Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 24th July 2006, 01:23

I have made some progress with the sidemount setup, and I still have some difficulties.

On the one hand, making the tail strap so short that the tank would stay at my side (aluminum 40) also made it very difficult to clip the bottle back onto the sidemount panel at the bottom of the backplate. I ended out testing the setup by trying to remove and replace the bottle. Then, I would stop at a steps and platform area, remove my kit, and make adjustments based upon how this drill felt. After this, I would give it a try again, repeating the process several times. I might still have it about an inch too long. So, the tail still tends to float up a bit.

The valve end of the tank was entirely too low, requiring some stops to tighten up the main bungee. I found that I could clip the tank shoulder clip onto the bungee, and that I like doing this better than having to deal with the traditional sidemount setup with the bungee. I am still playing with this aspect of things because I want the bottle to rest up higher but I still want to be able to pull it down to remove and replace using the clip.

Even with things not exactly as I wanted it, I did a test run across the bottom to see how the tank would sit compared to my prior sling setup. I found that my belly would rub against the bottom before the tank would start to touch. Also the tank was behind my shoulder, out of the way. It was very easy to swim through the water this way. So, I think I am getting closer to my goal here.

I am going to try another change or two to see how that goes before settling on the final configuration.

scubanimal · 24th July 2006, 02:43

Scuba Dad,
Thanks for posting your experiences, I'm looking for better way to mount my tanks with my Inspo, as I'm just not limber enough to mount them to the manufacturers D-rings.

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 28th July 2006, 02:46

Okay, it is confirmed: I am definitely insane.

I spent this lovely evening in my community pool (high rise living), with my backplate, a 40 tank and my sidemount setup (no other equipment except mask), doing breath hold bottle removal and replacement drills (no sense in wasting pefectly good gas or scrubber for this), making some more adjustments to my setup. I think I am getting close now. (Of course, I have had this foolish notion before, too.

)

I was able to remove and replace pretty quickly. Regulator and offboard plug-in hose easily deploy and stow. I went to the bottom of the pool, touching my chest along the bottom without having the tank touch. So, the upper portion of the tank is getting in the right position just under my arm pit, behind my shoulder.

Just to feel the difference, I switched back to clipping onto my shoulder d-ring and my left waist d-ring; the bottle touched the pool floor about two inches before my chest would touch. So, there is definitely a difference in how the bottles ride in one style verus the other.

I still have to pull the bungee like the dickens when clipping the head of the tank to the bungee (I have placed a d-ring on the bungee, and I clip the tanks to it at the head using a traditional setup), and it does not always go perfectly. However, I think I am now ready to give this a try on some real dives.

The retrieval bungee that goes to the shoulder d-ring might also be a bit long. However, I want to do a test dive or so before playing with that.

The aluminum tanks still float up a bit in the tail (even though full and in fresh water). So, I will have to see how that goes in salt water. I might be able to shorten the tail strap another half inch or so, but I want to do some dives like this before making the last fine adjustments.

I am going to give this (another) try this weekend.

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 30th July 2006, 21:59

It worked!

I did my first dive today after revamping the sidemount set up, and I had success. I removed and replaced my sidemount tanks several times while in full kit, and everything seems to be coming together . . . finally.

I did not wind up using the standard configuration. The main difference between my set up and the standard ones is that I added a stainless round ring onto the end of the bungee loops than hang from the backplate. It is to these rings that I clip standard rigged stages.

Now, any buddy that carries a standard stage can be passed my bottle, easily using it in the standard sling fashion. I can also accept his/her bottle on this set up.

To deploy, just trace the retrieval strap (which goes from the round ring to the shoulder d-ring) to the ring, put a thumb through it, pull, and then clip the tank (shoulder) slider bolt cilip onto the ring. Let go, and the bungee pulls the tank up under my arm pit and behind my shoulder.

I'll need to do a few more dives before settling in on the final adjustments. However, the basics are there, and everything seems to work well.

At this point, the onlly issue that came up was concerning the deployment of the off board plug in hose. I can't see it behind the counterlungs, and it can take a bit of doing to find it by feel. I ended up moving the connector up so that it sticks up above the tank valve and regulator, making it easier to find by feel. Seems to work. I'll need to make a few more test runs to see what I am going to do about this.

Progress!

