STA secure fixing

[aerodiver88]

After 5 years diving a jacket I’ve used Christmas as an excuse to indulge in switching to a BP/W setup and while working through assembly I’ve come up with a problem I hope someone has solved before.

I have a steel backplate with hogarthian harness, 30lbs lift wing and an STA. When fixing the book screws through the backplate & wing & STA they only bite a turn or two. I am therefore concerned that with the tank strapped to the STA the whole weight of the tank will be on those few turns & there is a danger of separation of tank/STA from backplate/wing.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need longer book screws (everyone seems to sell the same length)

Your help would be much appreciated

Kind Regards
K

 

[tbone1004]

you usually don't use book screws to hold STA's. usually a short bolt with a wing nut and lock washer is used to hold them on

 

[Rooster59]

DGX Bolt Kit for Single Tank Adapters | Dive Gear Express®

 

[aerodiver88]

Thanks both, I hadn’t come across this in conjunction with STAs - none of the retailers I visited seemed to mention what fixings would be needed & all I’d found were book screws - which as stated above didn’t feel safe.

My thanks again!

 

[Zef]

Recommend trying your rig without the STA. Use the book screws to hold the wing to the backplate and use 2 cam straps. I have yet to use the STA in my garage and have never had a tank budge on a backplate after securing it in place with 2 cam straps.

-Z

 

[aerodiver88]

Recommend trying your rig without the STA. Use the book screws to hold the wing to the backplate and use 2 cam straps. I have yet to use the STA in my garage and have never had a tank budge on a backplate after securing it in place with 2 cam straps.

-Z

Thanks Zef, that’s a possibility & I may consider that for travel but most of my diving is in the UK in a dry suit & I need a lot of lead to sink me (16kgs in the sea!) so though I bough the STA because I thought I needed it (& probably don’t ) it will get a couple of kilos off my weight belt!

Going to give it a go in the new year with a nice easy coastal dive to test out the options.

 

[reubencahn]

Get delrin thumbwheels to replace the bolt wingnuts. Easier to tighten when necessary and tend to come loose less often. DGX 5/16-18 Delrin Thumbwheel Nuts, Set of Two | Dive Gear Express®

 

[tbone1004]

@reubencahn I use the thumbwheels on my doubles, but for STA's that almost never come off, I find the wing nuts with the split lock washers do better. The key is to have the lock washers on there though, they tend to get lost and at that point the wing nuts don't have enough surface area to stay put.