Homemade soft weights

[dive_turkey]

Beware of comments from those that have more posts than dives

Because experience from other areas of life need not apply?

Does a rusting steel shot impose an environmental threat? And if so, why is it (along with tungsten) approved for hunting waterfowl while lead is not?

Hence the question mark in my previous post.

(Edit: bismuth, not tungsten - I'm losing my mind)

 

[Dauntless]

Because experience from other areas of life need not apply?

Does a rusting steel shot impose an environmental threat? And if so, why is it (along with tungsten) approved for hunting waterfowl while lead is not?

Hence the question mark in my previous post.

http://www.scubaboard.com/images/misc/CamBand-A4.pdf

The environmental impact of lead shot is that watefowl ingest the shot from the bottom of their habitat.

Was ist los, amigo?

 

[rhwestfall]

switch to "environmentally friendly bismuth"......

 

[dive_turkey]

The environmental impact of lead shot is that watefowl ingest the shot from the bottom of their habitat.
Was ist los, amigo?

That is what I had assumed, lead poisoning of ducks.

So, the question remains: What, when making your own soft weight, would be the negative to using steel shot to lead? Since the growing concern in the thread seems to be the lead dust contaminating the diver's gear and the habitat.

Is the steel shot rusting that much worse than dealing with the lead?

Que paso, Mein Freund?

 

[rhwestfall]

Steel:

health - lower risk
cosmetic - higher "risk"

(iron oxide stains the heck out of everything it contacts)

 

[dive_turkey]

Steel:

health - lower risk
cosmetic - higher "risk"

(iron oxide stains the heck out of everything it contacts)

Isn't that what I said? I must be losing my mind, else the other members of SB are just f***ing with me...

And bismuth! That's the other one I couldn't remember. Expensive though.

 

[ams511]

Look if you use lead shot for hunting and miss then the lead can wind up in the food chain and gets more concentrated the higher you go up the food chain. It doesn't just poison ducks but can poison fish and animals that eat fish. Steel would be preferable for hunting because the shot does not pose any risks to the food chain and will eventually rust away.

For diving you could use stainless shot but it is expensive and bulky, that is why we use lead. Lead is cheap and dense. There are other dense metals such as gold or uranium, but both are expensive and one is radioactive. This was discussed in another thread.

The problem with soft weights vs. block weights is the surface area. The surface area of the soft weights is more than block weights of equal poundage. It is the surface of the lead that reacts with the water. For hard weights you can purchase them vinyl coated to reduce leaching or painting may reduce the leaching.

 

[52brandon]

aren't normal soft weights also lead shot? What makes them better for the environment than homemade soft weights? I'm new to the sport and genuinely curious, not trying to be a smartass

But if you're concerned for the environment and can afford it, you could use nickel-plated lead shot instead. The plating would prevent the lead from leaking out. I would think some sort of sealed bag would also prevent it from leaking out , but it wouldn't be as "soft"