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 5th August 2006, 21:24

Another dive today. It was pretty great. I went through some restrictions inside of a wreck just to see how the sidemount configuration would fit compared to slung bottles. The objective was not so much to go to places that would require removal and replacement; I was just trying to get a general feel for any differences in tighter spots.

I also removed and replaced both bottles a number of times. The left side is a fast and easy. The right side, due to my EPIRB on my waist strap, is a little trickier and takes a little longer.

No problems reaching the tank valves or the pull dump for the wing. It really feels quite streamlined in the water, and it seems that it takes less effort in kicking to move about. When I got to the boat, I was able to unclip and pass up the bottles to the boat crew so that I wouldn't have to climb out fully kitted.

I am sold!

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 13th August 2006, 05:22

Today was a good day. I did my first dive that involved removal and replacement of the sidemount tanks to pass wreck restrictions, and that went very well.

We dove on a wreck with a about a 50 foot hallway that is very narrow. So, at the entrance, I took off one of my two sidemount bailout tanks, holding it with my hand as I pulled and glided my way through the stretch. Emerging into a larger cabin at the end of the hall, I easily clipped back on the bottle, and I continued on my way.

On our second dive, I broke out my scooter, and I scootered around for 30 minutes or so with the sidemount tanks for the first time. I honestly can't say that I felt any less drag scootering with the sidemount tanks compared to the side slung tanks. However, things went well, and I had a fun time.

At one point, I scootered between a couple of doorways on the wreck, zig-zagging since one was offset from the other (not a straight shot through them). No problems, and no clanking or touching the wreck with the tanks as I passed through. Very nice.

PCDiver · 13th August 2006, 07:28

Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami)

Today was a good day. I did my first dive that involved removal and replacement of the sidemount tanks to pass wreck restrictions, and that went very well.

We dove on a wreck with a about a 50 foot hallway that is very narrow. So, at the entrance, I took off one of my two sidemount bailout tanks, holding it with my hand as I pulled and glided my way through the stretch. Emerging into a larger cabin at the end of the hall, I easily clipped back on the bottle, and I continued on my way.

On our second dive, I broke out my scooter, and I scootered around for 30 minutes or so with the sidemount tanks for the first time. I honestly can't say that I felt any less drag scootering with the sidemount tanks compared to the side slung tanks. However, things went well, and I had a fun time.

At one point, I scootered between a couple of doorways on the wreck, zig-zagging since one was offset from the other (not a straight shot through them). No problems, and no clanking or touching the wreck with the tanks as I passed through. Very nice.

Pictures!! Can you get us some pictures of your side mount setup? Better, write an article (with pictures

).

PacketSniffer · 13th August 2006, 12:54

I second that request.

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 23rd August 2006, 03:09

Another dive with sidemount slung bail out bottles on Sunday. There were a few interesting turns along the way.

The current was very strong as we made our way down the line to the wreck of the Guy Harvey, located in 145 feet of water off of Pomano Beach (north of Fort Lauderdale), Florida. My buddy was in the process of conducting a test on his new Evolution rebreather to see how long the CO2 scrubber system would last when compared to his Inspiration model rebreather. He had previously put about 4.5 hours on the scrubber material.

This was my first live drop from a dive boat since making the switch to CCR and sidemounting. No issues to report there (though I did turn to descend a little prematurely, leaving a little too much gas in my drysuit for my liking).

I hit the float ball line at only about ten feet of depth, grabbed on, and began to pull my way down to the wreck. At about 100 feet or so, I stopped for about 30 seconds to regain my strength while making sure that my respiration rate did not climb any higher than it already was. It was hard work!

Finally, I pulled myself down to about 120 feet, and I let go of the line, falling behind a lee side of the upper wreck structure. My buddy and I gave the okay to each other, and we proceeded down to the main deck of the wreck.

While passing over some structure, my bail out bottle regulator slider bolt clip hooked onto some fishing line. This was no drill; I would have to remove the bottle to either unwind or cut the line while still trying to catch my breath and deal with the current, which was largely reduced by the wreck structure ahead of me, at the same time. It took a little longer to accomplish than I would have liked. However, I removed the bottle, traced the fishing line, and I was unable to unwind it without having to cut anything. I replaced my bailout, re-stowed the regulator (which had gotten pulled out a bit from the fishing line), and advanced to enter the wreck's engine room.

Rather than remove the bottles for entry, as I did on my prior wreck dive above, I decided to roll to my side, threading through a narrow opening into the ship's interior. It was pretty narrow from side to side, but it was as tall as a standard doorway vertically. I slipped through the crack, and I was inside. The sidemount bottles went through without even touching.

