Cheap DIY bolt-on weights

[Schwob]

I always wonder the same two things as I am also weight belt averse, but haven't sprung for a weight harness yet either:

1. With all that weight (30 lbs?) on your rig, and a 6lbs negative tank and a 5 lbs BP, is your wing large enough to float it with the tank full?

2. If you ever had to dismount your rig while UW, for whatever reason, you'd be pretty much inverted (not an issue in itself, but don't plan on silty overhead) while you hold onto it and fiddle with it or get it free off what caught it. You also sort of would risk a rather rapid, uncontrolled ascend if you do let fully go of that rig.

I do like the idea so.

 

[MoistNeoprene]

I’m not a dry suit diver, but I’m surprised you don’t want some of those 30 lbs ditchable. A 10 or 14 lb weight belt should be able to be configured comfortably.

100 percent of it is ditchable. Simply drop the backplate and wing. That it also means ditching the air source is irrelevant because the only emergency situations that call for ditching weight happen at the surface. That said ditching is only something that is done to compensate for gross negligence or incompetence of jumping in off a boat with too much excess weight or forgetting to connect bcd inflator hose, so a little responsibility up front eliminates the possibility of needing to do that.

On the other hand putting weight on a belt that can be accidentally dropped by merely bumping the clasp can create an emergency situation out of nothing, so I consider it a dangerous liability

Another idea, you might be able to use one belt and thread it through the top slots if the plate slots are wide enough. Having the belt in a upside down u configuration might eliminate both top bolts and you can still adjust from the bottom and the wing nuts. So you would be running two belts through the top slots, the normal harness belt and the weight holding belt.

Hmm Im not sure you could thread it that way seems it would conflict with the backplate harness which goes the opposite way

Another problem you will have is that if you remove a weight, then the belt will be loose and flopping around. Perhaps weight pockets would eliminate that effect?

Weight pockets threaded onto the straps would be more convenient I agree, esp for travel. But this is considerably cheaper and I plan to keep it as a dedicated drysuit rig for diving around home so shouldn't need to change it

I always wonder the same two things as I am also weight belt averse, but haven't sprung for a weight harness yet either:

1. With all that weight (30 lbs?) on your rig, and a 6lbs negative tank and a 5 lbs BP, is your wing large enough to float it with the tank full?

There is only enough lead to sink the drysuit at the beginning of the dive. So it would be just barely negative without even using the wing. At the end of the dive I would be positive without using the wing. I could be positive at the beginning of the dive without using the wing just by putting a little extra air in the drysuit to float at the surface. So the wing is not really needed at all, but I will take a wing anyway just as an added convenience and failsafe. I am getting only a 20 lbs wing for this rig though because it's only for extra buoyancy on top on the drysuit

2. If you ever had to dismount your rig while UW, for whatever reason, you'd be pretty much inverted (not an issue in itself, but don't plan on silty overhead) while you hold onto it and fiddle with it or get it free off what caught it.

Yes that would be pretty awkward, but why would I ever want to take my rig off underwater?

sort of would risk a rather rapid, uncontrolled ascend if you do let fully go of that rig.
I do like the idea so.

I just wouldn't take off the rig and let go of it

 

[johndiver999]

100 percent of it is ditchable. Simply drop the backplate and wing. That it also means ditching the air source is irrelevant because the only emergency situations that call for ditching weight happen at the surface. That said ditching is only something that is done to compensate for gross negligence or incompetence of jumping in off a boat with too much excess weight or forgetting to connect bcd inflator hose, so a little responsibility up front eliminates the possibility of needing to do that.

On the other hand putting weight on a belt that can be accidentally dropped by merely bumping the clasp can create an emergency situation out of nothing, so I consider it a dangerous liability


Hmm Im not sure you could thread it that way seems it would conflict with the backplate harness which goes the opposite way



Weight pockets threaded onto the straps would be more convenient I agree, esp for travel. But this is considerably cheaper and I plan to keep it as a dedicated drysuit rig for diving around home so shouldn't need to change it



There is only enough lead to sink the drysuit at the beginning of the dive. So it would be just barely negative without even using the wing. At the end of the dive I would be positive without using the wing. I could be positive at the beginning of the dive without using the wing just by putting a little extra air in the drysuit to float at the surface. So the wing is not really needed at all, but I will take a wing anyway just as an added convenience and failsafe. I am getting only a 20 lbs wing for this rig though because it's only for extra buoyancy on top on the drysuit



Yes that would be pretty awkward, but why would I ever want to take my rig off underwater?



I just wouldn't take off the rig and let go of it

I think as your experience grows, your ability to envision problems that might involve removing the tank underwater or dropping lead underwater might expand.

