Manifold knob hits back of head

clark509 · Jan 21, 2009

When diving my doubles, the manifold knob is placed at the height of my lower head/upper neck area causing discomfort. This is especially true when in the horizontal or cave dive profile.

I think the problem is solved if the tanks were situated about 1" lower but I'm unsure of the right course of action. The bands cannot be raised any higher so the only other place to make an adjustment is on the backplate right? This would mean drilling new holes so I wanted to post the question before I broke out the drill.

In case it helps:

Double Faber LP95's with Thermo manifold
Dive Rite aluminum backplate, harness, Classic wing
I'm 5'11" 190lbs

rongoodman · Jan 21, 2009

Can you rotate the knob back a little?

Gombessa · Jan 21, 2009

Three other possibilities -

1. Twist the isolator knob up a bit so it's pointed more vertically (giving your head more clearance).

2. Loosen the shoulder straps of your harness and take up the slack on the crotch strap - that will lower the plate, and thus tanks, as much as you need. You'll want to lower your shoulder d-rings a bit after doing this.

3. Get a slightly lower manifold than the Thermos, which are maybe a quarter to a half inch higher than most others I've seen (not a great solution, but just throwing it out there).

GrimSleeper · Jan 21, 2009

Yeah, I'd go for rotating the knob away from your head. Just make sure you can still comfortably carry out a shutdown afterwards!

clark509 · Jan 21, 2009

.....Rotating the knob sounds like a great option, as does loosening the shoulder straps and removing slack from crotch strap to lower backplate. I actually might try that first as I'd rather not tamper with the manifold unless I have to. It will be nice to get this issue resolved as it's been a nuisance for a while now. Thank you all for the great feedback.

williama · Jan 21, 2009

Welcome to diving doubles!

After a couple of dives you'll get used to it and eventually it becomes comfortable. I set up my single tank as high as when I dive doubles. It's better to be able to reach those valves than to be comfortable.

Trimix2dive · Jan 21, 2009

clark509:
When diving my doubles, the manifold knob is placed at the height of my lower head/upper neck area causing discomfort. This is especially true when in the horizontal or cave dive profile.

I think the problem is solved if the tanks were situated about 1" lower but I'm unsure of the right course of action. The bands cannot be raised any higher so the only other place to make an adjustment is on the backplate right? This would mean drilling new holes so I wanted to post the question before I broke out the drill.

In case it helps:

Double Faber LP95's with Thermo manifold
Dive Rite aluminum backplate, harness, Classic wing
I'm 5'11" 190lbs

My 2 cents.
I'm 6' , 215 and dive 108s - yata yata yata
I have my isolator tweeked down at an approximate 10 / 15 degree angle. With that said the upper bands are about 3/4 of an inch below where the radius flattens out on the cylinder. I wear them on the lower grommets of the two on the backplate.

Spork · Jan 22, 2009

I think rotating the isolator would be my first thing to try, moving the doubles would most certainly screw up my trim and I'm not sure that I would reach the valves if I move the tanks much lower down my back.

rongoodman · Jan 22, 2009

clark509:
I'd rather not tamper with the manifold unless I have to.

You're not really tampering with the manifold. Divers often leave the lock nuts loose all the time, so that the isolator knob moves freely in case it hits something.

Bismark · Jan 22, 2009

rongoodman:
You're not really tampering with the manifold. Divers often leave the lock nuts loose all the time, so that the isolator knob moves freely in case it hits something.

Yep, or just take the lock nuts off and throw them in the fish weight pile...........

Manifold knob hits back of head

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