149cf Faber Steel Tank, yay or nay?

[Tom Winters]

The 149 is only 1/2" longer than my LP125's. You'll have to bend your arm carrying the tank which gets to be a pain after 1/2 mile or so. The weight is about the same righteously pumped up. First thing in the morning and at the end of a long day are about the only times the weight is an issue.
I just got LP108's which are a little shorter - I can carry them with my arms straight down which is nice. They still are heavy SOB's though.
The 149 is an HP tank so you probably won't get the fills I get in my 125's. I get 180-190 cubes in each of them.
I think they're sold since I got the 108's - I'll miss all that gas, but I won't miss the awkward carries.

 

[letterboy]

Sure thing. Go:
Here Those are doubled LP121s (same size as FX-149s) with an RB80 in the middle. Plus a few Gavins thrown in for good measure.
Here
Here
Here
Here
And last but not least...here.

Is that supposed to be fun?

 

[johntuskman]

sounds heavy

 

[theatis]

It's not really as bad as it sounds. Check out my profile, i'm using a friend's 18 litre 230 bar steel tank, which is (i think) roughly equivalent to the FX-149.

It didn't trim too badly and i was certainly not walking the dive but when i stopped moving completely it would slowly move me into an upright position. Keep in mind that i'm 5'6"ish and it was obviously not an ideal choice for me but the stores were closed and we had the tank anyway so why not?

The other thing i'd like to point out is that you can buy that tank brand new for $363 at techdivinglimited.com so is it really the bargain that you think it is? In other words, if you are contemplating it BECAUSE it's a bargain there may be better options for you. For example, on the same site, the FX-80 is $240 which you can buy with the intention of buying a second one later on (or now if you can afford it) for two-a-days or doubles. Or, if you are set on a larger tank, why not the FX-117 for $312? Just some ideas to think about (and, of course, i'm not affiliated with TDL or anything, you can probably find the same bargains in other places).

 

[meekal]

looks like Molasses Reef in Key Largo..... hehehehe

Sure thing. Go:
Here Those are doubled LP121s (same size as FX-149s) with an RB80 in the middle. Plus a few Gavins thrown in for good measure.
Here
Here
Here
Here
And last but not least...here.

 

[CBulla]

Sure thing. Go:
Here Those are doubled LP121s (same size as FX-149s) with an RB80 in the middle. Plus a few Gavins thrown in for good measure.
Here
Here
Here
Here
And last but not least...here.

That last one is a toughie... 4 scooters from behind, one up front to steer... hokey smokes bullwinkle! Thats a lot of gas to pass man!

Question.. are those rigs wheeled to the water and put on or is it donned at the car and walked in?

 

[itch808]

The other thing i'd like to point out is that you can buy that tank brand new for $363 at techdivinglimited.com so is it really the bargain that you think it is?

Wow, nice, I went off the first price I googled that turned out to be from Scuba.com. Granted I'm in Hawaii, so prices are expected to be a bit more due to shipping whether a shop or an individual purchased it. For example, someone locally just offered me a set of USED double HP-120s for $800. :11:

 

[ams511]

Your best bet is to talk the guy down and get the tank as cheap as possible, then if you hate it sell it and you probably won't lose that much.

 

[ams511]

Also I cannot stress the weighting issue enough. I dove an older Beuchat mega tank once. People told me don't use any weight. At the time I dove with a 2-pc 7 mil wetsuit using a BP/W setup. I didn't believe them and took about 18 lbs off the belt (12 for the tank and 6 for the plate) which left me with 10lbs ditchable. I filled up the BC half-way jumped into the water and sank like a rock. I was surprised at this. For fun I dropped the belt and still was on the bottom with a half inflated bc. Now it was not a big deal because I was only in about 15-20 ft of water and I could have swum up the tank anyway because after dropping the belt I was not that negative anymore. But what would have happened if my BC failed and I was in water deep enough to compress the wetsuit further and lose more buoyancy? BTW, the extra gas was great. Just make sure you are properly weighted.

 

[Captain12Pk]

Ok, so I'm in the market for another tank (as seen from my other thread). I really was considering just buying a cheapo AL80 since I dive in warm waters, I only wear 3mm of neoprene. BUT, I spotted a 149cf Steel Faber on craigslist locally:

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/spo/271573794.html

I've never dove with doubles nor anything this large before, are there any downsides that I'm probably not seeing? To add to that, I don't think I've EVER seen anyone diving such a large tank. The extra air seems like a blessing, but at the same time I'm not Nitrox-cert'd yet so I figure I may be pushing the limits of the tables depending on depth. I did a quick search and found the tank selling for $430 online, so I'm guessing $300 isn't a bad price for such a new tank. Thoughts?

One of the tanks in my quiver is a Faber HP 120. Yes the added amount of air you can draw from a single tank is nice, and for me the weight isn't really an issue, my issue with the 120 is the length. The length of a Faber Hp 120 is 29.33 in. ... and in the water it has a tendency to hit the back of my thighs and the 1st stage hits the back of my head. Now a 149 is about 1/4 in longer at 29.53 in. How tall are you?
How long do you plan to stay underwater? Have you considered doubles?