Question Do tank straps have to go through the back plate?

[alexis_tree]

Hi, I got a Hollis BP/W system but wanted to try a shorter backplate. So I'm trying to use an Oxycheq short backplate. I can get attach the wing to the BP with screws but the tank bands don't fit through the BP slots.

Is it safe to dive with the tank attached to the wing and not the BP? Or does that mean I should get an STA (and therefore put everything back the way it is since I don't have an STA).

I'm going diving tomorrow morning. So no time to get additional gear.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Still Kicking]

I would not trust those bolts to hold the tank/wing/backplate together. That's a lot of weight to put on those bolts and I would be worried they would pull through the grommets on the wing or pull the grommets out of the wing. It would be a bad day ....

 

[alexis_tree]

I would not trust those bolts to hold the tank/wing/backplate together. That's a lot of weight to put on those bolts and I would be worried they would pull through the grommets on the wing or pull the grommets out of the wing. It would be a bad day ....

These are the bolts that came with my weight pockets. I guess I also don't know what kind of bolts I'm looking for then...?

 

[lowwall]

To support a tank you either need to use those bolt holes to attach an STA or thread the cam bands through the plate.

How far off are the slots on the plate? If it's close and you have a file, you can make it work.

 

[MidOH]

Or get an STA.

They aren't the debil, that SB says they are.

 

[BoltSnap]

Is it safe to dive with the tank attached to the wing and not the BP?

I definitely wouldn't do this at all.

 

[-JD-]

I don't think it is at all safe to use the wing to hold the rank bands.

I"m surprised that the cam bands can't be passed through the small Oxy plate slots. The slots in the small Oxy ALs that I played with seemed sufficient. Or is it that they don't line up with the wing slots?

If you are handy and have some metal stock, bolting on a clamping bar, sandwiching the wing and cambands between the bar and plate might be a reasonable stopgap untill you can get an STA.

 

[alexis_tree]

Yeah, the cam band slots didn't line up.

I ended up putting it back on the bigger backplate which wasn't ideal but worked ok and ordered an STA from DGX and will try again next time I go diving.

Thanks for sanity checking me.

 

[runsongas]

you can also use just one cam band (like a lot of jacket bcds do), if you don't mind it being a bit less secure.

 

[Tracy]

Is the spacing the same and they just don't line up?
You don't need the bolts, the wing doesn't need to be bolted to the plate, the cambands holding the tank will trap the wing.
If the spacing is wrong then it becomes a moot point.