Threading weights on belt correctly

[burna]

When I'm diving with my drysuit I wear a SS B/P with my PST HP 120 tank. This give me all the weight I need to dive comfortably.

Wow! What are you...a stick?

I am jealous! I need tons of weight to get down, especially in my drysuit, although I don't have a lot of experience in it yet (1 season) so hopefully I will drop some.

I'm about to dust it off for a dive tomorrow as the weather is cooling down now, so I'll find out how much weight I need.

For the OP,

Another reason I like to try and keep the weights forward is to keep them clear of my BP. I used to have a lot of trouble with the weights sliding around so I put a length of bike tube over the weight belt around the back and threaded each end through a weight.

Weights don't move on the belt and belt doesn't spin around my body.

 

[diver 85]

1 glide is all you need ---in the middle ,back--outside, of the weight.....

 

[spectrum]

When I'm diving with my drysuit I wear a SS B/P with my PST HP 120 tank. This give me all the weight I need to dive comfortably.

How much garment are you wearing with this? That gear in itself constitutes a fair amount of non ditchable weight.

Pete

 

[Bubbletrubble]

When I'm diving with my drysuit I wear a SS B/P with my PST HP 120 tank. This give me all the weight I need to dive comfortably.

Wow! What are you...a stick?

I am jealous! I need tons of weight to get down, especially in my drysuit, although I don't have a lot of experience in it yet (1 season) so hopefully I will drop some.

How much garment are you wearing with this? That gear in itself constitutes a fair amount of non ditchable weight.

Regarding Jim Baldwin's weighting configuration...

He's got 6 lbs. (SS BP) + 2 lbs. (empty PST120) + 2 lbs. (reg) = 10 lbs. total ballast.
Assuming that he's properly weighted, either he's got a trilam or bilam drysuit with little or no undergarment or he's got a somewhat negatively buoyant drysuit + medium-weight undergarments. Then there's the issue of whether he's diving in fresh or salt water (with fresh water requiring approx. 5-8 lbs. less lead).
The other possibility is that he actually has one of those Heiser HP120 tanks which is 18 lbs. negatively buoyant when empty.
If this is the case, then that makes his drysuit + undergarment have a positive buoyancy of approx. 26 lbs. (6 + 18 + 2)

However, when I'm teaching and using my HP 100's I wear a weight belt. I use the plastic tri-glides and have four pounds per side positioned exactly where I need them. The weights don't move. Used this setup for years without any problems. The tri-glides go in the middle of the weight if you are using flat weights like in the pictures above not on the ends.

When you look at his weight configuration with a HP100...
His total ballast is: 6 lbs. (SS BP) + approx. 2 lbs. (empty HP100) + 8 lbs. lead weight belt + 2 lbs. (reg) = approx. 18 lbs. ballast
Assuming that he's properly weighted, his drysuit + undergarment now have approx. 18 lbs. positive buoyancy. Sounds a lot more reasonable, but there's still a significant discrepancy compared to when he's using the HP120 tank. Weird.

I suspect that some info is inaccurate regarding his weighting configuration with the HP120.
Or, I could have mixed up my numbers somewhere...

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Another thing that I want to add to the discussion is that AFTER you get the weight amount and placement of the weights on the belt figured out, is drill an 1/8" hole through the webbing into the center of the weight and run a small stainless screw about 1/2" long into the weight securing the webbing.
This is a total non slip solution and a little cheaper than weight keepers (triglides).

 

[burna]

I've thought about doing that before but wondered if there is any issues with dissimilar metals when doing that?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I've thought about doing that before but wondered if there is any issues with dissimilar metals when doing that?

Nah, no trouble at all.
I have several different weight belts for different suits that have been set up for years and they're all still fine. The lead will give in first because the stainless would be the noble metal, but then about the only thing that will happen is there might be a little white oxide around the screw from the lead, but that's about as far as it goes.

 

[DandyDon]

I've seen the half twist in the belt slip. Fine for OW class but for real diving, keepers are cheap. I still have a belt with velcro pockets from before I found an integrated BC I liked that I carry on trips as backup and have loaned out many times, but the keepers are so cheap and easy.

Another thing that I want to add to the discussion is that AFTER you get the weight amount and placement of the weights on the belt figured out, is drill an 1/8" hole through the webbing into the center of the weight and run a small stainless screw about 1/2" long into the weight securing the webbing.
This is a total non slip solution and a little cheaper than weight keepers (triglides).

Interesting idea, but I kinda hate dislodging the lead slivers. :shocked2:

 

[rcs9250]

Another thing that I want to add to the discussion is that AFTER you get the weight amount and placement of the weights on the belt figured out, is drill an 1/8" hole through the webbing into the center of the weight and run a small stainless screw about 1/2" long into the weight securing the webbing.
This is a total non slip solution and a little cheaper than weight keepers (triglides).

I like it . Great Idea. Thanks.

 

[rcs9250]

I've seen the half twist in the belt slip. Fine for OW class but for real diving, keepers are cheap. I still have a belt with velcro pockets from before I found an integrated BC I liked that I carry on trips as backup and have loaned out many times, but the keepers are so cheap and easy.

Interesting idea, but I kinda hate dislodging the lead slivers. :shocked2:

Agree on the twist for class. A good back up if you leave your tri-glides at home.