Attaching tanks, light

[scblade27]

I am very new to sidemount diving. I purchased the Nomad several weeks ago and so far the dives have been going great. I am very impressed with the Nomad system.

I have my hoses and vertical trim pretty squared away. The two problems I am having are:

(1) Hooking up the top clip to the bungee using the choker system. Right now I have been hooking up the bottom snap to the buttplate handles first, then going for the top. I am having a hell of a time trying to stretch the bungee while grabbing the snap, opening, and getting it all in there. I can eventually do it, it just seems like more work than it should be. Any suggestions from people using the choker method would be greatly appreciated.

(2) I seem to be a little lopsided in the water. When my tanks are reading the same pressure, I tilt to the right. I assume this if from the additional weight of my can light. I can balance out by breathing my right tank down lower than my left. The problem I see with that is my long hose is on my right tank and I would like to not have less air in that one than my left. I would like to keep the long hose standard on my right side, for my buddies sake. The only other differences between the two tanks are slightly different regulators, and the right tank has the long hose. I dont think its enough to cause any problems.

I know some people mount the light in different places. How? And any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[FW]

(2) I seem to be a little lopsided in the water. When my tanks are reading the same pressure, I tilt to the right. I assume this if from the additional weight of my can light. I can balance out by breathing my right tank down lower than my left. The problem I see with that is my long hose is on my right tank and I would like to not have less air in that one than my left. I would like to keep the long hose standard on my right side, for my buddies sake. The only other differences between the two tanks are slightly different regulators, and the right tank has the long hose. I dont think its enough to cause any problems.

I know some people mount the light in different places. How? And any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
I had the same problen, until I went to a newer, lighter, cannister light. I wear it in the normal backmount location, on the waistbelt.

[sskasser]

I am very new to sidemount diving. I purchased the Nomad several weeks ago and so far the dives have been going great. I am very impressed with the Nomad system.

I have my hoses and vertical trim pretty squared away. The two problems I am having are:

(1) Hooking up the top clip to the bungee using the choker system. Right now I have been hooking up the bottom snap to the buttplate handles first, then going for the top. I am having a hell of a time trying to stretch the bungee while grabbing the snap, opening, and getting it all in there. I can eventually do it, it just seems like more work than it should be. Any suggestions from people using the choker method would be greatly appreciated.


I'm not in a Nomad, but I've adapted my setup to use a modified choker. For me, it just took some practice to find the sweet spot in getting it clipped in. I did bust a few knuckles and cuss a bit at first.




(2) I seem to be a little lopsided in the water. When my tanks are reading the same pressure, I tilt to the right. I assume this if from the additional weight of my can light. I can balance out by breathing my right tank down lower than my left. The problem I see with that is my long hose is on my right tank and I would like to not have less air in that one than my left. I would like to keep the long hose standard on my right side, for my buddies sake. The only other differences between the two tanks are slightly different regulators, and the right tank has the long hose. I dont think its enough to cause any problems.

I know some people mount the light in different places. How? And any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

What kind of light are you using that's THAT heavy?

Intentionally breathing down one tank is something I'd definitely avoid, so you're on the right track to find another solution. Maybe butt-mount it? Add some hose clamps and clips and you're set.

[scblade27]

I am really not using a heavy light. Its just a DR MR11. I wouldnt think it throw my trim off too much, but I am definitely tilted in the water. To be even I need to have a pressure differential of 300-400 psi. I am using steel 119's currently.

How is the light buttmounted? Does it just attach to the holes on the backplate/fabric at the bottom? I can give that a try. I may also try swapping the light over to the left side to try and see if that corrects the problem. I guess that would eliminate the light as the culprit if it didnt work.

[rrosepiler]

The only problem you have butt mounting your light is that if you are going through some tight restrictions you canister is a lot more exposed then it is if you put it on your waist belt.

As far as using the chockers I actually have my cylinders set up to where my stages are facing in towards my body and my large ss clips snap to the backside of the valve. I do this for two reasons 1) It keeps my 1st stage protected and 2) It is easier to clip into the bungee. Another thing I have done is made a small loop out of surgical tubing and I have it around my valves and I tuck my hoses through it and it keeps them close to the valve so they don't dangle and become an entanglement hazard.

[Jay]

I butt mount my lights. They may drag a little in the really tight stuff, but I found they took more of a beating being on my belt next to a tank. On the nomad it looks like the light should be lower then your butt if mounted on the bottom, so unless you have a real flat ass it should not get much abuse. :)

I would suggest getting in a pool with all your gear and make some adjustments to your tank bands, harness etc. 8" tanks are a little harder with the choker system, but I like my tanks very tight, so I deal with a little difficulty with the shoulder snap. Have you tried rolling your tank up your side or pulling the bottom up with your free hand?

