Big guy... big tanks?

[prunefoot]

This is my second post, after my hello in the intro section..

Some background before my question.... I'm a bigger guy. 6'4" with a big frame, wide shoulders, thick chest and large lung capacity, so I tend to use my air/nitrox rapidly. On our last dive vacation to PCB, on every dive, I ran low on air way before my wife and 11 year old daughter did, so we would all have to surface. I felt guilty about having them surface due to my air usage and would like to resolve the situation before our next trip that is scheduled for spring break.

On that same dive vacation, they took the OW class the first days, then we all were diving together on the last days. While they were training, I went solo on a few charters. On one charter, i buddied up with two older guys that were seasoned divers. They stayed down after I had to surface when my air ran low. After they were back on the boat, they told me I should look into renting higher volume tanks, or buy them myself if the dive shop doesn't rent them. They recommended 115s. Not being a pro, I had to research.

I found tanks that go up to 149.... much more than the standard 80s I have been using. I thought about maybe getting some 120s or 133s. I spoke with someone and they recommended steel because it also reduces the amount of weight you have to use. I currently use between 12 and16 pounds without a wet suit (not that any wet suit fits me haha). I realize they would be heavier, but I assume some of that would be countered by using less weight.

Any thoughts/recommendations are appreciated.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have one of those 149's. They are great tanks.. heavy, but you should be able to stay down a while..

 

[noj3333]

I'm also a larger diver... 6'6"... and about 350lbs (Ex-division I football linemen).

When I look for a possible dive operation to go with I will almost never dive with a shop that does not offer 100 cu/ft tanks. With very few exceptions I've always been able to find a shop in each city that I'm diving in that has them.

When traveling I think you'll be able to find 100's often (my experience is limited to Florida, Caribbean, and Mexico). There are a few shops that even use HP120's in Cozumel.

I've thought about this a lot and the best solutions I've come up with are: 1) diving side mount 2) Carrying a stage bottle (40 cu/ft or even another 80 cu/ft). Side mount would be nice because everyone offers 80's... and with 2 of them I could match the lowest SAC rates. With a stage bottle I could use it as needed, leaving it behind for dives that don't require it, and I wouldn't need a new bcd.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I am 6'3" and use 130s primarily and 119s as well. I try to remain calm and breathe slowly underwater and usually don't fin much as I'm usually photographing something small that doesn't move very far. My buddies have better air consumption than I so I sometimes surface before them. No biggie. I get the boat to myself for a few minutes.

 

[claymore]

The other question with steel tanks is HIgh Pressure or Low Pressure. I am not going to get into pros and cons of either as it has been debated adinenitum here.

You will probably never keep up with your wife and daughter. Women generally use less gas than men. The more you dive the better your air use will become if you work at being a good diver.

Most travel destinations have AL 80's as the rental tanks. A few have AL100 but they are not usually filled to 3000psi not the 3300psi to get their full fill. A very few operators have steel tanks.

Large steel tanks are fine for local diving if you drive to your destination but if you are going on vacation where you have to fly taking your own tanks is not feasible. For travel, Hoovers are looking at going to sidemount to have twice as much gas available for each dive. You would have to rent one or two extras AL80 tanks for a Two Tank Dive charter and have a Sidemount BC and an extra reg set.

 

[eelnoraa]

Even I am a smaller diver, I fell in love with large tank, HP130 to be particular. It is not so long like HP120, almost double the gas of AL80. I have been using HP100, which is good, if I have to do it again, I will get HP130

 

[Yancey M]

I'm in the same boat. 6'4" and 3 bills. I use HP133s. Like others have said women seem to use far less air. I've really watched my breathing rates both in and out plus I do my best to not use any extra energy/task load. Both help with my gas intake but still I'll surface with around 300-500 psi while my wife still has 1000+ psi in her tanks(HP100s).

If you're going to purchase tanks I'd definitely say go with 130s and if you're traveling and unable to take tanks with you find a shop in the area you plan on diving that has at least HP100s you can rent. It would help especially if you're starting a dive in the 3500 psi ball park higher volume tank and they're using AL80s starting off around 3000.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Were paddling the same canoe brother!! First, your air consumption will get better the more you dive. Teenage girls will embarrass the most seasoned divers when it comes to airconsumption, women tend to use less as well. Big guys have big lungs so until you have some more dives in, your air usage will be higher.

The dive op we use in Cozumel uses steel HP 120's. My wife gets a hp100. We finish about the same after a 80-90 minute dive. On our trip to Roatan last week, I requested a 100 cf tank while my wife dove an 80. We finished about the same but they were timed dives.

Bigger tanks are great, especially if you have the frame to carry them. My air usage is much better now than it was when I started but I still prefer the bigger tanks. I look at it like you can't have too much air on a dive....but you can have too little. I also don't want to be the guy that cuts anyone else's dive short on vacation dives. With the bigger tanks, that doesn't happen.

Something else I noticed on our last trip was when I have the extra air....I don't focus so much on my breathing and my air usage went way down. Relax and dive, the breathing will happen.

I have an aluminum 100, a steel 95, a steel 72, and a slew of aluminum 80's. I prefer the aluminum over the steel when it comes to maintenance. Seems like the steel tanks always need tumbling at visual time for surface rust. The trade off is that you can lose some weight diving steel tanks and they don't get as buoyant when empty. Once your weights are right...that not much of an issue either way.

Big tanks are your friend as long as you can carry them. Sounds like it won't be a problem for you. Rent or borrow some bigger tanks before you purchase, they are expensive.

Good luck, safe travels.
Jay

 

[bamafan]

I am 6'4 250+ and like lp 120's. If you can get them overfilled you can get almost 180 cft out of them. OMS made some lp 131's and they are awesome overfilled. Pat Green, Rob or Edd all will give you good fills in the PCB / Panhandle area. Rob's fill shop is 24/7 self service and cheaper than anyone else in the area at $0.10/cft for Nitrox.

 

[drrich2]

Some dive operators, including live-aboards, may have a few 100 cf tanks around; websites won't always mention it and they may be 1st come, 1st serve, so ask well in advance.

But maybe you'd like destinations that offer big tanks routinely? For 120 cf steel tanks?

1.) Cozumel - Aldora, Living Underwater, Liquid Blue Divers.

2.) Jupiter, Florida - Jupiter Dive Center.

3.) Morehead City, North Carolina - Olympus Dive Center.

Jupiter and off-shore NC diving are pretty deep, with much of the dive spent deep and nitrox is advised. Here are a couple of trip reports - Jupiter, Morehead City. There are likely others; I'm just posting ones I know about.

Richard.