Freedom Plate Divers Roll Call: show us your rig!
- Thread starter Akimbo
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Vintage Double Hose Wings back in stock!!!
Enjoy
Well, my DRIS 23# wing is a success!
This is my second plate, but the shift to a steel wedge instead of bolted rails requires some changes in mounting technique.
Everything depends on your wing's soft tank rails.
I'm talking about the 3/8" rod that runs inside the cam band slots to cradle your tank.
The steel wedge at the bottom of the tank does a perfect job of compensating for the beautiful curve of the plate where it nestles against your back. It's just the right size so the upper and lower cam bands don't pull the tank against the high point of the plate's curve. And not having the bolted rails pulls the tank another inch closer to your back - very nice!
BUT, without the bolted rails, the only things keeping your tank from balancing on the top wing bolt are the two rails included with the wing (in green in my diagram).
Eric includes a 1/4" carriage bolt with a nice thin nut that may be all you need.
But in my case, the DRIS grommets were so big that the nut dropped into the grommet hole. And the washer Eric helpfully included to prevent this, kept the (thin) nut sitting too high to keep it away from the tank. If your wing has thinner rails, the problem will be even worse.
So first, I took a small sledge hammer and flattened the top grommets as much as I could. That gave me an extra mm. Then I took a 5/16" carriage bolt and (over three tries) shortened it and thinned the nut so it would still catch the grommet, be fully threaded and most important: rest lower than the rail height when I strap the tank on. I may still throw a 3" piece of webbing over the rails and nut for padding if there's any scratching. But I think I've got clearance now.
The DRIS wing fits nicely. The slots are slightly wider than the plate slots, which helps when you thread the cam bands.
All told, it looks great! Eric does such a nice job of finishing, that it was only a half hour with a buffing wheel on my drill motor with some green rouge to get me an almost mirror finish.
This is my second plate, but the shift to a steel wedge instead of bolted rails requires some changes in mounting technique.
Everything depends on your wing's soft tank rails.
I'm talking about the 3/8" rod that runs inside the cam band slots to cradle your tank.
The steel wedge at the bottom of the tank does a perfect job of compensating for the beautiful curve of the plate where it nestles against your back. It's just the right size so the upper and lower cam bands don't pull the tank against the high point of the plate's curve. And not having the bolted rails pulls the tank another inch closer to your back - very nice!
BUT, without the bolted rails, the only things keeping your tank from balancing on the top wing bolt are the two rails included with the wing (in green in my diagram).
Eric includes a 1/4" carriage bolt with a nice thin nut that may be all you need.
But in my case, the DRIS grommets were so big that the nut dropped into the grommet hole. And the washer Eric helpfully included to prevent this, kept the (thin) nut sitting too high to keep it away from the tank. If your wing has thinner rails, the problem will be even worse.
So first, I took a small sledge hammer and flattened the top grommets as much as I could. That gave me an extra mm. Then I took a 5/16" carriage bolt and (over three tries) shortened it and thinned the nut so it would still catch the grommet, be fully threaded and most important: rest lower than the rail height when I strap the tank on. I may still throw a 3" piece of webbing over the rails and nut for padding if there's any scratching. But I think I've got clearance now.
The DRIS wing fits nicely. The slots are slightly wider than the plate slots, which helps when you thread the cam bands.
All told, it looks great! Eric does such a nice job of finishing, that it was only a half hour with a buffing wheel on my drill motor with some green rouge to get me an almost mirror finish.
@rsingler Man! That sounds like a lot of work!
The last time I used my FP was a week on a Blackbeard cruise. I had the VDH 18# wing. I attached it to the plate using 2 plastic sex bolts.
DGX Assembly Screws, Plastic, Set of TWO | Dive Gear Express®
I was not using rails or a wedge. Just tank, wing, and plate. 2 sex bolts and 2 tanks straps to hold it all together. The tank may have been resting on one or both sex bolt heads, but it didn't wobble at all.
I keep meaning to order a wedge from Eric, though. I think the bottom of the tank ends up resting on my butt and the bottom of the plate is away from my back. I think a wedge will push the plate into my back and make the overall rig even more stable. But I digress...
