Tungsten weights for scuba

[Storker]

streamlining

Srsly, how much weight do you carry?

If you carry 10kg, that's a little more than 0.5L of tungsten. 10kg of lead is a tad less than 1L. Not to mention that you won't be able to melt tungsten to mold it.

When they make moldable tungsten stuff like tungsten shot they put tungsten powder in a matrix of copper alloy, iron or polymer, and the composite has a density of about or just a little more than lead. I'd stay with lead. Almost as heavy and a lot easier to work with.

 

[R.Chisholm]

Well there is this company

Diving Tungsten Weight-Tungsten Alloy

Not sure how many you'd need to order or what they would cost to make it worth their eff

 

[W W Meixner]

Where can I buy them?

Divad...

Cost versus reward is non-existent...

I have 44 pounds of Sea Pearls lead shot packs...split between 6's/4's/2's...sixteen pounds diving with single 117 HP steels...24 pounds diving with SCR rebreather...full scrubber/3AL 50/3AL 20 bailout...in both cases diving with dry-suit...in both cases negligible space occupied by ballast packs...and in both cases integrated into BCD..

Just me...but $$$ could be better spent...

Please post photos with your result...would like to see you chosen ''in-water'' ballast amount...and space occupied...

I would certainly be concerned with any ''unknown'' contaminants contained in tungsten shot/powder coming from China...

W.W...

 

[Khrissi]

Where can I buy them?

......why would you buy them ! K

( depleted uranium is cheaper )

 

[divad]

......why would you buy them ! K

( depleted uranium is cheaper )

Because I can?

 

[davehicks]

Some people are concerned that lead weights are toxic or harmful to the environment. There have been several extremely long discussion threads on this topic in the past.

Once the chemists and environmental science experts weighed in (pun intended) its clear that Lead shot or blocks as used in scuba are NOT a problem. It's stable and does not react with salt water. Lead in solid form it's not a contaminate, only when it oxidizes. In places like Flint that had lead pipes for 100 years, it only became toxic when the utilities altered the chemical balances of the water supply in a way that dissolved phosphate coatings over the lead (which sealed in lead) and lead started to corrode & oxidize contaminating the drinking water.

Even so, I'd recommend washing your hands before preparing food after handling your weights...

Corrosive Chemistry: How Lead Ended Up in Flint's Drinking Water

 

[the other lincoln]

You might try some machine shops, you would be looking for spent tungsten carbide inserts. They would already be in bite sized pieces.

 

[Dish]

......why would you buy them ! K

( depleted uranium is cheaper )

All the cool kids dive with tungsten weights. Besides, depleted uranium isn’t as “depleted” as you may think.

 

[emoreira]

Gold is even heavier than Tungsten. A little pricey though.

 

[lexvil]

Depleted uranium would serve a duel purpose, weight you down and keep you warm.