Buying First Tanks...advice

[bolts]

Just thought I'd post on here for some tips or advice regarding buying my first set of tanks. I'm hoping to buy a tank or two over the winter in time for spring diving.

A bit of a preface, I'm a bit of an air hog, and do diving anywhere from 30' up to around 100'. I understand body type can come into play regarding tank selection, I'm fairly tall, 6'4", and don't really think that 10lbs difference between smaller and larger tanks will make TOO much difference to me (please feel free to chime in if your experiences have been different!). I'll be diving single tanks, and am leaning towards steel for their longevity and buoyancy characteristics.

The majority of my dives thus far have been with rental AL80s. I'm leaning towards steel HP120s to extend my bottom time, and avoid the positive buoyancy at the end of a dive on an empty tank. Are there any other major factors I should be considering, or overall suggestions?

Cheers!

 

[Nwcid]

Many people find that HP-120's long so they can be harder to trim out. HP-119 and HP-130 seem much more common, especially in the PNW.

The GF and I started with HP-100's. Did a class and the diver we were with had me try a HP-119 which worked just fine. Next dive he had me try an HP-130. I noticed no difference between the 2 tanks on my back. I am 6'2" 240lbs. We now own 3, HP-100's that the GF dives and I have 3, HP-130's that I dive. In our case we manage to psi about the same rate so this works very well for us.

 

[whaylonsmithers]

If you're going to buy from a shop ask if they'll let you try all the different ones the have. I've found most shops will let you use their staff or rental gear if there's a sale in it. OTOH my tanks are second-hand, bought withouth testing and I'm very happy with the result. Of course new cylinders in Australia are about twice the price you North Americans can get them for.