Once in the engine room, I rolled back to the prone trim position. I needed to do a bit of buoyancy adjustment, and I drifted slowly down to the floor. I added some gas to my wing, and I moved back to where I wanted to be in the water column. Hey, I said that I still have to work on buoyancy issues with the CCR, didn't I?

At least I made sure to touch the bottom so lightly that I didn't blow silt all over the place.

I went around the engine, and I turned to look back at my buddy. No buddy there. So, I reversed course, and I exited the wreck. My buddy came over some structure, and he was breathing off of an open circuit regulator. What the . . . ?

He signalled that he was low on something. I thought that he meant the oxygen tank. So, I offered to pass him my extra tank with oxygen in it. Rather than accept it, he gave me the thumb. So, I turned and we proceeded to head to the ascent line.

The current was still running briskly as we made our way up the line, pausing for our decompression stops starting at 70 feet. I could feel the last of the divers on the wreck below us unwrapping the grapnel and chain from the wreck. Finally, as the anchor came loose from the wreck, we were drifting at near the speed of the current, and all of the hard work came to an end.

During the remainder of the ascent, I continued to monitor my buddy to see what was going on. He pointed to his back and gave a signal to indicate that he was low. Then, he pointed to his mask, and I saw a tiny stream of bubbles exiting the bottom and some water inside. Putting two and two together, I thought that he was telling me that he had been exhaling to clear his leaky mask, causing the loss of his oxygen. I again offered my oxygen, which he declined.

Next, I looked at his monitor. Did I mention that my buddy was from Germany? Other than "Warnung," I couldn't figure out what the rest of the words on the screen meant. So, I just made sure to monitor my buddy, and we ascended together even remaining about five extra minutes on the last stop before surfacing.

We gave the okay sign to the boat, and it ran over to us from its observation point in the distance. I unclipped my sidemount tanks, handing them up to the DM before injecting a last shot of oxygen into the loop, removing my fins, and climbing aboard.

Back on the boat, my buddy informed me that just as he was entering the slit to the engine room, he got a warning from his temp stick, indicating that the scrubber material was at the end of its life. Rather than risk pushing it any farther, he (IMHO wisely) decided to abort the dive on open circuit. He did have a small mask leak along the way, but he still had plenty of oxygen. The low signal he kept giving me was low scrubber life.

So, other than some twists and turns along the way, I worked very hard but had a fun dive. The sidemounting continues to go well overall. I am not an expert by any means yet, but I continue to practice and learn just how useful such a set up can be.

I am sorry that I have not been able to post pics yet. I only own a poor camera phone. I keep hoping that someone on the boat will have a good camera, and this has not happened yet. I'll get pics one of these days.

divelermentov · 24th August 2006, 02:21

Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami)

Another dive with sidemount slung bail out bottles on Sunday. There were a few interesting turns along the way.

The current was very strong as we made our way down the line to the wreck of the Guy Harvey, located in 145 feet of water off of Pomano Beach (north of Fort Lauderdale), Florida. My buddy was in the process of conducting a test on his new Evolution rebreather to see how long the CO2 scrubber system would last when compared to his Inspiration model rebreather. He had previously put about 4.5 hours on the scrubber material.

This was my first live drop from a dive boat since making the switch to CCR and sidemounting. No issues to report there (though I did turn to descend a little prematurely, leaving a little too much gas in my drysuit for my liking).

I hit the float ball line at only about ten feet of depth, grabbed on, and began to pull my way down to the wreck. At about 100 feet or so, I stopped for about 30 seconds to regain my strength while making sure that my respiration rate did not climb any higher than it already was. It was hard work!

Finally, I pulled myself down to about 120 feet, and I let go of the line, falling behind a lee side of the upper wreck structure. My buddy and I gave the okay to each other, and we proceeded down to the main deck of the wreck.

While passing over some structure, my bail out bottle regulator slider bolt clip hooked onto some fishing line. This was no drill; I would have to remove the bottle to either unwind or cut the line while still trying to catch my breath and deal with the current, which was largely reduced by the wreck structure ahead of me, at the same time. It took a little longer to accomplish than I would have liked. However, I removed the bottle, traced the fishing line, and I was unable to unwind it without having to cut anything. I replaced my bailout, re-stowed the regulator (which had gotten pulled out a bit from the fishing line), and advanced to enter the wreck's engine room.

