backplate wingnut loosening incident

[KMD]

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

Whenever I disassemble the rig, i always immediatly put the wingnuts back on. I dont want to loose those suckers as they each set is unique to my tanks.

 

[TSandM]

I'm slowly learning to put them back immediately. I had bought extra wing nuts for those senior moments when they've ended up in a jacket, but found out the hard way that the ones I bought don't actually fit the bolts on MY doubles. On the other hand, some day I'm going to look brilliant by helping out a buddy with different bolts . . .

 

[PerroneFord]

I went to the hardware store, matched mine up, and bought spares I keep in my "must haves" Pelican case.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Those delrin thumbwheels that Tobin makes are great. Never worry about losing washers or wingnuts again. They're easy to put on and they tighten down nice and tight.

 

[reggiehg]

Thanks for the constructive and humorous replies, guys! Scubaboard is great ;-)

Just to clarify, I took some artistic license in describing the incident, but this is more or less what happened:

Maybe 15 minutes into the dive, I noticed my head was starting to hit my reg 1st stage when I looked "up". Then, my dive buddy noticed my tanks, bcd, and reg looking funny, so he comes over for a closer look, and after some fiddling, notices that both my wingnuts are missing. I hope that's reasonable now, because that's what happened

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'm diving single w/ an STA. How would that be a factor, Hoosier? The supplier assembled the equipment for me, and there were definitely no washers of any kind at all on the wingnut side. I don't know if there were any on the bolt head side.

Back on the surface, my buddy fixed my rig, and this is how it is now:

wingnut side, top bolt - flat washer
bolt head side, lower bolt - flat washer

It looks like different divers are really using different standards, from no washers at all, to flat washers, to lock washers, to special washers.

Anyway, IF I use washers (& I'll probably use lock washers ;-)), where should they be placed? wingnut side, bolt head side, or both? top bolt, lower bolt, or both? Sorry for being O/C about this, but I'll probably relax after using my rig a few more times.

Scubaboard rocks

Reggie

P.S. I post at the manufacturer's forum after getting your replies ;-)

 

[RICHinNC]

Correct me if I am wrong......(and I am sure many will)...but on my DR rig the cam straps go through the plate and then the wing and as long as I have tank mounted with the cam straps tight, the wing isnt going anywhere.

So other than a small inconvenience AFTER the dive, I dont see the big deal.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Correct me if I am wrong......(and I am sure many will)...but on my DR rig the cam straps go through the plate and then the wing and as long as I have tank mounted with the cam straps tight, the wing isnt going anywhere.

So other than a small inconvenience AFTER the dive, I dont see the big deal.

He's using an STA so the cam straps are threaded through it not the wing and plate. So if the wingnuts come off the whole enchilada could fall apart. With your DR setup technically you don't even need the bolts/wingnuts.

-Garrett

 

[simcoediver]

I have the stainless steel DR backplate and would like to order the thumbwheels from DSS, I'm not sure what size the bolts are that I need,as they list 3-4 different sizes, does anyone here know off hand?

 

[Lone Frogman]

I have the stainless steel DR backplate and would like to order the thumbwheels from DSS, I'm not sure what size the bolts are that I need,as they list 3-4 different sizes, does anyone here know off hand?

My DR back plate uses 5/16 dia. bolts.

I use a DR back plate and STA. After every dive I found my bolts very loose, I got tried of it and replaced the wing nuts with ss locking nuts. No more problems.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Is this a serious post?
If I lost my wingnuts my tanks would be headed to the bottom dragging me down by the long hose

I know a guy that had that happen. Over the Doria.