Coins used as weights?

[c0r3yz]

Coin weights.. Why don't I ever find those on dives? I only find the lead kind...

 

[smorneau]

This is penny wise advise!

 

[SeaHorse81]

I also came to the REALIZATION that 1# of lead (~US$4) is more expensive than 1# in coins (~$2)... Why didn't I just use the coins in my piggy bank as weight instead of spending it on the more expensive lead weights? I will never know

Cheaper to use actual money than to buy weights. Who'da thunk?

 

[Aigtbootbp]

Excellent idea for travel. You can "buy" your weights when you arrive and "sell" them back for the same price at the local bar while waiting those last 18 (no fly) hours!

 

[gypsyjim]

New marketing idea. Neoprene money belt.

I too would rather pick up lost $/belts than old lead weights any day!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I have used each of the following at different times: wheel weights, fishing sinkers, smooth rocks, iron bars, and a bunch of hexnuts on a carribeaner. Do note the differences in specific gravity of various materials ( ie weight in relation to volume). Best suggestion: make your own lead 1/4 pounders and 1/2 pounders.
DivemasterDennis

 

[windapp]

I know American and Canadian pennys rust a little in water. You may find that you get undesireable rust stains on your equipmnt.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Actually I went ahead and started weighing them. 80pcs of 1 peso coins were around ~ 1 pound. And I also came to the REALIZATION that 1# of lead (~US$4) is more expensive than 1# in coins (~$2). I'm currently looking at the DIY section and will probably use the mesh bags just to keep them grouped together. Will then place them in my surelocks and rear weight pockets in my Seaquest Balance.

Why didn't I just use the coins in my piggy bank as weight instead of spending it on the more expensive lead weights? I will never know

Keep in mind that it's not weight that matters ... it's displacement. In other words, how much does the water you displace with those coins weigh? The amount of "weight" you'll get from them once you're submerged will be the weight of the coins minus the weight of the water they displace.

Have you ever noticed that rocks don't make very good substitutes for lead weights underwater? That's because they don't weigh much more than the water they're displacing ... if you pick up a rock because you find yourself underweighted, it usually has to be a pretty big one to make a difference ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Aigtbootbp]

FYI, Just got out the scale, a dive weight and the penny jar
2.8lbs of lead (above water) weighs in at 2.5lbs below water.
2.8lbs of pennies (above water) weighs in at 2.3lbs below water.
So, I typically use 10lbs (lead) which would equal about 9lbs underwater. To achieve this with pennies I would need about 11lbs (maybe 12?) (above water)....
I think.....
Hmmm..... at a 2 bucks a pound for pennies I would need 22 bucks worth. I can just pour them loose in my weight pouches and I can spend them (or donate them to a worthy cause, it's deductable ya know) before I fly home... Yeah, I think I might just have to try them next month in Oahu.....

 

[CuNanoTube]

An issue with coins is their specific gravity. The metals in the Philippine Peso (steel, copper, nickel) have specific gravities around 8 or 9 and lead's is around 11. This means you'd need more weight of coins (~30%?) to get as much negative buoyancy.

I did the math on this once. The approximate difference is about 7% for iron. An SG difference of 2 or 3 is not actually that significant when talking about buoyancy.