Marcin

You have a Trilaminate suit but you did not mention whether you used a
backplate and harness.  Many years ago I used Zeagle wings and although I
could do gas shutdown, I can't say in all honesty that it was as easy as I
would like.  This was especially true of the left hand valve as this arm is
slightly less supple (as for most right handers).  One of the many benefits I
found when going to backplate and harness was that the cylinders were held in
a better position and significantly better for shutdown.  When I tuned my
setup, by loosening the harness, I found that gas shutdown was very much
easier still.  Here are a few tips for a harness:

*	Don't have the shoulder harness too tight.
*	You can re-position of the valves making access easier by pushing the
bottom of one side of the twin set.  That is, to make the left valve easier
to access, use the right hand to push the right hand cylinder at the base of
the cylinder to the left.

If the above fail and you still have a problem, make this your standard
operating procedure:

*	Unclip your waist strap.
*	Pull the rig by the manifold above your head.
*	Do the shutdown.

Obviously, the last options will take longer but it is certain.  You should
be able to use either hand to shutdown any valve.

David Shimell
Email: shimell@se*.co* <mailto:shimell@se*.co*> 
Project Manager, IBM NUMA-Q, Sequent Computer Systems Limited,
Weybridge Business Park, Addlestone Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT15 2UF, UK
registered in England and Wales under company number: 1999363, registered
office as above

-----Original Message-----
From:	MPawlak [SMTP:maciej.pawlak@va*.ed*]
Sent:	Thursday, December 23, 1999 3:06 PM
To:	Marcin Piekarski; Techdiver
Subject:	Re: Knobs extensions.

Marcin,
Hello from a fellow countryman:) In my opinion valve knob extensions are
completely useless. They provide yet another failure point and complicate
your rig. You should be able to shut down valve or isolator without them, it
just takes a little bit of practice (I do it during my deco). If you can not
reach valves your tanks may be too low so you may need to adjust backplate
position. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Maciej Pawlak
Vanderbilt University

----------
>From: Marcin Piekarski <piekars@in*.co*.pl*>
>To: Techdiver <techdiver@aquanaut.com>
>Subject: Knobs extensions.
>Date: Wed, Dec 22, 1999, 11:43 AM
>

> Hello to everyone.
> For the first time I'm actively participating in this group so I'll
> introduce myself first. My name is Marcin Piekarski and I live and dive
> in Poland. I've been lurking on this group for some time to find out
> "who is who" in here. And now, I believe it's time to join for real.
>
> On the very start I'd like to apologize for my english, but
> it's foreign one for me. I'm open-minded so please forgive me asking too
> many questions.
>
> Firs of all, what is your opinion on tank valve knob's extension. This
> is no matter when you have buddies that you can count on, but in my
> situation there is not so many available where I live, especially in
> winters. This extensions appear to be good idea, when solo diving, for
> higher independence. I'm aware of solo diving danger, and don't want to
> reassure in this matter, but would like to know what do you think of
> such device.
>
> Few more words on equipment that I typically use. Trilaminate dry suit,
> twin set with manifold, two independent regs, argon set. Dive duration
> 70 - 100 minutes. Still on air but working hard to make He more
> available
> for me.
>
> Marcin
>
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