Sidemount valve placement

[fixxervi6]

I'm a nomad newbie here, been playing in the lakes with it getting everything squared away.

Originally I pointed my valve knobs straight down and it worked out real well, easy to get to, fast to turn on off etc.

Then I tried to "plow" under a beam and push through some silt, and when I mean plow I mean plow, I dug in deep and left some long skid marks getting under the beam of the platform.

In doing so I rolled a valve all the way off, so next dive I flipped the valves up. That took care of my roll off issue but put the knobs in a less comfortable posistion and made them a bit harder to turn on/off.

I don't plan on doing ANY "plowing" in the caves so I'm of the mindset to turn the valves back down.

Does anyone dive them in the vavle knob down position and do you have any issues with them this way?

[sskasser]

I keep mine turned out at right angles, parallel to my body. I don't have any problem reaching them to turn them off, and since they're in my armpits anyway, they're somewhat protected by my arms in tight spaces.

[SLIM]

Depends on what tanks I have. Not all of them have oppasit valves. Most are normal so I might have one up and one down. Witch side is witch? Well even thta can change since not all my SM tanks have cambands. Some are set to go right and left. On thoses my Left valve is always down, my Right can be up or down depending on witch set of tanks they are.

Even if they are pointing down, you still at times HAVE to be able to lift them up, oryou can go one and try a bolt snap tied to the tank neck and clipped to a chest D-Ring to help out the bunggie. So as not to have all the weight on the bunggie. I have found this to work for me. Each SM has to be looked at and fixed for an indiviual diver and what works for them.

SLIM

[fixxervi6]

Depends on what tanks I have. Not all of them have oppasit valves. Most are normal so I might have one up and one down. Witch side is witch? Well even thta can change since not all my SM tanks have cambands. Some are set to go right and left. On thoses my Left valve is always down, my Right can be up or down depending on witch set of tanks they are.

Even if they are pointing down, you still at times HAVE to be able to lift them up, oryou can go one and try a bolt snap tied to the tank neck and clipped to a chest D-Ring to help out the bunggie. So as not to have all the weight on the bunggie. I have found this to work for me. Each SM has to be looked at and fixed for an indiviual diver and what works for them.

SLIM

My concern is to roll off, I don't want to be in small passages and have them roll off by facing down, I don't THINK it would be an issue but I've never been down that road, would rather learn from those you have.

For what works, facing them both down appears to work for me quite well but then again I have not put the rig in a cave yet.

[FW]

I have my knobs pointing towards my body. Much less chance of roll-off, or plowing. They aren't much harder to reach than straight out. Like Slim, it depends on which tanks, some don't have L/R handed valves, but they are either point in, or out, but not up/down. I also keep the regs on top, so they don't plow, or bang on stuff.

[Line Squirrel]

My valves are up. I'm more worried about bending the little threaded stub shaft that the knob sits on than a roll off.

[skip]

I've tried them up and down. when down, they could plow like you say, or could bend the post if the knobs bang into hard rock. but when down they are really easy to reach and turn on and off. when up (into armpit) they are harder to reach and I find that my reg first stage and hoses tend to get in the way of the knob too. I have to pull the tank out from my body to reach the knob (which would make feathering difficult). I don't like them turned in (so on/off knob is against side of body) because then the hoses and regs stick out too far making them the first thing to rub and get hung up in a tight situation. Turned out might be good, but then they are sticking out in a less protected fashion.

so i've been living with them in/behind/up, and just have to pull the tank out and away to reach the knob.

as slim pointed out, it's all a matter of personal preference, but one thing I have learned is that sump sidemount is not cave sidemount! one configuration does not fit all circumstances.

and like FW and others have said, some pairs of tanks have right/left valves and some are right side only, so one tank will have the knob down and one up.... sidemounters rarely subscribed to any one configuration as the "right" one, and most have a variety of ways of doing things. This make "motor memory" a bit of a chore if not downright impossible, but that's sidemounting.

-skip

[RN]

Like Shirley, I keep mine pointint out parallel to my body. It keeps them nicely planed and reduces drag. They're also not difficult to reach in this position. When I dive both RH valves, like in Mexico, both valves point to the right. I was flipping the left tank so the knob pointed out, but the 1st stage was in a bad location and I had to twist it to keep the hoses in the right place. With the knob pointing in towards my chest I can keep the 1st stage in the same position and still reach the knob.

[aainslie]

One point, rolloff is a real non-issue in SM. In fact I frequently turn my valves off intentionally when going thru high flow areas like the Ear to stop losing gas to free-flows. Even when I breathe them after forgetting to turn them back in it's so quick to turn them on that it's easy to do without inducing panic.

I now use any old valve. The opposite ones are nice though, in which case I use them with the valve pointing outwards and the reg pointing down. This gives easy access to the reg and provides a nice point to hook the bungee on the opposite side to the valve.

[Jerry]

If you are plowing valves and regs; the tops of your tanks are hanging too far away from your body. IF anything plows, that is IF, it should be the shoulder of the cylinder. I use left and right hand valves, knobs out and slightly down, regs up and never have any issues with them plowing or hitting.

Jerry

[fixxervi6]

If you are plowing valves and regs; the tops of your tanks are hanging too far away from your body. IF anything plows, that is IF, it should be the shoulder of the cylinder. I use left and right hand valves, knobs out and slightly down, regs up and never have any issues with them plowing or hitting.

Jerry

There wasn't enough room for me to go under, my chest and face and all was pushing through that thick mungy pudding like substance that forms on the bottoms of ponds/lakes.

[Mike Edmonston]

I like to wear my tanks with the valve knob facing down. I am a pretty big dude, and my chest dimentions will stop me from hitting my valves long before they start to plow. Skinnier divers may not be so fortunate :yawinkle:

[chimie007]

my chest dimentions will stop me from hitting my valves long before they start to plow. Skinnier divers may not be so fortunate :yawinkle:

For once it pays to be on the "bulky" side ;)

[atedeschi]

so are you guys, clipping your bottles into the harness/bungiee or are you wrapping the bungiee?

[chimie007]

so are you guys, clipping your bottles into the harness/bungiee or are you wrapping the bungiee?

I loop my tank valve in the bungee. I don't have the Nomad bungees but an older DR style. It's like a small loop of thick bungee attached at the end of a webbing that attaches on my back. The loop is about 4-5 in long and is attached to the shoulder straps. It keeps the tanks between my shoulder D-ring and my back. I haven't tried the Nomad bungee setup but mine works well. I had a pic of it but it's gone since the server software update.

[fixxervi6]

I clip the tank to my harness for carrying on ground to keep the weight off the butt plate but in water I take the bungie around the tank neck then clip that onto the harness to support the tank in the water, pulls it up tight.