Lift Bag

[Couv]

Not to come off as a dick, but if you can afford to dive you can afford a liftbag.

If you're bringing up a weightbelt or anchor, no worries, use a milkjug or pair of jeans with the legs tied off or something.

But there are at least 4 accounts on SB, that I recall off-hand, of guys getting killed trying to lift objects underwater with insufficient rigging or redneck-engineered solutions. If you're lifting cars or outboard engines or watersoaked lumber it can get away from you fast, and it still has enough mass to hurt or kill you. Use tools that will keep you safe.

Be careful down there...

Hey Doc,

This is the DIY section. Do not give DIR answers to non-DIR questions.

;-)

As suggested, you can make a lift bag with a duffle bay or if you go to the feed store get a burlap sack and use a trash bin linner. For heavy lifting, I have used 55 gal drums with a quater turn ball valve brazed into the top. A few things to remember: Use as few lift bags (one if possible) as you can for any one job. Make the bag hold just enough air to lift the object so that any expanding air will just spill out the bottom and not keep inflating on the way up. Get lots of practice starting small/light and work your way to the heavy stuff.

couv

 

[marchand]

Not to come off as a dick, but if you can afford to dive you can afford a liftbag.

If you're bringing up a weightbelt or anchor, no worries, use a milkjug or pair of jeans with the legs tied off or something.

But there are at least 4 accounts on SB, that I recall off-hand, of guys getting killed trying to lift objects underwater with insufficient rigging or redneck-engineered solutions. If you're lifting cars or outboard engines or watersoaked lumber it can get away from you fast, and it still has enough mass to hurt or kill you. Use tools that will keep you safe.

Be careful down there...

umm…

I'm pretty sure it wasn't that they were using home made equipment that killed them, it was the not being careful part while using the home made equipment.

I really cant afford to dive, but I can because I am lucky. My dad was a diver and I got all of his gear: 2 regs, 8 tanks, 2 BC's, 130# of weight, and 2 sets of fins. I also got lucky with the 50# lift bag that I have. Found it floating up in a crevice under a ledge, and I have used it a few times to lift cinder blocks and stuff like that out of springs.

If I had made a lift bag just like one that I could buy would it be more dangerous to use than the one I could buy?

No, it wouldn't. People don't die because they use home made equipment. People die because either something goes wrong, or they do something stupid.

If a lift bag that you can buy is safe, one that you can make is just as safe.

 

[thelostpirate]

We have made and used plastic 55 gal drums on many occasinsions to lift boats and to move cars for training. as long as you are careful and plan out what you are doing they are just as safe. With that said, we are not lifting from 100 feet, most would be less than 45'.

 

[The Anchor]

I haven't tried to lift anything yet (all of my diving is in marine sanctuarys) but it seems to me that you could make simple lift bags from 4L (1 gallon) plastic milk containers. Just cut about a 3" hole in the top just above then handle. It should be sufficient to lift most small things from the bottom and larger things could be lifted with 2 or 3 jugs.

The handle provides an easy anchor point and the open top would allow excess air to escape eliminating the need for a dump valve.

Before trying to "salvage" something from the bottom, I would buy a cinder block or couple of brcks and test what ever lift method you are planning to use to get a feel for how the object behaves under water.

Just my 2 kPa.

 

[mfalco]

Not to come off as a dick, but if you can afford to dive you can afford a liftbag.

DIY isn't always about saving money. There is definately some satisfaction in making something yourself.

 

[darthvader]

I don't mind buying one lift bag. But Dive-Rite wants me to buy an orange one and a yellow one, and also an orange SMB and a yellow SMB. Aside from the cost, I don't want to carry that much stuff.

Has anyone figured out how to make a combination lift bag/SMB that actually works well for both purposes?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I know some places carry lift bags and SMBs where each side is a different color (ex- yellow on one and orange on the other) and I have used my SMB's for lifting small boat anchors with ease.