Shutdowns

[pressure tested]

I know there is a lot of talk on and around about doing shutdowns etc.

Can people offer up how they do shutdowns and if possible show some in water pics of people who can do shutdowns with particular attention to their valves in relation to their heads.

This may seem like a bit of an odd thing to ask, but I have tried everything I can think of to reach my valves, and am now starting to think my harness is not adjusted right or my bands are the wrong height on the tank.

I have tried pulling the shoulder staps tighter (Apeks padded harness) to raise the tank up my back and stop the tanks wondering around my back on the dive. however this just seems to be pinning any movement in my shoulders making the situation more difficult. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Ivon]

Are you sure it's not your dry suit restricting movement?

[pressure tested]

I think my drysuit is a bit retrictive, but I have tried my kit in a pool with a thin wetsuit, and still could not really reach the valves.

I think maybe the bands are too high on the tank, where do the rest of you shutdown diving types put the bands on your tanks.

[Finless]

How's your trim in the water? Can you touch the manifold isolator knob (if you have one) with the back of your head?

Most people can do shut downs so, barring physical problems, one can only suspect the cylinders are too low or your dry suit or undersuit is too tight.

With my twin 10s it wasn't that comfy to do shut downs and I used to hitch the cylinders up my back in the water before doing shutdowns which is not ideal. With my twin 12s I have no problems.

Do you not have any experienced mates/fellow club members you can get to look at you during a dive.

[pieater]

I had the same thought processes as you. It turns out that it was the drysuit / undersuit that was making shutdowns hard.

The question is "do you have enough range of movement when wearing a T shirt?" If the answer is "yes" then the suits are to blame.

Moving to Xerotherms made in two parts helped a lot, moving to a MTM drysuit means I can actually do the drills reasonably competently. Not a cheap solution, but there you are.

[Finless]

Originally Posted by pressure tested

I think my drysuit is a bit retrictive, but I have tried my kit in a pool with a thin wetsuit, and still could not really reach the valves.

I think maybe the bands are too high on the tank, where do the rest of you shutdown diving types put the bands on your tanks.

Where they need to be so I can reach the valves.

[Clare Gledhill]

Hi - the top band should be at the break of the neck (the highest you can get it on the flat part of the cylinder). You can of course put them wherever you like but if you put them in the standard place and work out how to fit your harness so you can reach then you will always be able to borrow other people's sets or dive abroad without any problems.

How to reach - three main tips.

Make sure that you are flat or even slightly heads down in the water - get someone to give you feedback if you can. If not, if necessary when in your swimming pool, lie on the bottom and resist the urge to change this as you reach. As people reach back they naturally raise their head and arch their back - allowing the set to slip down and actually pushing it further away from their grasp.

Get your head right back - against the isolator - looking down leads to the problems set out above.

When you reach back, don't reach from the side with your forearm, reach from the front with your hand, keeping your elbow tight in as if you were trying to kiss it. This motion, which would be similar to combing your hair over the top of your ear with your hand works with the way your shoulders are built, rather than against the natural movement of the joint. Most people can reach slightly further like this - and that extra distance may just be enough.

Hope this helps.

[pressure tested]

In water I am O.K pretty horizontal, especially when I try to reach my valves.

I do not hit my head on the isolator when I push my head back, for one my wing is in the way and second the manifold is about 3-4inch to far away from the back of my head.

Does anyone have a stepped pic sequence of someone doing a shutdown that they could put on for me to have a look at.

[Lou]

Bands at the point where the curve starts should put the isolator somewhere slightly (very slightly) above the base of your skull when you tilt your head backwards. keeping your head up when you go for the isolator is a good guide for your hand! you can feel the tap with the back of your head and go straight to it until your hand learns where it is.

[pressure tested]

But dosen't the wing get in the way of all this, you mean you can actually touch your head on the valve