Big guy... big tanks?

[prunefoot]

I believe Leisure pros weight specs are wrong. All the large steel tanks are at most 1# positive, with valve, when empty. The Faber is 0# negative when empty and 9.5# negative when full.

See my reply above to KWS.. what about the specs given by blue steel?

 

[prunefoot]

Some of those big tanks are extremely negative; do your research well before buying. The big heiser 140 is a whopping 28 lbs negative full. Perfect if you love crawling across the bottom!

Well, in salt water I currently wear around 20 pounds of weight. 2x4 in each dump bcd pocket and 2 in each trim pocket on the tank strap. And I can't wear a wetsuit. Or I haven't found one that fits bear sized men. Haha.

 

[NAM001]

I'm getting some tank nets to help protect the paint as well.

I'm not going to defend the numbers. The tanks are heavy as hell, but what about the link I gave from blue steel for the specs?

I cant explain the numbers either. My lp 120 is the same as my lp95 in the water. I see that the charts say DOT on them. Other spec sheets are not DOT so the numbers are different. Biggest difference is the valve that is about a 2.5 - 3# valve. US valves are much lighter than that. At the same time I have put the tank in pool water hanging on a fish scale and they are lighter than the charts say and seem to agree with fabers numbers. I think my empty was +2 or 3 for the lp95. You will have to check that out our self. Recommend doing it with a full tank so you know it well not float and then comp the readings for an empty tank at 8# for 100 cuft. My tanks are a little heavier than norm. Also do that with the full rig so you have a combined total buoyancy of your kit. I use H valves on my tanks. its about 1.5 # different than standard valve. I used the tank nets for a long time and it stopped the tank from slipping in the BCD's Once I went to a BPW I did not use them any more. The paint coating is tough. If you toss them in the back of a truck it may be a different issue but transporting them in the car I don't have problems with the finish.

One other thing about the faber specs they may be calculated specs with out a valve so the buoyancy represents the buoyancy without the valve. If you put on a 2# valve then reduce the buoyancy numbers by 2# to make it right.

 

[eelnoraa]

As for valve, average single tank valve, think thermal brand convertible, they are 1.5lb a piece. For water without suit, +4 empty isn't bad. Just make sure you do proper weight check with your new tanks. 20lb without suit seems quite high, but not impossible

 

[halocline]

Well, in salt water I currently wear around 20 pounds of weight. 2x4 in each dump bcd pocket and 2 in each trim pocket on the tank strap. And I can't wear a wetsuit. Or I haven't found one that fits bear sized men. Haha.

If you are really wearing 20 lbs without a wetsuit, to me that sounds overweighted, especially if you are muscular. Many, many new divers are overweighted. It's a matter of developing your dive technique. Of course, this is just an online forum and none of us have ever seen you dive, so we don't know. But it is common for new divers to use more weight than they will need when they are better divers. I hope that's true for you as well, because it means that you can drop some lead eventually.

Anyhow, it looks like you've already bought steel tanks with good buoyancy characteristics. I hesitate to mention this because you already have a BC, but you are a perfect candidate for a steel backplate/wing/webbing harness set up. Most jacket BCs have several pounds of positive buoyancy on their own, where the steel BP provides 6 lbs of negative buoyancy and the wing/harness are generally neutral; a little negative with metal hardware.

You may end up needing a custom wetsuit to get one that fits perfectly. They are unfortunately pricier, but that's one area where spending more could really make a difference in your enjoyment.

 

[prunefoot]

Well I took the 2 new steel LP 120s for a week of diving and loved them. The shop there filled them to 3000 each day so they were loaded. They are big, and heavy, but my dive time significantly increased, from 45 to 50 minutes on inshore dives and 30 to 40 minutes on deeper offshore dives. On the offshore deeper dives, I actually had to worry more about watching my computer, so I did not go into deco, than watch my gas level.

Thanks for all the input, and I will also look into getting a harness rig like several of you suggested. I'm liking the Deep Sea. One person inboxed me about them and I like that they have longer plates for taller people and bigger tanks.

Photo attached. 32oz Nalgene bottle for scale.

 

[Killerflyingbugs]

those are great tanks, I have 2 in my collection.

 

[tbone1004]

View attachment 404327 Well I took the 2 new steel LP 120s for a week of diving and loved them. The shop there filled them to 3000 each day so they were loaded. They are big, and heavy, but my dive time significantly increased, from 45 to 50 minutes on inshore dives and 30 to 40 minutes on deeper offshore dives. On the offshore deeper dives, I actually had to worry more about watching my computer, so I did not go into deco, than watch my gas level.

Thanks for all the input, and I will also look into getting a harness rig like several of you suggested. I'm liking the Deep Sea. One person inboxed me about them and I like that they have longer plates for taller people and bigger tanks.

Photo attached. 32oz Nalgene bottle for scale.

their short plates will handle LP121's with no issue, but the long back plates are key for those of us that are tall. I have those tanks for sidemount and they certainly are big! ~165 cubic feet when cave filled up to 3600psi about about 135cf at 3k where you had them.

Out of curiosity, why the 121's vs the 149's?

 

[bamafan]

Just an FYI the boots will cause rust and pitting especially if used in salt water

 

[tbone1004]

Just an FYI the boots will cause rust and pitting especially if used in salt water

those look like they might be the new galvanized ones, but yeah the faber boots are horrible. If you want boots on there, which I have no real objection to, then this one is much better
Sherwood LP Steel Boot | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba