DIY Single Tank Adapter?

[Rich Keller]

Do you think the Large Mk-21 will fit me just fine..? I'm worried it might not fit.. Well, I'm still confused about how to attach the Wing the Plate..

The MK-21 seems like a great deal to me but I think the weight on it is more then you wanted. Attaching the wing is not hard you only need to make two holes in the vertical webbing that runs up the back of the harness that line up with the holes in the wing. I used a marlin spike to open a hole through the webbing wide enough to put the same type of bolt through that you would use to attach the wing to a metal back plate. Opening a hole this way you do not need to cut the webbing and the webbing will contract back around the bolt once it is in place so you loss none of the strength or integrate of the webbing.

 

[Rich Keller]

You could try making your own using these types of connectors that ams511 posted earlier but the price plus shipping is $53 vs $70 for the finished product plus the cost of shipping. Sidemount Set Scuba Diving Harness Back Plates Marine Grade 316 Stainless Steel | eBay If you could find something like he posted at your hardware store then add regular webbing it would be a very cheap way to go as well as being much lighter. The only way I know of that would be cheaper and lighter would be to custom make your own harness out of seatbelt webbing, pop rivets and 4 metal rings. You would have to use a different configuration then this and it would put the tank right up against your back but there would only be the wing to keep the tank from moving from side to side a bit. This was done when scuba first started by using large hose clamps to attach the harness directly to the tank but that would not work for travel.

 

[diversteve]

Since travel weight seems to be the issue - if you're willing to switch the plate, Deep Sea Supply sells a travel plate made out of Kydex/Stainless that's about the lightest?. non-STA also.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=5

Tobin owns the company. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/cool_hardware52-28351.html

And they have a mfr's forum here on SB also: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/deep-sea-supply/

 

[Rich Keller]

I never heard of Kydex before. What percent of the plate is Kydex and what percent is stainless? How much does it weigh? Kydex seems to be a composite so what is the difference in its weight in the water vs dry weight? Is it pure composite or is there something else incorporated into the plate material?

 

[MMM]

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[diversteve]

I never heard of Kydex before. What percent of the plate is Kydex and what percent is stainless? How much does it weigh? Kydex seems to be a composite so what is the difference in its weight in the water vs dry weight? Is it pure composite or is there something else incorporated into the plate material?

I'm going to guess most of it...I'd PM Tobin for specifics on weight/characteristics since I've never seen one in person.

 

[ams511]

Since travel weight seems to be the issue - if you're willing to switch the plate, Deep Sea Supply sells a travel plate made out of Kydex/Stainless that's about the lightest?. non-STA also.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=5

Tobin owns the company. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/cool_hardware52-28351.html

And they have a mfr's forum here on SB also: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/deep-sea-supply/

I am a gear head and actually do own one of DSS's kydex plates. The plate is basically plastic with stainless steel reinforcement in the key areas. I don't have it with me so I cannot weigh it but it does not seem to be significantly lighter than an aluminum plate. I think Tobin designed it that way for corrosion resistance. Back in the day, Dive Right used to sell a light weight a plastic backplate. The drawback was they were brittle. The advantage was they never oxidized. Tobin refined the idea.

---------- Post added March 15th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ----------

You could try making your own using these types of connectors that ams511 posted earlier but the price plus shipping is $53 vs $70 for the finished product plus the cost of shipping.

Rich the OP is in Indonesia so he doesn't have the selection of products we do in the states. He can order from here but the shipping is rather high. He ordered one of the DGX specials because of the price and free shipping. I guess he was disappointed at the size and weight of the plate/sta combo. He was originally looking for a DIY solution of getting something made there, that is why I was asking for a template. The eBay linked I posted was for what appears to be a Philippine copy of a Razor Sidemount Harness. Maybe he can get something like it locally. it would seem to be easy to fabricate even with hand tools. Especially in aluminum.

I am not sure how to help him, even if he finds an aluminum dog bone plate he is only going to save maybe 2 lbs.

 

[Rich Keller]

The commercial dive shops will ship worldwide but I do not know if Northeast Scuba will do that. Seatbelt webbing, weight belt webbing and pop rivets should be easy enough to find. I could give him measurements for the soft back plate but I have no idea where he could find the right material. I could look into a different harness design that might work without the back plate. Something like the bell harness without the plate should work, attach the cam bands and wing to the vertical webbing on the back. The tank will rest between the shoulder blades and the wing. That might be good enough if you do not mind the tank shifting from side to side a bit.

 

[Yuri_RP]

I think the most viable solution for me is to make a makeshift 2 piece Aluminium STA.. Like the Oxycheq 2 piece STA but with Aluminium material..

A Dive Shop in my capital city of Jakarta already offered to make an AL STA based on the Halcyon STA, they can only make it based on a sample and they only have the Halcyon one as sample..
I give the Huwporter BP template to them but they said they can't make one based upon drawing.. Or maybe they just won't..

Also, I currently have the DGX Aluminium Plate.. Is it safe if I cut a hole into the AL plate? (in the style of Dive Rite Lite SS Plate)

 

[ams511]

Yuri, unlike a Halcyon rig, you do not need a STA to mount the rig to the tank. Your Dive Rite plate and wing have slots so the cam bands pass through the tank, wing, and backplate holding everything together. You would only need an STA to stabilize the tank on the plate. The built in STA on a wing is only a piece of fabric with some plastic rods sewn in to keep the tank centered. See this for an example.


You should be able to drill holes, here is an example of a Agir STA