Rather than remove the bottles for entry, as I did on my prior wreck dive above, I decided to roll to my side, threading through a narrow opening into the ship's interior. It was pretty narrow from side to side, but it was as tall as a standard doorway vertically. I slipped through the crack, and I was inside. The sidemount bottles went through without even touching.

Once in the engine room, I rolled back to the prone trim position. I needed to do a bit of buoyancy adjustment, and I drifted slowly down to the floor. I added some gas to my wing, and I moved back to where I wanted to be in the water column. Hey, I said that I still have to work on buoyancy issues with the CCR, didn't I?

At least I made sure to touch the bottom so lightly that I didn't blow silt all over the place.

I went around the engine, and I turned to look back at my buddy. No buddy there. So, I reversed course, and I exited the wreck. My buddy came over some structure, and he was breathing off of an open circuit regulator. What the . . . ?

He signalled that he was low on something. I thought that he meant the oxygen tank. So, I offered to pass him my extra tank with oxygen in it. Rather than accept it, he gave me the thumb. So, I turned and we proceeded to head to the ascent line.

The current was still running briskly as we made our way up the line, pausing for our decompression stops starting at 70 feet. I could feel the last of the divers on the wreck below us unwrapping the grapnel and chain from the wreck. Finally, as the anchor came loose from the wreck, we were drifting at near the speed of the current, and all of the hard work came to an end.

During the remainder of the ascent, I continued to monitor my buddy to see what was going on. He pointed to his back and gave a signal to indicate that he was low. Then, he pointed to his mask, and I saw a tiny stream of bubbles exiting the bottom and some water inside. Putting two and two together, I thought that he was telling me that he had been exhaling to clear his leaky mask, causing the loss of his oxygen. I again offered my oxygen, which he declined.

Next, I looked at his monitor. Did I mention that my buddy was from Germany? Other than "Warnung," I couldn't figure out what the rest of the words on the screen meant. So, I just made sure to monitor my buddy, and we ascended together even remaining about five extra minutes on the last stop before surfacing.

We gave the okay sign to the boat, and it ran over to us from its observation point in the distance. I unclipped my sidemount tanks, handing them up to the DM before injecting a last shot of oxygen into the loop, removing my fins, and climbing aboard.

Back on the boat, my buddy informed me that just as he was entering the slit to the engine room, he got a warning from his temp stick, indicating that the scrubber material was at the end of its life. Rather than risk pushing it any farther, he (IMHO wisely) decided to abort the dive on open circuit. He did have a small mask leak along the way, but he still had plenty of oxygen. The low signal he kept giving me was low scrubber life.

So, other than some twists and turns along the way, I worked very hard but had a fun dive. The sidemounting continues to go well overall. I am not an expert by any means yet, but I continue to practice and learn just how useful such a set up can be.

I am sorry that I have not been able to post pics yet. I only own a poor camera phone. I keep hoping that someone on the boat will have a good camera, and this has not happened yet. I'll get pics one of these days.

The same thing (german on teh computer) always happens to me (buddies getting confused what the h... my comp is telling me.

Oh. did i forget to mention that I am german and my buddies are not ?

Just one question - do I understand right that your buddy enterd the dive with a 4.5 hours srcubber runtime for a 150 ft dive ?
If so I would have expected some sort of CO2 breakthrou sepcially in a high current/high workload condition
On the otherthand this makes everyone who changes the scrubber after 4 hours regardless look like very conservative

.

With regards to your sling ,ounted bailouts, I am just returning form a dive trip to Tonga, and after having O2 flying from Fidji (US500 for two K's), producing a travelframe (a copule of hundred dollars), and checking with the airline in advance (a phone call) they confiscated at check in my sorb
(priceless - for everything else there is VISA card)

So I ended up in tonga and had to dive OC

but the guys were great and we quickly whipped up some side mounts olus some chest mounts for deco gas, so not all was lost.
And I have to say tghe side mounts were bl... comfortable to carry

