFMDiver]

Well detroit I appreciate the comment.
I understand your intent is to assist. I didnt mean argument in the pejorative sense. I did sling a pony DIR for a while and found it more of a task-loading risk for me. Besides, I'm more at risk having a reg freeze or driving to the dive site than having a neck o-ring burst. I just dont want to hijack the thread.

It's wasnt' intended to be an arguement. You stated that you were putting "my pony inside my tank instead" and my comment simply dealt with the fact that you've narrowed your options down to one failure point.

 

[WJL]

Pony in the tank was a metaphor.

Sorry, that one went over my head.