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On Thu, 7 Sep 1995, Andrew L. Brill wrote:
> Okay, now that I got my complaints out, I have a (somewhat) serious question..
> I have a new set of double HP80's with a Dive-rite manifold, and, since I
> blew most of my cash on the setup, I have mounted them on my Seaquest ADV
> while dreaming of a transpac.
> The difficulty I have is the odd weight distribution of the rig... it's
> quite heavy (as steel tanks are wont to be) and likes to turn me on my
> head, valves down, due to the low location of the ADV's lift and the high
> weight of the manifold and my Odins. It's manageable, but not real pretty.
Why not try a system that is low-cost, versatile, effective and has been
used by many big-tank divers for many years- the Dive-Rite back plate
harness and wing BC..
Mount the stainless bands as high as possible on the tanks and you should
be pretty close to being right to begin with.
The back plate arrangement makes it easy to shift the position of the
tanks and the BC to get the perfect trim.
> Has anyone tried *mounting* a setup valves-DOWN, where the "balance point"
I knew a couple of guys in Atlanta who did this- we called them the
"moon tanks". They did not do it for balance, just to make the valves
more accessible, in their opinion.
> would be lower on the body and closer to the balance point of the BC? my
With a good harness, it is not necessary to invert tanks to get them
balance properly.
> hoses are long enough, and I should think this would have other advantages:
> 1)Convex ends of tanks are up - better hydrodynamics
Not a factor.
> 2)access to the valves and isolation valve - it's easier to reach your butt
> than the back of your neck!
May be a factor with really thick dry suits. I find that by leaving my
harness straps somewhat loose, I can wiggle around to get to the valvs.
> I imagine some sort of bash guard over the valves might be wise, and would
> make the thing easier to tote out of the water- I have some aluminum bar
> stock that might work.
The Moon tanks used something like the commercial tank "cages",
except squared off for stability while sitting. They were truly hideous.
> I'm worried about durability and exposure of the valves, but firemen, whose
> equipment takes a beating, carry their Scott packs valve-down...
> Otherwise, I might have to try some joker solution like adding foam high on
> the tanks or something.
If your rig is so negative that your BC must be inflated significantly
when you are at your most positive state at the end of a dive, you will be
running your BC fuller than necessary during the dive. This will increase
drag. One solution to this is to attach a 1-2 ft long piece of schedule 40
pvc pipe (1/4 inch thick wall) between the tanks. If this were to be the
case, the bouyancy tube could be positioned in such a way as to adjust
the trim.
Hope this will be of use to someone..... Paul Smith
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