Button Gauge on Sidemount

[karstdvr]

I use button gauges on my deco bottles but not on primary gas bottles where gas management requires having a more accurate reading. A button gauge just won't give you a close enough estimate of the amount of gas you have in your cylinders. As for keeping the SPGs from sticking out like curb feelers, if you have diaphragm 1st stages you can orient the cylinders so the 1st stage is facing up in your armpits. This will put the SPG right in front of your shoulder rather than sticking out in front of you. If you look at most 1st stages you'll notice the HP ports have a slight angle to them pointing them away from the DIN/yoke side. This is what makes them stick out so much when the 1st stage is facing away from you on the cylinder.

Probably one important piece of information to know is how people are orienting their valves. If the valve face is away from you,that will stick the first stage out further,and the spg will not be close to you. This is acceptable for open water/non-tech sidemounters where streamlining and danglies aren't critical. I prefer to have the valve facing toward me,and that brings my spgs very tight against my body since the first stages face me. I prefer Sherwoods for the first stage,and mate them up with the another make of seconds. Sherwoods have fallen out of favor in the tech world,but at one time they were the regulator of choice for cave sidemounters because of the dry bleed system and durability. I like the orientation of the first stage which allows my spgs to fit tight against my chest in the midsternum area.

 

[kwinter]

I think the big issue is if you flex and unflex it repeatedly. I have some stage regs that have bent spg hoses for many years and they haven't an issue,but I leave them that way,and don't unflex them.

It also works better with 9 inch hoses instead of 6 inchers. Less strain on them. I have 4 bailout regs configured this way for many years without problem. I tried button gauges, but they were not oriented so that I could see them. It depends a lot on the design of the first stage.


Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[atedeschi]

I only use button gauges on bailout bottles, ccr bottles and/or inflation bottles. These gauges seem to be more prone to failure and only really accurate to tell me if it's full, half full or empty. I have buddies who put plastic tubing over the button gauges and they claim it helps them last longer.

No button gauges for Sidemount diving as mentioned above.

I recommend using 6" Hoses with smaller brass spg sticking out like the lollipop style.

I have my tank valves so the valves are pointing up and protected by my body. I do the same with stage bottles.

I have tried the hp hoses strapped to the 1st stage like a deco bottle and that didn't work well when carrying deco bottles because you have to pull tank forward to check pressure, with scootering you have to stop as well.

I tried the HP hoses pointing back laying on the top of the tanks and again it's is much harder to get to when scootering or if carrying deco bottles.

I never tried them pointing back because that would require the valves to be pointing down which I don't think is a good thing. It leaves the valves more exposed. I also seen the hoses not return back flush to side of tanks.

I don't have much clutter in front of me so it's not a issue pointing them forward.

 

[karstdvr]

I tried the HP hoses pointing back laying on the top of the tanks and again it's is much harder to get to when scootering or if carrying deco bottles.

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I did this at one time with the spg laying downward laying against the tank. The reasons you mention are good,and one other problem I encountered was straining my neck downward caused my drysuit to leak at the neck.

 

[TSandM]

I put button gauges on my Argon bottles, but it doesn't take long before the gauges are virtually unreadable. Mine are about a cm in diameter or a bit more; I believe there are some larger ones, and perhaps they remain readable longer.

 

[j2s]

I have a button on my pony but it is a slung pony so the gauge is up close to my face.

Ditto......