Where does the valve of a slung cylinder sit in relation to your body?

[mr.rongilbert]

Thanks for the post Bear. I am going to try the bungee routine next Monday. I checked out the Dive Rite site and looked at some at my local tech dive shop they wanted $25 for a short bungee with a stainless clip!!! I went to Home Depot and bought a 48" two pack and cut the ends. I had some stainless butterfly snap links and used cable ties cut short with a little shrink wrap to make the whole thing look smooth. I had the snaps and cable ties so I was out of pocket about $4 and I made two and had enough to make a new necklace too.

4Sak - did you get the info you needed in this thread? I will let you know what I think about the bungee routine when we get back next Thursday.

 

[Standingbear56]

Home Depot, the place where all discerning divers should shop! Works for me!

 

[Standingbear56]

Let us know how you make out. Like setting up a DIR configuration, it takes several dives to really dial it in, but once you do, it's great!

 

[mr.rongilbert]

Well my big plans on testing were scrubbed by my old nemesis Mother Nature!!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/te...h-trip-aboard-spree-leaving-sunday-9-8-a.html


I did make a few changes I was worried about my dive buddy Mr. Murphy making the cable ties break so I used the steel crimp rings to reinforce the area where the cable ties held the bungee together. I dove it in the one fathom depths of my backyard pool.

Good News: the vis was good and the current was slack
Bad News: Its not the same as the Gulf of Mexico (although it IS a salt pool....) but it is as close as I am gonna get this weekend!! Ralph the scuba God and Mr. Murphy are laughing at my $100+ 18/45 trimix fill right now!!!

Here are a few pics - I am sure that the Dive Rite $25 (each) bungee setup is great but I believe that my engineered setup is eqully good to go and I saved about $40!!

 

[Standingbear56]

Hi Mr. Rongilbert,
The bungees look great, but unless I'm mistaken, you have them on the butt end of your plate. They belong in the top 3rd of the plate, so that they pass from the plate, under your armpits and to a shoulder D ring. The clip by the valve attaches to the bungee and this holds the valve assembly tight against you so nothing drags.
You can set it up so that the lower part of your cylinder attaches to your waist D ring if you don't want a butt plate.
Safe Diving,
George

 

[mr.rongilbert]

Ya they are on the bottom - they will end up on D rings at the lower end of my new 108s allowing the tanks to sit at my side, replacing the string that did the same job. The bungee should make it easier to attach when rolling seas make donning gear a pain. I am going to try it on top as well (for the same reason) and now I understand where they should go. The tanks should sit right where I like them AND they should be easier to hook up. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[AndyNZ]

So, anyway, any help you could give on how a slung cylinder is supposed to sit relative to your properly trimmed body would be very much appreciated.

I'd agree with the other comments, your chest D ring is way too low. If you stand with your arm out to the side, bend the elbow in keeping the arm parallel to the ground then where your thumb touches the harness is a good starting point for positioning the D ring. You may end up moving it a couple of cm up or down depending on how easy you find clipping the tank off. It may be worth practicing this in the water to work out the final position that works best for you, not whilst standing up.

The top clip on the stage kit should be up tight against the shoulder of the tank.

Where you fix the stage kit along the length of the tank will change how it sits, as will the length of the "tail". You can always shorten the tail by wrapping at around the cord above where it is fixed before clipping off.

The way the tank looks in the photo with the base sticking up high looks like it could cause you some drag issues. My preference is to have the tank horizontal, i.e. parallel to the body when in trim. If it's close to the body, it still tucks in behind the arm but also presents less surface area.

Hope this helps.

 

[Standingbear56]

Mr. R,
If you can, send us pic's of you in the gear, both above and in water if you can. A lot of problems can be solved by seeing how the gear sits on you.

 

[4sak3n]

Unfortunately I haven't yet had a chance to try out my pony setup since my last post.

Between really lousy weather, having no buddies because they were all studying and DMing OW courses my weekends have all been either busy or dry.

I did get a chance to hop in the pool with my setup once and it appeared to be sitting better on me. I didn't have long to spend checking it out and didn't have a good look as there was no camera in the pool but it appeared to be sitting better.

What I did was move my d-ring up a few cm (it was initially set at the default point where my thumb touchs the harness with a horizontal arm) and move the upper boltsnap further up along the shoulder of the bottle. I am planning on doing 3 'fun' dives this Sat before I have to return to OW courses again on Sun so I can experiment more then.

I aim to get the front of the cylinder slung properly and then start shortening the length of the lower boltsnap as AndyNZ suggests. It really doesn't need to be long at all when I use it as a pony as I will never sling more than one cylinder.

I must admit though I have looked at many pictures and videos of sideslung cylinders and they appear to be MUCH more horizontal and I love how snug the valve is against your body. None of this silly dangling stuff.

I am very tempted to start fiddling with bungees and quick links to see if I can as StandingBear suggests. It appears to me that sideslung cylinders look much more streamlined than normally slung ones.

Alas ... I won't have the proper time to test all of this out because it doesn't look like I will have much free time in the water for at least 3 or so weeks.

Thank you for all the suggestions, they have certainly helped. Good luck mr.rongilbert, it certainly sounds like you are having a great time fiddling with your gear! Working with it and making it suit your diving is half the fun of owning gear.

 

[4sak3n]

Well ... I did some fiddling and got into the water and my pony (who has now been dubbed Sea Biscuit) felt better. I'm not sure whether it was the changes or I was just more comfortable with her (and thus less aware of her) underwater.

Still not 100% happy but it is a start.

P.S. Pics because underwater pictures are cool!