So thumb up for side mounting

24th July 2006, 01:23	#21 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks I have made some progress with the sidemount setup, and I still have some difficulties. On the one hand, making the tail strap so short that the tank would stay at my side (aluminum 40) also made it very difficult to clip the bottle back onto the sidemount panel at the bottom of the backplate. I ended out testing the setup by trying to remove and replace the bottle. Then, I would stop at a steps and platform area, remove my kit, and make adjustments based upon how this drill felt. After this, I would give it a try again, repeating the process several times. I might still have it about an inch too long. So, the tail still tends to float up a bit. The valve end of the tank was entirely too low, requiring some stops to tighten up the main bungee. I found that I could clip the tank shoulder clip onto the bungee, and that I like doing this better than having to deal with the traditional sidemount setup with the bungee. I am still playing with this aspect of things because I want the bottle to rest up higher but I still want to be able to pull it down to remove and replace using the clip. Even with things not exactly as I wanted it, I did a test run across the bottom to see how the tank would sit compared to my prior sling setup. I found that my belly would rub against the bottom before the tank would start to touch. Also the tank was behind my shoulder, out of the way. It was very easy to swim through the water this way. So, I think I am getting closer to my goal here. I am going to try another change or two to see how that goes before settling on the final configuration. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
(Offline)

24th July 2006, 02:43	#22 (permalink)
scubanimal New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Optima Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: May 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 93	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Scuba Dad, Thanks for posting your experiences, I'm looking for better way to mount my tanks with my Inspo, as I'm just not limber enough to mount them to the manufacturers D-rings.
(Online)

28th July 2006, 02:46	#23 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Okay, it is confirmed: I am definitely insane. I spent this lovely evening in my community pool (high rise living), with my backplate, a 40 tank and my sidemount setup (no other equipment except mask), doing breath hold bottle removal and replacement drills (no sense in wasting pefectly good gas or scrubber for this), making some more adjustments to my setup. I think I am getting close now. (Of course, I have had this foolish notion before, too. ) I was able to remove and replace pretty quickly. Regulator and offboard plug-in hose easily deploy and stow. I went to the bottom of the pool, touching my chest along the bottom without having the tank touch. So, the upper portion of the tank is getting in the right position just under my arm pit, behind my shoulder. Just to feel the difference, I switched back to clipping onto my shoulder d-ring and my left waist d-ring; the bottle touched the pool floor about two inches before my chest would touch. So, there is definitely a difference in how the bottles ride in one style verus the other. I still have to pull the bungee like the dickens when clipping the head of the tank to the bungee (I have placed a d-ring on the bungee, and I clip the tanks to it at the head using a traditional setup), and it does not always go perfectly. However, I think I am now ready to give this a try on some real dives. The retrieval bungee that goes to the shoulder d-ring might also be a bit long. However, I want to do a test dive or so before playing with that. The aluminum tanks still float up a bit in the tail (even though full and in fresh water). So, I will have to see how that goes in salt water. I might be able to shorten the tail strap another half inch or so, but I want to do some dives like this before making the last fine adjustments. I am going to give this (another) try this weekend. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com Last edited by ScubaDadMiami : 28th July 2006 at 03:05.
(Offline)

30th July 2006, 21:59	#24 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks It worked! I did my first dive today after revamping the sidemount set up, and I had success. I removed and replaced my sidemount tanks several times while in full kit, and everything seems to be coming together . . . finally. I did not wind up using the standard configuration. The main difference between my set up and the standard ones is that I added a stainless round ring onto the end of the bungee loops than hang from the backplate. It is to these rings that I clip standard rigged stages. Now, any buddy that carries a standard stage can be passed my bottle, easily using it in the standard sling fashion. I can also accept his/her bottle on this set up. To deploy, just trace the retrieval strap (which goes from the round ring to the shoulder d-ring) to the ring, put a thumb through it, pull, and then clip the tank (shoulder) slider bolt cilip onto the ring. Let go, and the bungee pulls the tank up under my arm pit and behind my shoulder. I'll need to do a few more dives before settling in on the final adjustments. However, the basics are there, and everything seems to work well. At this point, the onlly issue that came up was concerning the deployment of the off board plug in hose. I can't see it behind the counterlungs, and it can take a bit of doing to find it by feel. I ended up moving the connector up so that it sticks up above the tank valve and regulator, making it easier to find by feel. Seems to work. I'll need to make a few more test runs to see what I am going to do about this. Progress! __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com Last edited by ScubaDadMiami : 30th July 2006 at 22:06.
(Offline)

