Anyone making their own weights?

[Walter]

OK, my dear. I will be home late this evening and I tend to be forgetful, so call and remind me between 9:30 - 10:00.

 

[SDAnderson]

There are lots of impurities in tire leads. I'll dig out some more specifics when I get home if you'd like, Darlin'.

Why does it matter? Enough to lower the density? More toxic than lead? Just curious...

 

[miketsp]

There are lots of impurities in tire leads. I'll dig out some more specifics when I get home if you'd like, Darlin'.

I'll be curious to see this as well.
Up till 2005 at least wheel weights were made from lead ingots. According to one of the major manufacturers Lead was traditionally the preferred metal for wheel-balancing weights because it is corrosion- resistant, dense, malleable, and ductile.

There were 3 major manufacturers of pure lead weights in the US in 2005:
Perfect Equipment Company, LLC (a subsidiary of Berwind Corporation)
facilities at Murfressboro, & TN Sparks, NV

BADA a division of Hennessy Industries, Inc. (a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation)
facility at Bowling Green, Ky

Halko Manufacturing, Company (a.k.a. New Products Inc.)
Clayton, DE & Woodbury, TN

In 2005 pursuant to Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), 15 U.S.C. § 2620, the Ecology Center petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency
("EPA") to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, distribution in
commerce, use, and improper disposal of lead wheel balancing weights "wheel weights".

There is even a dedicated site with information on the subject:
http://www.leadfreewheels.org/

These suppliers now produce lead free weights:
BADA (HENNESSY INDUSTRIES, INC.)
Bowling Green, KY
Steel Weights

PERFECT EQUIPMENT, INC.
LaVergne, TN
Zinc Weights

PLOMBCO
Montreal

So whether you get lead, tin, zinc or steel weights probably depends when they were manufactured.

 

[Hemlon]

Why does it matter? Enough to lower the density? More toxic than lead? Just curious...

I was wondering the same thing. Who cares as long as it's heavy and non-toxic?

 

[Waterskier1]

I'm waiting too. I was going to use this and I'm "weightless" waiting for the response.

 

[Rick Inman]

Tire leads are free, but not high quality. I don't bother with them at all.

We made V weights with tire weights just fine. Here's my thread with pics:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=169118

 

[sccs]

wheel weights have a high antimony content so u need a larger cast to get the same weight as you would if you used pure lead...

you will also find that lead found at shooting ranges also be the same. with bullets we use the wheel weights for that reason when casting bullets to make them harder, on the other hand black power guns all use pure lead..

i cast all my own weights using lead from my local range and have found that the size of the weights is larger by about 25% than those cast from pure lead. but other than that they work fine... infact they are in some ways better as they dont bent and malform from being droped/thrown arround.

hth.

 

[Walter]

Thanks, I couldn't find my references.

 

[migrant]

Wow, what a memory kick!

I got certified in 1972 (15 yrs old), and met older, local divers. We used to melt any type of lead (tire weights, fishing sinkers, etc) and pour in bread molds that we punctured (pre-pour) for the belt. I still have a few in my garage (guess it's the cheap bean-counter in me, not the nostalgic)

 

[Waterskier1]

Thanks for clarifying sccs. Walter had me worried that these weights would be hazardous to either myself or to marine life. They are just weights, so I don't care if they are "pure". As far as size goes, I'm going to be using them as "soft" wieghts, making my own, so I don't care if they are exactly the precise weight. I'll just make some bags up, adding or taking away, so that my bouyance is about right, and make some others so that I can add/subtract depending on my exposure suit. It will only be for local diving, so I can take a variety of "bags". I don't carry my own weights when I fly.