[scblade27]

Have you tried rolling your tank up your side or pulling the bottom up with your free hand?

So far I have been attaching them sitting on steps not really in the water. I like the idea of using the chokers rather than wrapping the bungee around the neck. I have had the clip attached to the choker, then attached it to the bungee. Maybe it would be easier to attach the clip to the bungee then clip it off to the choker?

I guess I will just have to play. I didnt know if anyone had some big secret to it.

[Brian Kakuk]

Try taking a look at the Dive Rite website and view all of the great new videos that Lamar put out concerning Nomad setups, including use of the new chokers. Watch ALL of the videos and pay particular attention to the order in which the attachment points are completed. When you are done with each video clip, choose another at the bottom of the page. I think these videos will help you a lot:

http://www.diverite.com/techtalk/solutionfinder/

As for the light canister, again the video shows a couple of variations of mounting. I personally butt mount my canister and it does not take much abuse at all. I DO have to install longer cords so that the light head will reach my helmet for survey work. I place bungee cord coming off of each clip. The bungee goes over the horizontal butt mounted canister, through my legs, and up to my scooter ring. This is actually one lenght of bungee with a small clip in the middle creating a V. What this does is keeps the canister pulled tight against my rear end, keeping it from getting hung up and also keeps it in place if I end up inverted....the canister will not "toggle" out of position catching on projections when I am upside down, either vertically or horizontally.

Other than watching the videos, or butt mounting, I would start looking at the awesome new LED primary lights that are becoming more common. The small, bright lights negate the need for a corded light canister all together. One word of caution, place a length of bungee on the back of the light with the other end on a small clip and clip it off to your shoulder D ring. If you drop the light, then you won't see it bouncing down into some inpenetrable breakdown in the cave.

Safe diving,

Brian

[Webmaster]

I'll second the handheld LED. I'm liking my Salvo 12W. I put a wrist lanyard on the back just in case it gets dropped. I certainly don't miss having a cannister or cord.

Marbry

[RN]

Check your shoulder straps and the location they connect to your waist belt. I had a buddy that had the same problem and we figured out one shoulder strap was just slightly off and it was enough to throw him off kilter.

[Spd 135]

FWIW, a lot of things tend to work themselves out by just diving and comfort. Have someone follow behind and see if one tank lays lower than the other. If it does adjust the cam band or clamp to make them both the same. If the problem continues, weigh both tanks and see if there is enough weight difference to create the problem you are having. If that is it, place a trim weight on the light tank to balance it, in a safe position of course. The great thing about sidemounting is over time you can custom fit your rig the way "you" want it. As far as the light, I went right waist, left waist and I have settled on butt mount (dr slimline can) and am happy with it. When I had it refitted for LED I asked them to also replace to cord adding about six inches. That was the sweetspot for me as far as lights go. Mark

[scblade27]

I just got out again today. I have pretty much resolved the attachment problem by wearing the regulators out, instead of wearing them towards me.

My fiance also has just started sidemounting and had the same trim problem as I did. We both figured it was the light because we never had any problems when testing without the can light. I swapped the canister over to the left side and then I was tilting left. It is not to the same extreme because the light sits more towards the center of my body on the left side. I think the secret for me might be the butt mount if the cord will reach.

FWIW she just got the new DR 700LED which for all purposes is the same as my 10W HID.

[OneBrightGator]

what about putting an equal ballast on the opposite side from the cannister?

[scblade27]

I may have to give that a shot if the buttmounting does not work how I want. I am just a weary of adding additional weight to the rig. It is already really negative with the 119's.

I was thinking also it may not be such a bad thing to be a little heavy on the left. That would force you to keep more air in the right tank to balance out. That maybe good since that is the one with the long hose and would leave more gas for the potentially stressed diver.

[icestac]

When I am attaching my tanks, I do not clip the bungee into the shoulder d-ring first. I have the XL clips and I take my right hand around my right tank and put my thumb in the bungie's clip. That causes some positive pressure of the bungie onto the choker clip. Then with my left hand all I have to do is open the clip a little bit and the bungie goes right in. Then it is just a simple matter of clipping the bungie clip to the shoulder D-ring.

Not sure if this makes sense, but it was a LOT easier for me than trying to stretch the bungie all the time.

~Jeff

[scblade27]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the advise, will give it a shot.