5th August 2006, 21:24	#25 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Another dive today. It was pretty great. I went through some restrictions inside of a wreck just to see how the sidemount configuration would fit compared to slung bottles. The objective was not so much to go to places that would require removal and replacement; I was just trying to get a general feel for any differences in tighter spots. I also removed and replaced both bottles a number of times. The left side is a fast and easy. The right side, due to my EPIRB on my waist strap, is a little trickier and takes a little longer. No problems reaching the tank valves or the pull dump for the wing. It really feels quite streamlined in the water, and it seems that it takes less effort in kicking to move about. When I got to the boat, I was able to unclip and pass up the bottles to the boat crew so that I wouldn't have to climb out fully kitted. I am sold! __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
(Offline)

13th August 2006, 05:22	#26 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Today was a good day. I did my first dive that involved removal and replacement of the sidemount tanks to pass wreck restrictions, and that went very well. We dove on a wreck with a about a 50 foot hallway that is very narrow. So, at the entrance, I took off one of my two sidemount bailout tanks, holding it with my hand as I pulled and glided my way through the stretch. Emerging into a larger cabin at the end of the hall, I easily clipped back on the bottle, and I continued on my way. On our second dive, I broke out my scooter, and I scootered around for 30 minutes or so with the sidemount tanks for the first time. I honestly can't say that I felt any less drag scootering with the sidemount tanks compared to the side slung tanks. However, things went well, and I had a fun time. At one point, I scootered between a couple of doorways on the wreck, zig-zagging since one was offset from the other (not a straight shot through them). No problems, and no clanking or touching the wreck with the tanks as I passed through. Very nice. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
(Offline)

13th August 2006, 07:28	#27 (permalink)
PCDiver Submerge Productions Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 961	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami) Today was a good day. I did my first dive that involved removal and replacement of the sidemount tanks to pass wreck restrictions, and that went very well. We dove on a wreck with a about a 50 foot hallway that is very narrow. So, at the entrance, I took off one of my two sidemount bailout tanks, holding it with my hand as I pulled and glided my way through the stretch. Emerging into a larger cabin at the end of the hall, I easily clipped back on the bottle, and I continued on my way. On our second dive, I broke out my scooter, and I scootered around for 30 minutes or so with the sidemount tanks for the first time. I honestly can't say that I felt any less drag scootering with the sidemount tanks compared to the side slung tanks. However, things went well, and I had a fun time. At one point, I scootered between a couple of doorways on the wreck, zig-zagging since one was offset from the other (not a straight shot through them). No problems, and no clanking or touching the wreck with the tanks as I passed through. Very nice. Pictures!! Can you get us some pictures of your side mount setup? Better, write an article (with pictures).
(Online)

13th August 2006, 12:54	#28 (permalink)
PacketSniffer ~~~~~ #417 ~~~~~ Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Houston Posts: 437	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks I second that request. __________________ Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat.
(Offline)