As for you apparent deep concerns over the potential for an accidental loss of a weight belt: I think those concerns may be exaggerated. For example, if you are using a crotch strap as most people do with a bp/wing, then the strap should catch the belt and allow re-securing it. In addition, if you are very worried about weight belt buckle failure, then you could easily use two buckles in series. Also, I wouldn’t (and haven’t) suggested that all or even most of the ballast be placed on a weight belt.

 

[davehicks]

All this non-ditchable weight may be a real problem. You want to be able to drop at least 10# in the water for safety reasons. The rest of this weight on the rig may be a major hassle for your are any deck crew that needs to move, load, unload your rig. It can also make your system top heavy and more difficult to strap down safely on a boat when the sea's are rough or even a big wake comes by.

 

[Jay]

I've been looking for a decent way to add weight to my backplate for use with drysuit, heavy undergarments, and a single tank.

After reviewing commercially available options I was thoroughly disappointed:
1) Steel backplate. Cheap way to add an extra 5 lbs, but this isn't enough.
2) Tank strap pouches. Decent way to add a few extra lbs, but still not enough.
3) Weight belt. Cheap, but uncomfortable to the point of ruining the dive.
4) Weighted single tank adapter. Ridiculously expensive at about $250 to add a measly 4 lbs. Also not very travel friendly.
5) P-weight. No easy to find commercially available option, PITA to make that requires casting your own lead and potentially exposing yourself to toxic lead fumes. DIR Zone does make one, but its on the lower end of the weight, and hard to find outside of the UK.
6) TresPres backplate: cheap, versatile and travel friendly solution, but reviews are that it's cheaply made and zippers break quickly.
7) FinnSub FlyWeight system: originally very expensive, and now impossible to buy because the company went out of business.
8) OMS backplate pad w/ weight pockets: pretty expensive at $110, only adds 12 lbs which may not be enough, and adds unnecessary bouyancy in the padding that further reduces the effective weight added.

After deliberating over unsatisfying commercial options for months now, I finallycame up with a super simple solution for about $10 that does the trick and is travel safe. Basically I just took two strips of harness webbing, inserted a heavy duty 3/8" grommet hole on both ends, threaded weights onto it as if it were a weight belt, and then attached to the holes in the backplate using 1" long 3/8" bolts and wing nuts.

It's travel safe because you can just thread on rental weights if you want, and takes up hardly any weight or space as just the straps.
It can be easily added or removed from the backplate in a few minutes without needing to disassemble it.
It can hold an adjustable amount of weight, although you may need to add additional grommets at different lengths to keep it tight against the backplate.
You can rest easy that it's secure and won't accidentally result in lost weight.

Anyway, just thought I'd share in case others find it useful

I just did the same as you for when I use my 5mm and have one weight on each side. I ran the webbing from the top to the bottom of the wing so trim-wise it's very adjustable. Used book-end bolts, and put an extra grommet on the bottom of the webbing (and overhung it from the plate) to clip my DSMB to.

I looked at using some wight pockets and attach them to the webbing but getting the pockets' velcro and clips closed/buckled wasn't easy, and I thought not worth the risk of incorrectly doing it up one day and accidentally losing a weight. The other aspect was I only have an 18lb wing and wanted to minimise any potential lift loss by squeezing too much between the plate and the wing.

Thanks again for the inspiration.

p.s. for the ditchable aspect, just making sure you've seen this tool Optimal Buoyancy Computer . It's quite handy. Cheers.

 

[marioZ]

Sorry if I'm being ignorant, but wouldn't this setup (in the initial post) interfere with the wing when inflated even slightly ?

 

[happy-diver]

Yes but now have a think about how often you have your bc fully inflated and why when it's not necessary

if your gear is set up correctly

Balanced Rig | 8/of9 | Scuba Buoyancy Masterclass

 

[happy-diver]

I think as your experience grows, your ability to envision problems that might involve removing the tank underwater or dropping lead underwater might expand.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Got any more dude!

 

[marioZ]

Yes but now have a think about how often you have your bc fully inflated and why when it's not necessary

if your gear is set up correctly

Balanced Rig | 8/of9 | Scuba Buoyancy Masterclass

Agreed. Hence the "ever so slightly". Of course the "how often" mentality doesn't seem like a good idea. I'm more of a "what if" kind of guy so what if I need to inflate twice as much because, reasons? The exposed screws would worry me the most, rather than the weights themselves.

In any case... Just my thoughts

 

[spc751]

Ten pound backplate from SubGravity, get someone who casts their own lead bullets to pour five pounds of lead into a STA.