Wife has BC problems

[diverrick]

My wife has always had a problem with the tank valve/primary reg hitting her in the back of the head. One time she hit the swim step during a giant stride entry and got herself good. scared the heck out of me. We always put the tank down as far as possable, but it does no good. She appears to be horizontal when she dives, but it occurs on all the BC's she wears (we rented for a while). I suggested she add some weight to the bottom of the tank, but she won't do that. She owns her own BC, and isn't interested in buying a new one currently, as she just bought the one she has. She appears to have the BC snugged up correctly, and in the right place on her body. The other suggestion I had mentioned was that she buy another BC with two tank bands, then we could lower the tank a bit farther towards her feet. Maybe the problem is who is making the suggestions!
Any suggestions before she gives herself a basil skull fracture?

 

[ckharlan66]

I understand that hitting the swim step on a giant stride entry would be problematic no matter where the tank is located, but other than that are you sure there is a problem?

What part of her head is the valve near. Mine rests just above the base of my skull. This is true on both my single and doubles rig. Any lower than that and I can not reach the valve if I needed to. Generally there should not be any impact between the skull and the valve so it shouldn't be an issue.

Could you give us some more information such as were on her head it is hitting, during what activity it is causing a problem, how tall she is, what size tank she is wearing, etc.

Then we will see if we can help some.

Chad

 

[diverrick]

We usually go with steel 80's or occaisionally the longer 3000 PSI don't know the size. End result is no matter what length the tank is, the valve is always right there in the same spot. I did notice that the tank really floats up on the bottom when it gets light, which increases the chance of it hitting. This is especieally true with the longer tank lengths. Can't seem to adjust for that though, short of weight on bottom of the tank. she gets hit in the basal area of her skull. complains of headaches from it hitting her, she gets bruised, then the dives after it just re-injures the same spot.

 

[ckharlan66]

If you are noticing the tank floating up at the bottom during the I agree that the BC might need another strap to hold the tank more securely (understand that I can't really be sure without seeing it).

Maybe someone else will be along with more advise or will have an idea that I am missing.

Good luck

Chad

 

[diver_paula]

Rick,

I had the same problem. I have a short torso and the tank was either too high and hit me in the head or too low and messed with my lower half. I found it didn't have anything to do with what BC I was using. It was simply tank size to torso length. The two things that helped me:

1) I turned the reg upside down. I have a Scubapro, don't know if this would work with all types of regs. I did have to switch the hoses around to make this work but that's ok 'cause I'm the only one that dives with 'em.

2) Use a shorter tank. Super 80's work if you are going for 3000 psi. I'm now diving with low pressure steel 95's. Both are shorter than a 'typical' 80.

Hopefully this helps your wife.
Paula

 

[crispos]

How tall is your wife, DiverRick? If she is short, she should consider a smaller steel tank or the like. The Al 80 is quite long for many women.

We all have to contend with the tank valve in our neck. I like to have it go sideways abit, so it is to the side of my neck.

Regards,
crispos

 

[waterwraith]

I had that same problem with 3000psi Al 80's. I am short so when the tank is mounted in a single band BC It bounces on my head or bounces on my ummm.... gluteus maximus. The only solution I found was to switch to a smaller aluminum tank or go with a steel tank. A BC with two tank bands will also help because you can lower the tank further than you normally would.

 

[simbrooks]

I have no experience of the tank hitting my head on normal diving (except when i was underweighted (new thicker wetsuit) searching for sharks teeth in only 15ft water - i was constantly finning down, so the tank was right behind my head as i was right on the floor (3-in viz) and had to tilt my head back a long way - didnt get any teeth either!). I would however second the idea of facing the yoke attachment away from her head - ie above the tank valve as she is horizontal, rerouting the hoses. I dont know what BC you have, but can you get a second strap to hold the bottom down - weight probably wont help that much and might throw her trim right out. I find with one tank strap, on the rubbish rentals i currently have to use whilst i wait to buy what i am looking for, that the tank bottom floats all over the place and can easily see how it could keep banging into your wife's head. Another solution - at least to deaden the hardness of the pain might be padding on top of the 1st stage, but that could get in the way of other operation!

 

[Wendy]

Is her BC riding up on her when she is in the water. Look at her BC on the back part and see if there is a slot to attach a crotch strap, just make the the front loop big so it will fit onto the cumberbund or however her BC attaches at the waist. My old Mares BC I had before my bp/wing had a slot to add a crotch strap, so hers might as well. This will keep the BC stabalized and hopefully help the problem.

 

[FredT]

Rick,

Check to see if her BC pack has locations that can be drilled to mount a STA similar to those used on a backplate/wing type of rig. If so it may be possible to lower the tank strap by installing a STA type device to lower the tank strap on her rig. The STA could also be used to lift the tank valve assy centerline just a bit higher off her back to reduce the skull crashes.

It sounds like she has BC/tank assembly problems somewhere, even if she won't discuss replacing it. All that is left in the search for a solution is to look for a way to modify what she has to function properly. To see if you can do a mod look for 2 places about 9.5 or 11 inches apart on the diver side of the pack at the centerline of the pack with some countesrunk area to accept a nut, then confirm there is not an ir clell on the other side of those locations. If so a fix is possible and relativley easy.

FT