shut down troubles

[big rob]

hi wonder if any one can advie me im having a bit of bother with the shut down procedure on my twin twelves ,is it feasable to use a halo on a tecrec course to help grab hold of manifold with one hand and shut down with the other .I know some people view this bit of kit as a entanglement hazard but it does help me get the set a little higher to grab the valves ,would like other peoples opinion on this matter or any advice greatly recieved cheers rob .....

[GLOC]

First off, what is limiting you shutting down? Is your suit limiting (drysuit and/or undersuit) your reach, the backplate in the wrong place, or just not enough flexibility?

Once you have identified what is the limiting factor, you can work on that.

First off, put your backplate on with the harness done up, only wearing T-shirt and shorts/trousers. Can you reach behind and touch the top of the backplate with your fingertips? If you can, the plate is in the correct place and you have enough flexibility. If you can't then, how far down your back can you reach? If you can reach down about 4" below your neckline, the plate is incorrectly fitted.

If you can do the above, put your inner suit on and repeat. If you can't reach, the inner is limiting your reach. One quick solution is to slash the armpits giving you greater flexibility.

If you can do the above, take the inner off and put your drysuit on, and repeat, can you reach. If so, the drysuit has enough flex. Now put the inner on, can you reach? If not, the inner and drysuit are limiting the reach. Either get thinner inner or a new drysuit.

Hope that helps.

Regards

[Leigh G]

When I first used a twinset, I really had problems with shutdowns, because I have reduced mobility in my right shoulder. I physically could not reach the valves. I realised that, because the whole set up, at first, made me feel out of balance compared to a single and BCD, I was wearing my harness tightly, maybe even more than I would a BCD. I started wearing the rig much more loosely and the problem was solved, I had plenty of slack to be able to push the set up higher and reach the valves to shut down. And the extra slack actually made me feel less 'out of balance', I could move much more freely because the cylinders were not moving as much in response to my movements in the water.

[nickb]

hi wonder if any one can advie me im having a bit of bother with the shut down procedure on my twin twelves ,is it feasable to use a halo on a tecrec course to help grab hold of manifold with one hand and shut down with the other

I don't know what you mean by 'tecrec' course but I've seen people using halos on TDI technical courses. I imagine most agencies are pretty tolerant - GUE being an obvious exception.

Personally I hate halos and can't see them offering any benefit on twinsets that aren't inverted. You could achieve exactly what you're after here by adjusting the harness correctly as Gareth has suggested or by shoving the set up from underneath. If you can reach the halo you ought to be able to reach the valves.

[Goldigger]

First off, what is limiting you shutting down? Is your suit limiting (drysuit and/or undersuit) your reach, the backplate in the wrong place, or just not enough flexibility?

Once you have identified what is the limiting factor, you can work on that.

First off, put your backplate on with the harness done up, only wearing T-shirt and shorts/trousers. Can you reach behind and touch the top of the backplate with your fingertips? If you can, the plate is in the correct place and you have enough flexibility. If you can't then, how far down your back can you reach? If you can reach down about 4" below your neckline, the plate is incorrectly fitted.

If you can do the above, put your inner suit on and repeat. If you can't reach, the inner is limiting your reach. One quick solution is to slash the armpits giving you greater flexibility.

If you can do the above, take the inner off and put your drysuit on, and repeat, can you reach. If so, the drysuit has enough flex. Now put the inner on, can you reach? If not, the inner and drysuit are limiting the reach. Either get thinner inner or a new drysuit.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Do you have any images of this proceedure? Is there any guides to postioning your backplate?
I have a halo on my twins but also struggle to reach my valves, but then i have arms like arnold schwarzenegger
Personally i wouldn't have bought the halo, but when the mrs bought it for a birthday present i couldn't not use it for the obvious reasons..

On a serious note my drysuit is going in for alterations due to when i have my O-three PPB's on the suit is too tight around my shoulders and arms, limiting my reach..

[Iain3]

I found I could do shut-downs but I was regularly straining and damaging muscles in my arms, shoulders and chest trying to do it. My harness (Custom Divers) crossed the straps over behind my neck so I re-set the harness without the crossover allowing the backplate to sit higher on my back. It was not a lot less comfortable and because I had already worked on the technique under much tougher circumstances it made them quite easy.

As for grabbing halos, you shouldn't need too, just hold it by the valve. I get my right hand on the right valve, pull the set up a teensy bit if I need to, and get my left hand on the left valve. That way when I am using the right hand to turn valves I hold the set in place with the left hand, etc. I don't think I could do that before I adjusted the harness, I needed to use the left hand to push my cylinders up from the bottom and angle them otherwise I had no chance.

[Goldigger]

I found I could do shut-downs but I was regularly straining and damaging muscles in my arms, shoulders and chest trying to do it. My harness (Custom Divers) crossed the straps over behind my neck so I re-set the harness without the crossover allowing the backplate to sit higher on my back. It was not a lot less comfortable and because I had already worked on the technique under much tougher circumstances it made them quite easy.

As for grabbing halos, you shouldn't need too, just hold it by the valve. I get my right hand on the right valve, pull the set up a teensy bit if I need to, and get my left hand on the left valve. That way when I am using the right hand to turn valves I hold the set in place with the left hand, etc. I don't think I could do that before I adjusted the harness, I needed to use the left hand to push my cylinders up from the bottom and angle them otherwise I had no chance.

I also did the same to my harness also custom divers, personally i found with the straps crossed behind the neck it was uncomfortable and pushed the twinset away from my back...

[big rob]

excellent im on a custom diver and have been wearing the harness crossed ,ive run out of time now as i have to go to work but will try that first thing tomorrw cheers

[Digger]

You won't have an issue with a halo on any tech course I've ever seen with TDI, IANTD, PSA or similar.

If it gives you something to get hold of and makes your whole shutdown more comfortable, quicker and easier (and makes it a 100% you can shut down every single time) then I don't see a problem with it.

They are relatively expensive if you've got multiple twinsets, and if you don't need it to grab it then I don't see the need, but if it helps you then go ahead.

The entanglement issue pretty much collapses against the risk of getting line stuck in and around the valves themselves - a valve guard is a bit smooth object that line and other hazards seem much more likely to slip off than valves with lots of bits sticking out for things to get caught up in.

Digs.

[Druid]

Do you have any images of this proceedure? Is there any guides to postioning your backplate?
I have a halo on my twins but also struggle to reach my valves, but then i have arms like arnold schwarzenegger
Personally i wouldn't have bought the halo, but when the mrs bought it for a birthday present i couldn't not use it for the obvious reasons..

On a serious note my drysuit is going in for alterations due to when i have my O-three PPB's on the suit is too tight around my shoulders and arms, limiting my reach..

Have a look here