The last time I used my FP was a week on a Blackbeard cruise. I had the VDH 18# wing. I attached it to the plate using 2 plastic sex bolts.
DGX Assembly Screws, Plastic, Set of TWO | Dive Gear Express®
I was not using rails or a wedge. Just tank, wing, and plate. 2 sex bolts and 2 tanks straps to hold it all together. The tank may have been resting on one or both sex bolt heads, but it didn't wobble at all.
I keep meaning to order a wedge from Eric, though. I think the bottom of the tank ends up resting on my butt and the bottom of the plate is away from my back. I think a wedge will push the plate into my back and make the overall rig even more stable. But I digress...
No rails? Oh, she rides much better with one form or the other of tank stabilizer. Yeah, buy a wedge from Eric. You'll be pleased.
And it's better for the plate and tank if your cam bands aren't trying to straighten the plate or bend the tank.
Yeah, the VDH 18# is my favorite too. That (or a VDH 33# w/drysuit) is what I use on my other plate. Alas, VDH was out of stock while 'Rona wreaks its havoc. I am SO bummed. They got stock back a week after I bought my DRIS. Ah, well. But the DRIS is a good product, too!
And it's better for the plate and tank if your cam bands aren't trying to straighten the plate or bend the tank.
Yeah, the VDH 18# is my favorite too. That (or a VDH 33# w/drysuit) is what I use on my other plate. Alas, VDH was out of stock while 'Rona wreaks its havoc. I am SO bummed. They got stock back a week after I bought my DRIS. Ah, well. But the DRIS is a good product, too!
Well, the VDH wing does have stabilizer bars.
Also, I think the curvature of the plate between the tank strap slots is minimal enough that the tank straps are not causing any problem. My expectation would be that it would put more "stress" on the plate with a wedge than without it. I think it will create a gap between the plate and tank where the lower tank strap slot is, so tightening that lower tank strap will put more bending force on the plate than it is experiencing now with no wedge.
Regardless... I want to get a wedge. But, I have two things working against me: I'm lazy, and I'm a procrastinator. Also, I have not dived single tank since my BB cruise, which was exactly one year ago. And I have no current plans for any single tank diving. I'm teaching an AOW student this weekend and I will still dive my doubles. Sooo.... scraping up the motivation to order that wedge just hasn't happened yet...
Nope. The wedge makes for a nice straight line. It's perfect.
Teaching AOW in doubles?
Masochist!
Teaching AOW in doubles?
Masochist!
drk5036
Contributor
In a drysuit you can really get away with a smaller because
I’m still curious as to why I seem to be the only person who noticed no difference with the wedge. I’m using the small backplate, maybe the shorter length results in less curvature and therefore makes the wedge unnecessary?Well, the VDH wing does have stabilizer bars.
Also, I think the curvature of the plate between the tank strap slots is minimal enough that the tank straps are not causing any problem. My expectation would be that it would put more "stress" on the plate with a wedge than without it. I think it will create a gap between the plate and tank where the lower tank strap slot is, so tightening that lower tank strap will put more bending force on the plate than it is experiencing now with no wedge.
Regardless... I want to get a wedge. But, I have two things working against me: I'm lazy, and I'm a procrastinator. Also, I have not dived single tank since my BB cruise, which was exactly one year ago. And I have no current plans for any single tank diving. I'm teaching an AOW student this weekend and I will still dive my doubles. Sooo.... scraping up the motivation to order that wedge just hasn't happened yet...
edit: Ah, or maybe it’s the super stubby 10 liter steel 63’s we use here in japan?
I recently received a Freedom Plate, and have taken it out for 5 dives so far. Very happy with the plate.
For the FP, I decided to use an older DGX 30# wing that lacks the roll control. The grommet holes on the DGX are just small enough that the top nut does not pill through easily, but it could happen with a good tug. Decided not to add a washer, even if the nut does pull through the wing is not going anywhere. So, the top nut sticks up about 4mm.
With two cam bands plus the bottom wedge the tank is very stable despite resting on top of the nut and lack of built in wing roll control. The nut sticking up does not seem to create an issue for me. Adding this to the experience of @rsingler, perhaps built in wing roll control is not a requirement (when using the wedge) unless the nut is further raised by adding a washer as was needed on the HOG 23#?
Similar threads