23rd August 2006, 03:09	#29 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,136	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Another dive with sidemount slung bail out bottles on Sunday. There were a few interesting turns along the way. The current was very strong as we made our way down the line to the wreck of the Guy Harvey, located in 145 feet of water off of Pomano Beach (north of Fort Lauderdale), Florida. My buddy was in the process of conducting a test on his new Evolution rebreather to see how long the CO2 scrubber system would last when compared to his Inspiration model rebreather. He had previously put about 4.5 hours on the scrubber material. This was my first live drop from a dive boat since making the switch to CCR and sidemounting. No issues to report there (though I did turn to descend a little prematurely, leaving a little too much gas in my drysuit for my liking). I hit the float ball line at only about ten feet of depth, grabbed on, and began to pull my way down to the wreck. At about 100 feet or so, I stopped for about 30 seconds to regain my strength while making sure that my respiration rate did not climb any higher than it already was. It was hard work! Finally, I pulled myself down to about 120 feet, and I let go of the line, falling behind a lee side of the upper wreck structure. My buddy and I gave the okay to each other, and we proceeded down to the main deck of the wreck. While passing over some structure, my bail out bottle regulator slider bolt clip hooked onto some fishing line. This was no drill; I would have to remove the bottle to either unwind or cut the line while still trying to catch my breath and deal with the current, which was largely reduced by the wreck structure ahead of me, at the same time. It took a little longer to accomplish than I would have liked. However, I removed the bottle, traced the fishing line, and I was unable to unwind it without having to cut anything. I replaced my bailout, re-stowed the regulator (which had gotten pulled out a bit from the fishing line), and advanced to enter the wreck's engine room. Rather than remove the bottles for entry, as I did on my prior wreck dive above, I decided to roll to my side, threading through a narrow opening into the ship's interior. It was pretty narrow from side to side, but it was as tall as a standard doorway vertically. I slipped through the crack, and I was inside. The sidemount bottles went through without even touching. Once in the engine room, I rolled back to the prone trim position. I needed to do a bit of buoyancy adjustment, and I drifted slowly down to the floor. I added some gas to my wing, and I moved back to where I wanted to be in the water column. Hey, I said that I still have to work on buoyancy issues with the CCR, didn't I? At least I made sure to touch the bottom so lightly that I didn't blow silt all over the place. I went around the engine, and I turned to look back at my buddy. No buddy there. So, I reversed course, and I exited the wreck. My buddy came over some structure, and he was breathing off of an open circuit regulator. What the . . . ? He signalled that he was low on something. I thought that he meant the oxygen tank. So, I offered to pass him my extra tank with oxygen in it. Rather than accept it, he gave me the thumb. So, I turned and we proceeded to head to the ascent line. The current was still running briskly as we made our way up the line, pausing for our decompression stops starting at 70 feet. I could feel the last of the divers on the wreck below us unwrapping the grapnel and chain from the wreck. Finally, as the anchor came loose from the wreck, we were drifting at near the speed of the current, and all of the hard work came to an end. During the remainder of the ascent, I continued to monitor my buddy to see what was going on. He pointed to his back and gave a signal to indicate that he was low. Then, he pointed to his mask, and I saw a tiny stream of bubbles exiting the bottom and some water inside. Putting two and two together, I thought that he was telling me that he had been exhaling to clear his leaky mask, causing the loss of his oxygen. I again offered my oxygen, which he declined. Next, I looked at his monitor. Did I mention that my buddy was from Germany? Other than "Warnung," I couldn't figure out what the rest of the words on the screen meant. So, I just made sure to monitor my buddy, and we ascended together even remaining about five extra minutes on the last stop before surfacing. We gave the okay sign to the boat, and it ran over to us from its observation point in the distance. I unclipped my sidemount tanks, handing them up to the DM before injecting a last shot of oxygen into the loop, removing my fins, and climbing aboard. Back on the boat, my buddy informed me that just as he was entering the slit to the engine room, he got a warning from his temp stick, indicating that the scrubber material was at the end of its life. Rather than risk pushing it any farther, he (IMHO wisely) decided to abort the dive on open circuit. He did have a small mask leak along the way, but he still had plenty of oxygen. The low signal he kept giving me was low scrubber life. So, other than some twists and turns along the way, I worked very hard but had a fun dive. The sidemounting continues to go well overall. I am not an expert by any means yet, but I continue to practice and learn just how useful such a set up can be. I am sorry that I have not been able to post pics yet. I only own a poor camera phone. I keep hoping that someone on the boat will have a good camera, and this has not happened yet. I'll get pics one of these days. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com Last edited by ScubaDadMiami : 23rd August 2006 at 03:14.
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24th August 2006, 02:21	#30 (permalink)
