backplate wingnut loosening incident

[Hoosier]

Hmm. Interesting.

I am using a Halycon rig and my buddy is using Fred T's rig... We had experienced some loose or lost win-nut without having a "lock washer."

 

[do it easy]

I have an OMS steel plate. It has flat washers, but not lock washers. The only time it gets loose is when I forget to tighten it.

 

[Hoosier]

After reading through this thread again, I think there might be another factor can affect this incident.

For the divers who don't use a lock washer, are you diving in a double or single (STA)?

 

[do it easy]

I dive doubles.

 

[cool_hardware52]

These are self retaining http://deepseasupply.com/page13.html

These require no washers, flat or lock, and are self retaining because they are tapped slightly undersized. That results in slight friction between the male and female threads.

Stainless nuts on stainless bolts need to be "free running" to avoid galling. Delrin nuts on stainless bolts do not.


Tobin

 

[PerroneFord]

After reading through this thread again, I think there might be another factor can affect this incident.

For the divers who don't use a lock washer, are you diving in a double or single (STA)?

Both, singles rarely, doubles nearly all the time, both steel and aluminum.

 

[ams511]

After reading through this thread again, I think there might be another factor can affect this incident.

For the divers who don't use a lock washer, are you diving in a double or single (STA)?

I have a halcyon with a STA. There are flat washers between the bolt heads and the STA and locking washers between the wing nuts and the plate. There are also plastic caps which fit over the part of the bolt that protrudes beyond the wing nut (although I lost one). So nothing moves but it is a PITA to disassemble the plate. Tobin's solution is probably best.

Also I am confused over how the buddy can see the nuts are missing (unless the tanks are falling off) or how the nuts can work their way loose in 15 minutes even without locking washers.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

ON my 3rd or 4th dive with my BP/W, my wingnuts loosened a bit and I had tank wobble. Now I just finger tighten during pre-dive check and haven't had the issue again. Just got a new wing that requires and STA, borrowed one from a friend noticed he had lockwashers on there, so I'll use em'.

-Garrett

 

[TSandM]

I think I have about sixty or seventy dives in my doubles, and I hand-tighten the wing nuts without any sort of washers, and nothing has ever come loose.

The only problem I've ever had is with putting the wing nuts in my pockets when I take the gear apart, and then not being able to remember which jacket I had on when I disassembled the rig

 

[cool_hardware52]

The only problem I've ever had is with putting the wing nuts in my pockets when I take the gear apart, and then not being able to remember which jacket I had on when I disassembled the rig

Just store the wing nuts (or thumbwheels) on the tank band bolts.

Tobin