Wet BC before securing bottle?

[stephanephilippe]

Hi, one question for the board. In the PADI OW book, they mention to wet a BC before putting on the bottle to avoid loosing it because new nylon stretch when it is wet. Is this only necessary for new BC? I don't see lots of diver doing this, our instructor insist on this procedure, probably to be on the safe side, any thoughts?

thanks
Steph

 

[LG Diver]

Hi, one question for the board. In the PADI OW book, they mention to wet a BC before putting on the bottle to avoid loosing it because new nylon stretch when it is wet. Is this only necessary for new BC? I don't see lots of diver doing this, our instructor insist on this procedure, probably to be on the safe side, any thoughts?

thanks
Steph

I always did it on jacket-style BCD's with only one camstrap. On my bp/w I use the Diverite camstraps with SS buckles and the DSS tension pads, and the tanks aren't going anywhere so I don't wet them any more.

 

[CAPNVINNY]

on older worn ones,like most rental service ones,its not so important ,but newer ones will slip loose every now and then,I always wet mine the first dive of the day cuz its less hassle than redoing it underwater

 

[bolantej]

it really depends on your strap. On my Knighthawk BCD, the strap size is pre-set and only thee buckle needs to be flipped over, and it's tight. On the other traditional style, I would wet it if you can, as it might get loose in the water. In my short time as a diver, I've seen a feww too many loose tanks floating in the water away from the owner.

 

[spectrum]

Like the others have said it is helpful, especially with new or stiff (salt loaded) straps.

If you get a nice "ping" when you cam the buckle over you will probably be fine.

On my Sherwood Avid I have 2 straps and have never had a problem, I seldom wet the straps. This time of the year they seldom fully dry.

Pete

 

[scubaaaronh]

My wifes new bc, you have to wet the strap, and then pull it tight, and then cam it, otherwise she can't take ten steps without the tank slipping. After it is broken in a little then she wont have to do that any more.

 

[vablackwater]

The goal is to wet the BC tank strap (not the whole BC), which helps reduce the slippage issue (especially on single CAM band tanks). Once it is wet, snup the tank in (I use my weight on the tank from my knee while the BC is on the ground) by pulling as much as you can around the buckle... someone else descibed a nice ping sound as you close the strap clamp.

 

[Hoyden]

If you are diving somewhere that it is not convenient to dunk your tank straps (like a quarry where you have to walk down a hill to get to the water) you can easily just use a little bottled water to wet your straps. I like my tank straps as tight as possible so I wet them before the first dive every time.

Jackie

 

[LiteHedded]

my tank will absolutely slip out if I don't wet it down totally
maybe because it's newer I'm not sure

 

[texdiveguy]

It's easy to do,,,never hurts.