Diving a faber LP 108 in a wetsuit

[gobuyastick]

I've heard it's not the best to dive a steel tank with a wetsuit because of the buoyancy characteristics of steel tanks, but I was looking at the Faber LP 108 to dive with. Would it be okay to dive in a wetsuit with it when considering its buoyancy shifts from negative at the start, and positive at the end of the dive ?

 

[RandomGuy1]

The issue is when at depth your wetsuit compresses and looses its buoyancy. With that buoyancy loss, and if you have a wing failure your rig may be too heavy to swim up even if you drop weights. With that said, I dive a steel tank with a wetsuit all the time.


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[Chugwhump]

Of course.
Steel tanks are fine.
However,
Fabers tend to be a little more "corky" at the end of the dive relative to PST or Worthington/XS steel tanks.
I have 2 Fabers.
A 130 and a 149.

I dive LP120's, HP149's, and HP 130's.
I dive in sunny South Florida with wetsuits.
I use a Dive Rite Transpac BCD.
I use about 6 pounds of lead consistently when wearing about 4mm of neoprene.
I like to be a "little heavy" for my SCUBA activities.
When I have people join me diving and they are accustomed to diving with Aluminum tanks, I tell them to drop between 6 to 8 pounds of lead.
Here is a good read on tanks:
https://www.divegearexpress.com/library/articles/how-to-select-a-scuba-tank

Here is a chart to look at:
(OMS tanks are made by Faber unless something has changed, and I missed it.)
Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan


Chug
Holds the opinion that,
Aluminum pressure vessels are really only useful in diving when wrapped around beer and are consumed after the days diving activities are concluded, are then crushed, discarded, and placed into a recycling bin,
but nevertheless uses a AL 19 pony bottle.

 

[SOFDiver]

I don't know who you have been talking to, but not wearing a wet suit when using any type of tank is absurd. Now to your question. I own and dive Faber LP 108s and 95s, while wearing wetsuits from 1mm all the way up to an 8/7 semi dry and so do most of the guys I dive with. Wet suit is a factor of diving environment, tank is a factor of personal preference. Talk to a dive professional with real experience, have him/her run through buoyancy with you.

 

[gobuyastick]

What depth would you say it loses its buoyancy ? I dive a 3mm wetsuit btw

 

[RandomGuy1]

It doesn't just suddenly lose its buoyancy at a certain depth. I loses its gradually as your depth increases.


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[Scared Silly]

What depth would you say it loses its buoyancy ? I dive a 3mm wetsuit btw

As said above the buoyancy decreases with depth but by 60-80 feet most suits have lost the majority of their buoyancy.

As for your original question. Whether the 108 is too much depends on your current weighting. If you drop some weight you may be fine outing it.

 

[luscioman]

I think you have been talking to the wrong people. I hate wearing a wetsuit so I don't put on my 3 until the water temp in Florida gets to 77. I only dive with steel and have never had any type of issue.

 

[Max Speed]

Buy it. Go to about 100 feet (wetsuit pretty compressed). Now let all the air out of your BC. Now try to swim up. If it is too hard then carry a lift bag, or an smb, or a dual bladder wing, or a drysuit.

Ascending with the lift bag or the smb should be practiced. Make sure the dump valve is positioned so it is useable. Practice dumping the wing and deploying the bag or smb to see how far and how fast you will drop.

 

[RandomGuy1]

Using a lift bag or smb as redundant buoyancy seems like a really bad idea to me for most folks. I can't imagine someone having a wing failure and trying to deploy and hold on to a lift bag/smb while plummeting to the depths.


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