Reaching my Valve on a single with a BP/W...

[Mo2vation]

So I used the BAUE site to help size ans align my harness. Cool site. I can touch the top of the plate when I reach over my head, etc.

I totally agree - its a good idea to be able to reach my valve. A few questions:

(actually, I'm typing this while standing at my desk with the rig on...I really need a life, man. Does typing while in BP count??)

1) it probably shoudn't be easy. It isn't. I remember reading in some thread someplace UP advising to arch your back and sort of thrust your right arm backward with your left hand on your elbow. Works to reach the valve. It's not like reacing in my pocket, bit I can get it.

2) I use a Steel 100 - so I always have my cylinder a bit high (I think its "normal"....but looking at all the people enter the water with their butt-banging low-rider tanks is a little weird) I set it up with the valve riding a bit over the top of the wing. Cool? For reference - the bottom of the cylinder boot is just above (about a inch or so) the bottom of the deflated wing

3) Is it OK to sort of cheat the valve forward (towards my dome) just a bit? I mean by turning the cylinder in the straps just a bit counter clockwise (not enough to knock my melon against it or anything) but just to get another inch or so? Is there some rule or safety issue I'm not considering that demands I line up the valve knob stem along the same plane of the top seam of the plate / wing?

I gotta go put this down. With all my typos and rework, this is about 10 minutes worth of work

Thanks all.

K


PS: just took if off and looked at it from the top...much to my surprise, with the DIN opening facing flush forward (12:00) the valve knob angles BACK a bit.... (to about 3:30) hmmm.

So if I spin the cylinder a bit to get the valve know plumb with the BP/W top line, the DIN opening will in fact face about 11:00.

Of course, it is the mighty "Thermo" branded valve that came with my cylinder in 1999, so who knows.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Would it make it easier to put the tank even higher. I heard you say you think it's right. But what happens if you exaggerate it further say another 2 inches higher in the band. Some of us don't have shoulders that move as well as when we were younger

 

[Dryglove]

Mo2vation once bubbled...
So I used the BAUE site to help size ans align my harness. Cool site. I can touch the top of the plate when I reach over my head, etc.

I totally agree - its a good idea to be able to reach my valve. A few questions:

(actually, I'm typing this while standing at my desk with the rig on...I really need a life, man. Does typing while in BP count??)

1) it probably shoudn't be easy. It isn't. I remember reading in some thread someplace UP advising to arch your back and sort of thrust your right arm backward with your left hand on your elbow. Works to reach the valve. It's not like reacing in my pocket, bit I can get it.

2) I use a Steel 100 - so I always have my cylinder a bit high (I think its "normal"....but looking at all the people enter the water with their butt-banging low-rider tanks is a little weird) I set it up with the valve riding a bit over the top of the wing. Cool? For reference - the bottom of the cylinder boot is just above (about a inch or so) the bottom of the deflated wing

3) Is it OK to sort of cheat the valve forward (towards my dome) just a bit? I mean by turning the cylinder in the straps just a bit counter clockwise (not enough to knock my melon against it or anything) but just to get another inch or so? Is there some rule or safety issue I'm not considering that demands I sligh up the valve knob stem along the same plane of the top seam of the plate / wing?

I gotta go put this down. With all my typos and rework, this is about 10 minutes worth of work

Thanks all.

K


PS: just took if off and looked at it from the top...much to my surprise, with the DIN opening facing flush forward (12:00) the valve knob angles BACK a bit.... (to about 3:30) hmmm.

So if I spin the cylinder a bit to get the valve know plumb with the BP/W top line, the DIN opening will in fact face about 11:00.

Of course, it is the mighty "Thermo" branded valve that came with my cylinder in 1999, so who knows.

I must admit that i am also a cheater and put my knob slightly forward to reach it easier on my single tank rig.Im not a flexible person and is hard for me to reach sometimes.I ordered a new custom undergarment from janet today to get some more flexibility.My other undergarment was kinda tight on my shoulders and upper arms making it a bear to reach back even without my drysuit on while on land.

Also another trick i learned here on the board is that while underwater with the suit squeezed it can make it hard for us less than flexible to reach the valve.Let a little air out of your bc and shoot some air into your drysuit and position yourself so the air travels to your right arm lessening the squeeze making valve manipulation easier for us single tank divers. Im still far from an expert at it but i am getting better.

 

[Mo2vation]

Here's a Pic I just shot, for reference....

Nice plastic knob.... I know. Its on the list.

Thanks -

K

 

[Dryglove]

Mo2vation once bubbled...
Here's a Pic I just shot, for reference....

K

Geez no wonder you have a hard time reaching the valve on that sucker.I have a hard enough time with my valves and they are straight,not angled back like yours.That must be a non-defiant DIR valve.Take a big hammer and beat that sucker till its straight,just kidding

 

[DiverBuoy]

Move it up another inch or two till it feels comfortable. Of course it will be harder to maintain that head back position with the 90 degree valve. Get a 45.

 

[wb416]

Another "cheat" to reach your single tank valve or an isolator on doubles is to:

1. Lean head forward
2. Place arm against the back of your head, starting the reach for the valve
3. Use your head to "move" your arm back toward your valve
   [/list=1]
   
   If your arms are a bit stiff, this can help you gain a little more reach.

 

[Cave Diver]

Keep in mind that it will likely be more easy to reach once you are in the water in the proper position as well. Standing up at your desk with your gear on, gravity is working against you to pull everything down some. Perhaps you should try lying down on the floor to see where the tank really is while you're in a horizontal position?

 

[boomx5]

body position in the water has alot to do with it. Also, when I did my valve drill in my DIR-F class, I had to grab the tank valve and pull up on it so I could reach the Knob ok.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Do like CWB says. It's important to point your elbow foreward not to the side. Like CWB says you can use your head to help push your arm back and that also helps get your arm in the right position. Also arch your back and stay horizontal. Some folks want to lean foreward and get vertical which just further limits our reach.