Please don't shoot me, BPW question

[MattBPW]

Hi folks, quick question for you.
When using a BPW and single tank adaptor, do you make sure that the tank cam straps pass through all parts of your rig? Eg through the plate, wing and STA or are you happy with it just passing through the STA?
I ask as I've found certain manufacturers holes don't match up so if you are chopping and changing then sometimes you don't get a perfect fit.
I saw a washer starting to bend on a rig recently seemingly because the weight of the steel tank was being supported purely by the STA.
Thoughts muchly appreciated.

 

[Tom_Ivan]

I just go through the STA

 

[CWK]

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm a little confused with the question...

The STA attaches to the plate via bolts, sandwiching the the wing between the STA and the plate. The cam bands then attach the tank to the STA.

 

[MattBPW]

Thanks, I've just been lucky in that my preferred plate sandwiches my wing between the STA and has corresponding holes allowing me to thread my cam bands through all of it effectively causing the weight of the tank to be supported by the plate.
But I've also seen a lot of STA's bolted to the wing and the cam bands only going through the STA, causing the tank weight to be supported by only the 2 bolts holding everything together.
Sorry if I'm being a bit convoluted.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

What Tom_Ivan said. The STA bolts to the backplate and the cam bands are just threaded through the slots in the STA. The bands then go around the cylinder and hold it tight to the STA. I like to have the top and the bottom straps torque opposite of one another for a better grip.

 

[Caveeagle]

I'm a little confused with the question...

The STA attaches to the plate via bolts, sandwiching the the wing between the STA and the plate. The cam bands then attach the tank to the STA.

^^^This is correct.

I would add, that if you do not need a STA if your BP had the cam band slots, AND the wing has holes that align with them. Some wings even have stabilizing cords sewn into the wing to help keep the tank aligned.

For me the STA allows me to use the same BP/harness as doubles, and switch quickly between the two. FWIW

 

[JohnnyC]

STA bolts through wing and plate. Cam bands go through STA only. Otherwise there's really no point.

If a washer is bending, it's because it's the wrong washer used in the wrong application. I can bend washers by hand just bolting the plate to the rig if the washer isn't large enough to effectively bridge the hole/slot in the plate, so that's not really a good metric for comparison. I could grab the little book and look up the numbers for 5/16th threaded 316L bolts that they use but it wouldn't be worth it. They're plenty strong enough for our application.

TLDR; cam bands through STA only. Bolt the thing to the plate correctly. Go dive.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

An S.T.A. (single tank adapter) was originally designed as a quick solution (band-Aid) to make a doubles plate work for single cylinders. This originated within the tech community, when they weren’t using doubles and wanted to just do a fun single tank recreational profile, they could use the same plate because that’s what they owned, dived, etc.
Then, as we well know, the knowledge spread over into the recreational sector. Today, over 90% of BP/W rigs sold are used for single tank diving. This is according to data collected on wing sales, doubles vs singles.
The STA is quickly becoming more and more obsolete as plate and wing technology gets more and more refined. 11” center holes are still standardized through almost all lines of plates, but unfortunately wing slot placement is not. I have a feeling that that will be changing as well.
Those that don’t conform will begin to lose more market share so I’ll bet that most will conform to some sort of standard to stay in the game.
BP/W technology is still in a formation stage.

You question has already been answered, but to add - if wing slots line up then lose the STA. All it does is moves the tank further away from your back and increases your profile, plus can make you top heavy increasing the tendency to make you want to “turtle”. However, if you must use the STA, don’t worry about the 5/16” bolts, they are plenty strong. Just make sure they are tight.

 

[Tom_Ivan]

I’ll also add that with the BP&W you’ve entered the realm of experimentation. The beauty of it is that you get to play around with different solutions until you find what works for you. There’s a guy that posted a picture of his setup with his tanks upside down.
So if you feel like wrapping your cam bands through the Backplate, by all means try it out and see how it goes. (Don’t tell the dir guys though)