Convince me to get steel tanks

[Mayor]

I dive steel HP tanks and really like not having weight on the belt / pockets. Of course it's not a big deal to add a few pounds for the AL. My question to you is what are your dive buddies using or going to use. Mine all run HP steel tanks for 100, 119, 120, 130 and doubles of the mix. So if I had an AL 80 they would really on want to dive with me even is my SAC was great. The other thing is what tank can you handle for your size. Can you swim up a steel 100 from 80 feet if your diving a wet suit. Can you dive a few sizes and see what you like? Why not buy from a shop?

 

[Sonic04GT]

Unless you are very short and lightweight, the HP 100 is a much better tank. Even if the choice is an Al80 vs HP 80, the buoyancy disadvantage of the Al80 can be corrected with about $5 worth of lead.


BTW, thank you for your service.

I'm 5'9" roughly 155-160lbs and dive with 10lbs right now, no exposure suit. I'll be using a 3mm now though.

And you're welcome.

 

[Sonic04GT]

I dive steel HP tanks and really like not having weight on the belt / pockets. Of course it's not a big deal to add a few pounds for the AL. My question to you is what are your dive buddies using or going to use. Mine all run HP steel tanks for 100, 119, 120, 130 and doubles of the mix. So if I had an AL 80 they would really on want to dive with me even is my SAC was great. The other thing is what tank can you handle for your size. Can you swim up a steel 100 from 80 feet if your diving a wet suit. Can you dive a few sizes and see what you like? Why not buy from a shop?

I just started diving and right now my only buddy in Texas wants to dive AL80s but will be purchasing tanks the same time I do so I'm still trying to convince him to get HP100s. Otherwise, it's whatever people have on the boat. My dive buddy/instructor back in FL dives an AL80 with an amazing SAC rate but a few of the regulars dive steel so I could partner up with them.

 

[Sonic04GT]

I dive steel HP tanks and really like not having weight on the belt / pockets. Of course it's not a big deal to add a few pounds for the AL. My question to you is what are your dive buddies using or going to use. Mine all run HP steel tanks for 100, 119, 120, 130 and doubles of the mix. So if I had an AL 80 they would really on want to dive with me even is my SAC was great. The other thing is what tank can you handle for your size. Can you swim up a steel 100 from 80 feet if your diving a wet suit. Can you dive a few sizes and see what you like? Why not buy from a shop?

I just started diving and right now my only buddy in Texas wants to dive AL80s but will be purchasing tanks the same time I do so I'm still trying to convince him to get HP100s. Otherwise, it's whatever people have on the boat. My dive buddy/instructor back in FL dives an AL80 with an amazing SAC rate but a few of the regulars dive steel so I could partner up with them. As for the ability to surface easily, my height/weight are above and I'm in pretty decent shape...What do you think? I'm not sure what opportunities I'll have to try sizes. I'll most likely end up getting them online so they're at my house when I get home. Then again, I can't wait to make a trip back to the dive shop I just wish they had the Worthingtons there. I'll have to shop around.

 

[micklock]

Are you near this place?
Fill Express -- Contact Us

 

[redacted]

I'm 5'9" roughly 155-160lbs and dive with 10lbs right now, no exposure suit. I'll be using a 3mm now though.

And you're welcome.

Unless you have very heavy legs, an HP80 will probably give you trim problems, The 10 lb you are using right now should drop a good bit as you gain experience and comfort. I'm 5'10", 220, and a bit over weight but my HP 100 and no exposure protection leave me with little to no extra weight in SW. I can't use my HP100 in FW without at least a 3mm suit (not a problem in Cen TX as the suit is nice for deeper lake dives even when surface temps are in the low 80s). For shallow lake dive in the summer, I have to use an Al tank or be overweighted.

 

[rstofer]

Study carefully the buoyancy characteristics of the tanks you are considering. There is a huge difference between the Faber 100 and the Worthington 100. Not only is the Faber tank about 6# heavier, it is also about 5# more negative.

The implication is that you would wear 5# less ditchable weight. I'm a big fan of having several pounds of ditchable weight to help with rescue.

Anyway, the tank numbers are from a spreadsheet I found somewhere and I have no idea if the weights and buoyancies are correct. Get the right numbers from the manufacturer's data and check them for yourself.

Having no ditchable weight is not a desirable situation.

Richard

 

[Mayor]

I just started diving and right now my only buddy in Texas wants to dive AL80s but will be purchasing tanks the same time I do so I'm still trying to convince him to get HP100s. Otherwise, it's whatever people have on the boat. My dive buddy/instructor back in FL dives an AL80 with an amazing SAC rate but a few of the regulars dive steel so I could partner up with them. As for the ability to surface easily, my height/weight are above and I'm in pretty decent shape...What do you think? I'm not sure what opportunities I'll have to try sizes. I'll most likely end up getting them online so they're at my house when I get home. Then again, I can't wait to make a trip back to the dive shop I just wish they had the Worthingtons there. I'll have to shop around.

I'm NOT a big fan of getting things like tanks and regs online but that's your choice. HP100 sounds like it might be a good fit with a 3mm wet suit or shorty. Pro valve is a must! Someday you might want change and that give you options.

 

[D_B]

Not that much difference ...
Faber is -.59lbs empty and -8.41lbs full (note ... this is the FX 100 3442psi tank, not the HP100 3180psi tank)
Worthington is -2,5lbs empty and -10lbs full

... http://www.tdl.divebiz.net/pub/tanks.html


you will notice that your center of buoyancy will change going to a HPsteel tank, in fact I was so disapointed in my unability to find a way to get stable that I thought about selling the HP100 .. dont, just dive more and with a mentor .. you'll get used to it and it and find that you can get stable in most any trim position you want (although 90* sideways with that much weight on my back still illudes me )


You could also wait until they go on sale, while I got a good deal on my first one, the price on my second one was so low as to "force" me to get another

 

[halocline]

I was going to say that you might be overweighted in TX lakes using the HP100 given your size. I'm about your size and I couldn't imagine 10lbs with no wetsuit; that must be in salt water and it still sounds like a lot. Lets assume for the sake of argument that you're about 5 lbs overweighted, when you switch to fresh water you'll drop another 4-5 lbs, and your 3 mil suit might add about 5-7 lbs buoyancy. So, taking a WAG, think about 6 lbs needed in your 3mil, and that's just about the difference in empty buoyancy between an AL80 and a HP100.

Another issue is capacity; I really doubt you'll find yourself in situations in TX lakes and rivers where you feel like you need more air than an AL80. I guess if you want to dive deep in lake Travis, but if you're going to do that you'll want something MUCH warmer than a 3 mil.

The Flower Gardens is the exception as AWAP has pointed out; HP 100 is perfect there, but do you want to spend all that extra money just for that?

I would consider saving some money on the tank, and maybe putting that into a warmer wetsuit, if you want to dive year round in TX.