DIY wing. Critique and Comments.

[Ed Palma]

I'm baaaaaaack!

And I'm never going back to a stab jacket again!

2 dives out in salt water down to 60 feet. Need to adjust the fit of the system, but man oh man, who would've thought that staying horizontal could be as easy as that!

Yes, I think the hose on my primary is too short. As for the original hole where the inflator went, I used two thin and flat pieces of metal bigger than the hole and bolted the two together to form a pressure seal. Works great!

Actually, there was a learning curve involved. I did make a few mistakes here and there. It took me three attempts with the black nylon cover before I was satisfied with my sewing prowess. I kept the outer shell of the old horsecollar around most of the bladder as added protection against cuts and abrasions, as well as to keep the bladder from overexpanding. The right rear OPV/pull dump worked fine. yeah, I guess I've got some confidence in my handiwork. After all, I do breathe through regulators that I maintain myself, so making a BCD wasn't that big a leap of faith. I actually find the drive to and from the dive sites more terrifying,

I'll probably post more pictures here if anyone is interested. I'll be taking the thing apart again tomorrow just to double check everything and maybe spread a layer of aquaseal on all the metal peices I stuck on the bladder to keep it protected. Seeing as I just got back from the beach, all my stuff needs some tender loving care right now...

Maybe next week I'll go off and look for some scrap 1/8th inch aluminum plate. I think a flat plate meant for one tank is just the ticket.

Oh, and thanks for all your critiques and comments!

 

[Ed Palma]

Oh, by the way, here's a pic of the original horsecollar as it appeared on eBay.

 

[jpsexton]

I'll probably post more pictures here if anyone is interested.

Please do, this is a very interesting project. Kudos again to your inginuity!

 

[MSilvia]

It sounds like it's working for you. Well done!

Be careful diving it and please do share pictures, especially of the parts you modified and how it all fits together.

 

[james croft]

I am interested on how you mount your tank. Are you using a STA or a camband going through the neck hole of the horsecollar?

 

[Ed Palma]

I am interested on how you mount your tank. Are you using a STA or a camband going through the neck hole of the horsecollar?

It started out with my original BCD. Here are some stock photos from the brand's website showing the front and back.

As can be seen in the photos, the hardpack in the back is held together by two nuts and bolts - effectively sandwiching the bcd bladder. I simply did the same with the horesecollar. And yeah, the neck hole was convenient for running the cam band through.

I'm taking it apart later for actual photos.

 

[Ed Palma]

I think when i finally find my aluminum, I'll sandwich the bladder between the plate and a DIY STA.

 

[kidspot]

nicely done - Enjoy diving it now

 

[fisherdvm]

Looks good. You could probably make a fiberglass back plate and form it to a standard one - that would be easier than bending and cutting steel/aluminum. A couple of side snap that you buy from the hardware store will make the left shoulder harnest easier to don with a dry suit.

 

[Ed Palma]

here are a few more pics of the project. They're pretty self explanatory.

The front and back.

The bladder separated from the harness. Note the two parts of the hardpack. This is what keeps the bladder in place.

The bladder and its cover. The cover is smaller than the bladder to prevent over-expansion of the bladder.

here's a detail of where I moved the attatchment point of the inflation hose. The original site is on the lower part of the picture

Finally, here's a shot of the metal peices I used to seal the hole. Currently, I've coated them with rubber sealant to prevent corrosion, but I think plasti-dip would work better in the future. Note the large degree of overlap between the size of the metal pieces and the size of the hole. This is what gives a nice tight seal.

Hope this project helps anyone out there. Any suggestions for improvement will be welcome. Thanks!