Why do we dive with the valve up?

[Wibble]

Up vs down…

• Shorter hoses?
• Scuba cylinderS (early days doubles and triples) are heavy, far heavier than surface cylinders, so less damage
• Inverted (valves down) needs additional protection making the rig taller and heavier
• Valves on the top are easier to pick up
• DIR people could never, ever ever get their heads around changing their valve drills
• sidemount divers always have valves up and everyone wants to dive sidemount

 

[lowwall]

Usually these days we have them built into our seats and just sit down, strap in, and walk away on arrival, but i take your point.

That's my point. You can do that with valves up. You can't do that with valves down unless you build custom tank racks and some sort of roll cage for your valve and first stage. Even then, you'd probably need assistance to avoid pinching hoses

More likely is that your gear would be stored valve up and you would need an assistant or two to get it positioned so you get into and out of it. Or you'd do the don and doff on a line in the water which would still require help since it's a bad idea to lift heavy weights after diving.

Again, SCBA don and doffs are different animals. Room to do it is not an issue, the ground is not moving around, tanks are shorter, and they weigh half of a scuba rig or less if you are weight integrated.

 

[JMBL]

CUSTOM DIVERS VALVE PROTECTORS

Diving Courses & Equipment in Perth, Western Australia

divetub.com.au

Had anybody tried out these?

Yeah, I have, on a regular basis when I dive my twins 10L. It gives you easier access to the valves. I had my left shoulder battered and dislocated a few times, so some times, making a v-drill is almost impossible for me. Reversing the twin set was the easiest solution. You just need longer hoses, but routing is basically the same. The protector allows you to keep your set standing while you're putting it on.