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I have started sidemount diving ( I guess I consider it mission specific) for both wreck and cave and other penetration use but have only done a handful of dives utilizing the SPG's and hoses I already have (24" I think). I want to get new spgs on shorter hoses just for sidemount and am trying to decide what I might like most in an effort to not buy a bunch of hoses for testing things out.
9" or 6"
Which way are you routing your SPGs ??? Down along the tank, or up ??
I am using the smaller DR SPG with the 6" hose pointing straight out of the top of the first stage from the tank.Quote:
Originally Posted by cavediver256
But I am considering laying my SPGs flat against the tank. When I am in tight passages with loose bottom (in caves), the SPG has a tendency to be the only thing that is dragging, and I need to use both hands to support the gauges off the bottom until I am in a taller passage and can get further away from the bottom.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Yes,Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdiverman
It's the main reason that I now have the SPG's laying across my chest. They are straight off the regs with a 6" hose and lay flat right above my chest strap (nomad). Pressure in the hose keeps them high and tight.
Safe Diving
Absolutely, I canted the first stages but had the same effect when things got tight. They acted like small shovels, so I tried clipping the gauges up against the shoulder straps, but that left just way too much going on on that D ring. So I flipped the gauges to the bottom HP port. That put the gauges laying along the tanks just on the inside just below where the tanks rest along the chest wall. Now they don't dig into the mud/silt. Now I just grab the gauge put a slight bend in the HP hose for a quick glance down. The 6" hoses work great for me, but some prefer 9" hoses.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdiverman
You haven't hit 40 yet. You must still have good near sighted vision. This location is not too close to focus on?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Edmonston
What reg are you using? I am using DR2500s.
Thanks!
Dive safe!
So the gauge is under your arm above the tank basically?Quote:
Originally Posted by cavediver256
Thanks!
Here is a pic of HP hose placement- it is a tad hard to see, as I have black boots over the crappy plastic HP gauges- you can see it laying against the side of the tank.
Jason
6". I rotate the regs so the SPG are about 45' angle from the tank axis. When I wear the tanks, the SPGs lay near my shoulder D-rings. I have to reach and pull them out a little to be able to see them. Been working well. I had to play a little to find the best angle. At first, they were digging down.
I don't like the idea of having them laying on top of tanks since you have to reach back to see them which would be a real pain with stages on.
I see. You have the gauge flat against the tank on the outside away from your body.Quote:
Originally Posted by rchrds
Thanks.
3 more weeks and I'll be 40. Damn, now I need to move my gauges!:yawinkle:Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdiverman
My gauges face straight out from the tank so I can see them easily. I currently use 6", but would like something shorter so it would be more stiff when the pressure drops.
~Jeff
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdiverman
They are just like rchrds, but I keep my tanks rotated 90 degrees from what you see in the pic he posted, the gauges are on the inside of the tank. Valve openings to the inside=gauges on the inside.
I'm close. Mine are 180 degrees, facing inward. Having the gauges on the inner side also keeps it from being an issue with stages getting in the way. I started with 6" sticking out the top, tried 9" laying down the insides, went back to 6" laying down the insides. Having the gauges sticking straight up was nice when I first started SM, because I was looking at them a lot more often. However, as has already been said, they tend to be the first thing to drag/catch like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by cavediver256
Shirley, it sounds like we have the same setup...I was planning on trying the 9" hoses (hell I got them on my bench) but I am not so sure I need/want them...The 6" hoses on the inside work real well.
How do you read them when scootering?Quote:
Originally Posted by rchrds
Mine are against the tank, but on the inside. I have to stop to read them. I tried having them stick out, but they get in the way too often.
I have 9" hoses and route them so that they lay in between the tanks and my body. Then I just reach up underneath to bend them down a bit to read.
I tried having them sticking straight out along my chest for a while, but they kept getting in the way when it got tight.
Marbry
Across my chest. I used to have them sticking straight up, too, but got tired of having to rinse them off after certain dives. Across the chest, they stay out of the way and aren't that difficult to see. Although I do have to pull them out a little to get a good view.
I like 6", laying along the tank.
First post, but i thought i'd join in... :)
I use normal length HP hoses with the excess stored under snoopy loops down the tank and the gauge held close to the regulator by another snoopy loop larks-footed around the tank neck. There is enough stretch and flex to allow it to be pulled out to be read.
As Abraham Lincoln would probably say, the perfect length HP hose would be one that reaches from the first stage to the spg, and no longer.
I was thinking of trying that method. I use it on my stage (just because it was all I had) and it works well, Just have not gotten around to trying it yet on my sidemount tanks. Nice to know someonr else has tried it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cave Penguin