[scblade27]

Just an update for anyone else getting started who may experience these same issues in the future. I got my rig pretty squared away, although I am sure there will be more little things in the future.

The trick about reaching around the tank to grab the bungee with the right hand and clipping with the left (on the right side tank) worked like a charm.

I put my long hose on my left tank, route it down between me and the side of the tank, back up and around the back of my neck and over the right shoulder. The other reg on the right tank has a 22'' hose on a necklace. I found this to my much more comfortable than the long hose on the right.

The wing inflator hose from the left tank routes up under the corrugated hose, to a 180 degree bend and back down to where it attaches. That seems to stow very nicely under a bungee/intertube. The drysuit inflator hose routes under the arm/chest strap to the inflation valve from the right tank.

I added length to the left waist belt to shift the buckle more towards the right side. Then I swapped my can light over to the left side where it rides more in the center of my body. This completely fixed my trim problem I was having. The only annoyance is having to take the buckle off to get the can off the belt.

I also attached my backup lights using intertube under both arms on the webbing. They rest perfectly above the tanks and are very easy to get to. Using this configuration I was able to easily unclip both tanks in the water, move them in front of me, take them off, etc.

Thank you all for your suggestions. It really is a great feeling when everything finally starts coming together.

[OneBrightGator]

Cool, glad you got it figured out. Any reason you couldn't switch the buckle to the other to rid yourself of the annoyance?

[scblade27]

I will have to play with the positioning of the buckle. I guess I need to get out of the mindset of how things "should" be setup. That seems to be the biggest obstacle. Thanks for the suggestion.

[TommyB]

Confused as to why your having to even mess with the bungies. With the new choker system. You hook up the bungie to the D-Ring. Then hook the clip that is choked to the tank to the bungie. That was the whole reason I thought they changed to the 13" bungie cord now instead of the 15"/17" ones. The bungie using the 13" one does not even have to wrap around the 1st stages.

New Nomad Tank Attachment
http://www.diverite.com/blog/2007/10/19/30/

main jest of the new system


The point is now you clip into the bungee rather than wrapping the bungee around the cylinder neck. The bungee needs to be 4” shorter than what you would normally use. I used to use the 17” bungee and I had to shorten it to 13”. Now it is easy to clip in and keep bottles side mounted for CCR bailout or 95’s on a sidemount dive.

[scblade27]

you are correct. I was having a problem clipping the choked snap on the tank to the bungee. Originally it was because I had the clip choked on the same side as my 1st stage. This made it very difficult to clip on the bungee. After watching the Dive Rite videos on the website, they specifically say you can not do that. I figured out you can....with much more difficulty than its worth.

After changing the orientation so the clip was on the opposite side as the regulator, it was much easier to manage. Then after reading about the clipping idea above, it was even easier. Now it is no problem at all and I am pleased with how it all goes together.

On another note, I just swapped the waist buckle over to the right side, almost to the D-Ring. Now everything goes on very easily and still allows for my light to sit in the center of my body next to the crotch strap.

[phillip1]

I am very new to sidemount diving. I purchased the Nomad several weeks ago and so far the dives have been going great. I am very impressed with the Nomad system.

I have my hoses and vertical trim pretty squared away. The two problems I am having are:

(1) Hooking up the top clip to the bungee using the choker system. Right now I have been hooking up the bottom snap to the buttplate handles first, then going for the top. I am having a hell of a time trying to stretch the bungee while grabbing the snap, opening, and getting it all in there. I can eventually do it, it just seems like more work than it should be. Any suggestions from people using the choker method would be greatly appreciated.

(2) I seem to be a little lopsided in the water. When my tanks are reading the same pressure, I tilt to the right. I assume this if from the additional weight of my can light. I can balance out by breathing my right tank down lower than my left. The problem I see with that is my long hose is on my right tank and I would like to not have less air in that one than my left. I would like to keep the long hose standard on my right side, for my buddies sake. The only other differences between the two tanks are slightly different regulators, and the right tank has the long hose. I dont think its enough to cause any problems.

I know some people mount the light in different places. How? And any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I use the Nomad with the choker system, I like it allot. Put the front clip on first then the buttplate clip and at the end of the dive with less air & lighter tanks unclip the front first then the buttplate.
As for being lopsided you may have air trapped on one side of the wing, it has happened to me and I wiggle around till the air gets equal on both sides.
Try emptying the wing completely hold still and see if you are lopsided if with no air you are straight then you are getting air trapped on one side.
Mount backup lights on a helmet and install a clip for the primary when you need both hands, works great and protects your head in zero viz exits.
There is no set in stone way, whatever works for you is good.