Replacing lead weights with US nickel coins

[Mobulai]

Let's kill two birds with one stone: depleted uranium
-70% denser than lead
-companies pay you money if you take it from them

3 birds; it eventually turns to lead

 

[Tanks A Lot]

[...]
The reason for this is that solid lead is incredibly stable. It doesn't easily separate into dust or airborne fragments. Unlike water where you get vapor at basically all temperature, lead fumes are only emitted once it gets to over 100C over the temperature you use for casting.

Lead is not absorbed through the skin. It becomes a problem when you ingest it directly which is why it was removed from paint (kids would eat paint chips since lead is sweet) and potable water piping and waterfowl hunting shot (waterfowl and bottom feeding fish would ingest the pellets) or breathe it in via synthetic airborne compounds which is why tetraethyl lead was removed from gasoline.

But contamination from handling of solid elemental or alloyed lead is a trivial problem that can be avoided by simple hand washing after handling.

I think you make compelling arguments, but I would still prefer to use an alternative. Here is why.

Lead is easy to melt; virtually everyone can do it. In Germany, "Bleigiessen," or "Lead pouring," was a thing that traditionally happened between Christmas and New Year. You take a spoon, add a little tin or lead to it, and once it was molten, you throw it into water to "read your future." The practice has mostly stopped and is, if at all, now just done with wax. As ludicrous as it is, I think it goes to show how easy it is to melt down lead. You need a pot and fire; that's virtually it.

While it is easy to control temperatures in industrial settings, it is far from trivial without tools. Having worked in Africa for a long time, I had the "delight" to see how diving weights are usually poured down there. Rip apart the innards of an old car battery, throw them into a pot, and chuck it onto a fire. Now, of course, the whole pot must start to fume; how else would you know that all the unwanted stuff has burned off (Insert irony tag here)? And only after copious amounts of fumes are produced is your mixture ready, and the weight is being cast.

Even after my repeated and rather strong objections, the people doing this would not see why I was so adamant about the danger of this practice. As proof, they would rather boastfully inhale a bit of the fumes. And the reason for that is easy: there is no immediate danger. It takes time for the lead to accumulate and start damaging the organism. The people doing this never got old, and there have been campaigns from some officials to spread awareness.

Of course, you could argue that this is utter nonsense and rubbish and goes against any good practices. And I must admit that you are absolutely right. The thing is, if alternatives are missing and education is poor, this is exactly what happens. I'd rather use a substance that is safe, even in the most ludicrous situations. Having had the benefit of growing up under a good education system, I believe it should be our duty to not only think of ourselves but also the ones who are much less fortunate than we are. A little foresight in some regards does indeed do wonders for people of poorer nations.

It is true that handwashing all but eliminates the risks for us living in the wealthier nations, but there can still be residual problems for others, which may not be directly obvious to us here. On a side note, I'd prefer a substance where I don't have to wash my hands to one where I really should do it.

Of course, the argument could be spun even further to "How would people in poorer nations then get their hands on cupronickel, etc.?" But I believe change has to start somewhere, so it may as well be where it is the easiest.

 

[lexvil]

3 birds; it eventually turns to lead

And will keep you warm

 

[Mobulai]

And will keep you warm

Drysuit de-vested

 

[pwoolf]

I briefly owned a small bullet casting shop. I had two employees who spent their days in a 1200 square foot (110 square meter) hand inspecting bullets or running the luber/sizer machine while 2-4 casting machines (a pool of molten lead that gets deposited into a wheel of molds at the top and opened and dropped into a bucket at the bottom) were constantly running in the background requiring regular top ups with lead alloy ingots.

Thanks for sharing your experience with bullet casting. Your team clearly took sensible precautions - open ventilation, regular blood testing, and consistent hand washing protocols. This actually highlights something important: your operation recognized lead as a hazardous material requiring specific safety measures.

The challenge in diving is that these kinds of precautions rarely exist. Dive operators often handle hundreds of weights daily without protective equipment or blood monitoring. Many weights are stored improperly on boats, and the constant handling/repacking of rental gear creates ongoing exposure risks.

Even for recreational divers, there's often no guidance about handling lead weights. I've watched new divers adjust weights and then eat their lunch without any mention of hand washing. While the exposure might be less frequent than in your casting operation, the safety protocols are also far less rigorous.

That's partly why I started exploring alternatives like cupronickel coins - they offer a practical way to eliminate these concerns entirely while still maintaining full diving functionality. Since the coins are readily available at any bank, we can start making this change today without needing specialized manufacturing or new supply chains.

What do you think about the differences between controlled industrial settings versus typical diving operations when it comes to lead handling?

 

[pwoolf]

Of course, the argument could be spun even further to "How would people in poorer nations then get their hands on cupronickel, etc.?" But I believe change has to start somewhere, so it may as well be where it is the easiest.

100% This again is where coins *could* come in.

The current best price I've found for cupronickel coins is the Pakistani 5 rupee coin (4 lbs for $4.36 USD equivalent). I list a bunch of global coins on the coin calculator.

Many countries have cupronickel coins in daily circulation, and our use of them as diving equipment does not impact their financial function. I'm constantly adding more as I find them!

 

[Mobulai]

I've watched new divers adjust weights and then eat their lunch without any mention of hand washing.

Yes, but (not in contradiction) I also saw divers analyze their deco bottles with cigarettes in hand mouth
(As a smoker who’s trying hard to quit, there’s self-shade here)

I’m willing to try it (using coins); since Egyptian piasters seem to be CuNi and that’s where most of my diving is

 

[Tanks A Lot]

100% This again is where coins *could* come in.
[...]

I'm fairly confident that I would not succeed in trying to get the people I talked about earlier to use what is essentially cash. I reckon I would have a hard time convincing them to use money that has a real use right now for them, rather than the "free" lead from batteries or similar.

Nevertheless, I will certainly give that a try should the opportunity arise.

 

[pwoolf]

I’m willing to try it (using coins); since Egyptian piasters seem to be CuNi and that’s where most of my diving is

Great! But unfortunately I found that the Egyptian piaster's I'd listed in the coin calculator are based on an older coin that will be hard to find there now. I just delisted it from the coin calculator--thanks for making me do the double check

Most current ones are steel. Good for a short time and if properly washed and dried, but not cupronickel.

 

[Mobulai]

Great! But unfortunately I found that the Egyptian piaster's I'd listed in the coin calculator are based on an older coin that will be hard to find there now. I just delisted it from the coin calculator--thanks for making me do the double check

Most current ones are steel. Good for a short time and if properly washed and dried, but not cupronickel.

Hah! I have some of these actually; but probably sum up to less than 1/2kg
(I was wondering which version when I checked the website earlier)
But also the older 0.25 (with center hole) are actually valued at much higher than you’d expect, they are not listed to have it (since the Egyptian central bank did wanna save face), but there’s some actual silver in there (not much but people destroyed lots of it to refine the silver out) —so it’sa collectible now)