the_one_who_waits
Registered
I am new to drysuit diving and have been putting together a rig for local dives, I realized I need way more weight than I'm used to in comparison to wetsuit diving. As I was researching weights and options, I come to learn that the soft weight pouches are just filled with lead shot.
Well I happen to be a trapshooter (primarily Olympic/International/Bunker), and go through 1-2k rounds a month. During the latest ammo shortage of 2021, I thought about getting into reloading and started accumulating shot, powder, primers, etc. Well, I never got into reloading and just have a small stockpile of components I completely forgot about until yesterday.
And so it just made perfect sense to use the shot I have to pack my own weights. I was going to go with fabric/mesh bags but then thought of the possibility of the stitching and threads becoming loose over time before my weight pockets start spilling out shot everywhere. Then thought about ziplock bags, but did not have any sized to fit into my weight pockets. And I remembered I have a Foodsaver vacuum seal machine I use for sous vide which would be perfect for the job, as the bags can be sized to any dimension.
But safety first. Working with lead shot means a lot of lead dust and fine particulates. I turned on a small fan that circulated air out of my workbench area, opened my garage doors for ventilation. Wore a 3m half-face respirator, safety goggles, and disposable gloves. Had wet wipes on the side to wipe down the scale and Foodsaver machine immediately after.
I made a mixture of different sized shots from BB to #8.
Used the weight pocket insert as a template to size the bags. The widths should wider to match the depth of the pocket. The length should be an addition 2-3in longer in order to properly seat into the machine.
Filled the bag up to the desired weight.
Vacuumed and sealed the bag.
I ended up double-bagging them as additional precaution (dive safety is all about redundancy, right?). Since they are vacuumed-sealed (the pressure inside is negative), if they ever develop a leak it will be visually-apparent. It all took about 30mins. I remember paying about $2/lb for the shot, which in retrospect is a great value compared to the pre-packaged ones going for $5-$7/lb.
I think this is process is ideal for anyone else like me that still is figuring out weighting and balancing, and don't want to end up with a small collection of various weights. Plus I'm pretty sure I will be going through this several more times as I dive more and decide I want to add some weights to adjust trim and such. Also, I did do a search after the fact and it turns out some of you have done this, or mentioned the idea, many years prior (so can't say I am the first).
Well I happen to be a trapshooter (primarily Olympic/International/Bunker), and go through 1-2k rounds a month. During the latest ammo shortage of 2021, I thought about getting into reloading and started accumulating shot, powder, primers, etc. Well, I never got into reloading and just have a small stockpile of components I completely forgot about until yesterday.
And so it just made perfect sense to use the shot I have to pack my own weights. I was going to go with fabric/mesh bags but then thought of the possibility of the stitching and threads becoming loose over time before my weight pockets start spilling out shot everywhere. Then thought about ziplock bags, but did not have any sized to fit into my weight pockets. And I remembered I have a Foodsaver vacuum seal machine I use for sous vide which would be perfect for the job, as the bags can be sized to any dimension.
But safety first. Working with lead shot means a lot of lead dust and fine particulates. I turned on a small fan that circulated air out of my workbench area, opened my garage doors for ventilation. Wore a 3m half-face respirator, safety goggles, and disposable gloves. Had wet wipes on the side to wipe down the scale and Foodsaver machine immediately after.
I made a mixture of different sized shots from BB to #8.
Used the weight pocket insert as a template to size the bags. The widths should wider to match the depth of the pocket. The length should be an addition 2-3in longer in order to properly seat into the machine.
Filled the bag up to the desired weight.
Vacuumed and sealed the bag.
I ended up double-bagging them as additional precaution (dive safety is all about redundancy, right?). Since they are vacuumed-sealed (the pressure inside is negative), if they ever develop a leak it will be visually-apparent. It all took about 30mins. I remember paying about $2/lb for the shot, which in retrospect is a great value compared to the pre-packaged ones going for $5-$7/lb.
I think this is process is ideal for anyone else like me that still is figuring out weighting and balancing, and don't want to end up with a small collection of various weights. Plus I'm pretty sure I will be going through this several more times as I dive more and decide I want to add some weights to adjust trim and such. Also, I did do a search after the fact and it turns out some of you have done this, or mentioned the idea, many years prior (so can't say I am the first).