divelermentov Nutty dentist - uwdriller Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Home Build Join Date: May 2006 Location: Auckland Posts: 635	Re: Sidemounting with Aluminum Tanks Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami) Another dive with sidemount slung bail out bottles on Sunday. There were a few interesting turns along the way. The current was very strong as we made our way down the line to the wreck of the Guy Harvey, located in 145 feet of water off of Pomano Beach (north of Fort Lauderdale), Florida. My buddy was in the process of conducting a test on his new Evolution rebreather to see how long the CO2 scrubber system would last when compared to his Inspiration model rebreather. He had previously put about 4.5 hours on the scrubber material. This was my first live drop from a dive boat since making the switch to CCR and sidemounting. No issues to report there (though I did turn to descend a little prematurely, leaving a little too much gas in my drysuit for my liking). I hit the float ball line at only about ten feet of depth, grabbed on, and began to pull my way down to the wreck. At about 100 feet or so, I stopped for about 30 seconds to regain my strength while making sure that my respiration rate did not climb any higher than it already was. It was hard work! Finally, I pulled myself down to about 120 feet, and I let go of the line, falling behind a lee side of the upper wreck structure. My buddy and I gave the okay to each other, and we proceeded down to the main deck of the wreck. While passing over some structure, my bail out bottle regulator slider bolt clip hooked onto some fishing line. This was no drill; I would have to remove the bottle to either unwind or cut the line while still trying to catch my breath and deal with the current, which was largely reduced by the wreck structure ahead of me, at the same time. It took a little longer to accomplish than I would have liked. However, I removed the bottle, traced the fishing line, and I was unable to unwind it without having to cut anything. I replaced my bailout, re-stowed the regulator (which had gotten pulled out a bit from the fishing line), and advanced to enter the wreck's engine room. Rather than remove the bottles for entry, as I did on my prior wreck dive above, I decided to roll to my side, threading through a narrow opening into the ship's interior. It was pretty narrow from side to side, but it was as tall as a standard doorway vertically. I slipped through the crack, and I was inside. The sidemount bottles went through without even touching. Once in the engine room, I rolled back to the prone trim position. I needed to do a bit of buoyancy adjustment, and I drifted slowly down to the floor. I added some gas to my wing, and I moved back to where I wanted to be in the water column. Hey, I said that I still have to work on buoyancy issues with the CCR, didn't I? At least I made sure to touch the bottom so lightly that I didn't blow silt all over the place. I went around the engine, and I turned to look back at my buddy. No buddy there. So, I reversed course, and I exited the wreck. My buddy came over some structure, and he was breathing off of an open circuit regulator. What the . . . ? He signalled that he was low on something. I thought that he meant the oxygen tank. So, I offered to pass him my extra tank with oxygen in it. Rather than accept it, he gave me the thumb. So, I turned and we proceeded to head to the ascent line. The current was still running briskly as we made our way up the line, pausing for our decompression stops starting at 70 feet. I could feel the last of the divers on the wreck below us unwrapping the grapnel and chain from the wreck. Finally, as the anchor came loose from the wreck, we were drifting at near the speed of the current, and all of the hard work came to an end. During the remainder of the ascent, I continued to monitor my buddy to see what was going on. He pointed to his back and gave a signal to indicate that he was low. Then, he pointed to his mask, and I saw a tiny stream of bubbles exiting the bottom and some water inside. Putting two and two together, I thought that he was telling me that he had been exhaling to clear his leaky mask, causing the loss of his oxygen. I again offered my oxygen, which he declined. Next, I looked at his monitor. Did I mention that my buddy was from Germany? Other than "Warnung," I couldn't figure out what the rest of the words on the screen meant. So, I just made sure to monitor my buddy, and we ascended together even remaining about five extra minutes on the last stop before surfacing. We gave the okay sign to the boat, and it ran over to us from its observation point in the distance. I unclipped my sidemount tanks, handing them up to the DM before injecting a last shot of oxygen into the loop, removing my fins, and climbing aboard. Back on the boat, my buddy informed me that just as he was entering the slit to the engine room, he got a warning from his temp stick, indicating that the scrubber material was at the end of its life. Rather than risk pushing it any farther, he (IMHO wisely) decided to abort the dive on open circuit. He did have a small mask leak along the way, but he still had plenty of oxygen. The low signal he kept giving me was low scrubber life. So, other than some twists and turns along the way, I worked very hard but had a fun dive. The sidemounting continues to go well overall. I am not an expert by any means yet, but I continue to practice and learn just how useful such a set up can be. I am sorry that I have not been able to post pics yet. I only own a poor camera phone. I keep hoping that someone on the boat will have a good camera, and this has not happened yet. I'll get pics one of these days. The same thing (german on teh computer) always happens to me (buddies getting confused what the h... my comp is telling me. Oh. did i forget to mention that I am german and my buddies are not ? Just one question - do I understand right that your buddy enterd the dive with a 4.5 hours srcubber runtime for a 150 ft dive ? If so I would have expected some sort of CO2 breakthrou sepcially in a high current/high workload condition On the otherthand this makes everyone who changes the scrubber after 4 hours regardless look like very conservative . With regards to your sling ,ounted bailouts, I am just returning form a dive trip to Tonga, and after having O2 flying from Fidji (US500 for two K's), producing a travelframe (a copule of hundred dollars), and checking with the airline in advance (a phone call) they confiscated at check in my sorb (priceless - for everything else there is VISA card) So I ended up in tonga and had to dive OC but the guys were great and we quickly whipped up some side mounts olus some chest mounts for deco gas, so not all was lost. And I have to say tghe side mounts were bl... comfortable to carry So thumb up for side mounting __________________ May The Sorb Be With You
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