Diving Larger tanks.

[Michael_Lambert]

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering, I notice that lot of people seem to like the Faber LP 95's for doubling up, and i have been looking to get into higher tank volume with out going doubles.

I am a larger guy and the larger tanks apeal to me due to the fact they feel better! I recently dove a Faber Lp125 Big tank but it fit nice on me. Im 6'2 330 pounds!

Just wondering why more people dont seem to dive these sized tanks? Doing the calucations filling this tank to 3000psi i would be getting 140ish Cubic feet. Lots of air, i have been concideirng buying this tank from my Diveshop and installing a Hvalve to it so i can run my regs.

Just wondering what is everyone eles thoughts.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering, I notice that lot of people seem to like the Faber LP 95's for doubling up, and i have been looking to get into higher tank volume with out going doubles.

I am a larger guy and the larger tanks apeal to me due to the fact they feel better! I recently dove a Faber Lp125 Big tank but it fit nice on me. Im 6'2 330 pounds!

Just wondering why more people dont seem to dive these sized tanks? Doing the calucations filling this tank to 3000psi i would be getting 140ish Cubic feet. Lots of air, i have been concideirng buying this tank from my Diveshop and installing a Hvalve to it so i can run my regs.

Just wondering what is everyone eles thoughts.

I have a PST HP 120 and love diving it as a single. When I use it with my drysuit I wear a stainless steel backplate and only have to wear 8 lbs on weight belt. Doubled they're way too heavy.

When I'm diving wet I use a PST HP 100 and have plenty of air and good buoyancy and trim. At 6' 175 lbs. the 120 is too heavy with just a 3mm wetsuit. In Cozumel I dive a lp 95 with a well worn 3mm wetsuit, a plastic backplate and no weight.

Since you displace more water and it takes more energy to move through the water I would certainly go with the bigger tank. And with about 50 percent more air than an Al 80 you should never have to cut your dive short because you ran low of air. There is never a penalty for carrying more air than you need.

 

[Hoosier]

Are you kidding? It is too long for most divers. It has the same height with HP 120.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea i guess its long, I only noticed that trying to gear up in my car !.. lol, Not enough clearance to stand it up to gear up!.. oh well just time to trade in the car

 

[Willie]

... lot of people seem to like the Faber LP 95's for doubling up ... I recently dove a Faber Lp125 Big tank but it fit nice on me. ... filling this tank to 3000psi i would be getting 140ish Cubic feet.

I have about 1/3 of my dives using the LP95. It really works well for me. LP95 holds 21.8% more gas than the AL80 and the buoyancy characteristics are very nice. They are only rated to 2400psi or 2550psi if they can pass the + requirements. Better make sure you have a shop willing to fill them to 3000, if that is your intention.

Willie

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Not my intentions, But the shop i got it from filled it to 3000. Im more than happy getting the 125 CF out of it.

 

[Hoosier]

Not my intentions, But the shop i got it from filled it to 3000. Im more than happy getting the 125 CF out of it.

Try to bring HP tank. What filll will you get? It sounds like that your LDS fills everthing upto 3000 psi....

 

[steveann]

The biggest reason for the lack of popularity of the big tanks has already been stated. Most of us non-big guys who aren't deep into an overhead environment just don't want to lug around the 50-60 lb. monster tanks, especially when an AL 80 is about all the air we'll need for the dives we're planning. Plus, there's the whole issue of having the water heater sized tanks hitting your knees and the back of your head at the same time.

Of course, I love my LP 95's. They're short and fat, negative full or empty, and not too heavy to carry to the beach. And, they're a 108 if you get a 3000 fill, a 125 for a 3500 (although that is a bit high of a press for me.) So far the only downside I've found to my 95's is that its hard to transport them in my truck when I'm carrying 80's or 85's also. Dang 8 inch tanks just don't like sitting nicely with their smaller brethren.

 

[Loneranger]

I use LP 108 Heisers that weigh 50Lb full. They are not well suited for a smaller person or someone who is not stable getting around the boat with their fins on. Smaller people usually reqire less air volume.

 

[Spratman]

I dive an old HP120. I dive it because of my size as well, but more so, because my SAC rate is .7. Most of the guys I dive with use like half to a quarter of that (yeah, one guy has a SAC rate of .25).

I bought a pair of 95's for doubling at some point, if you find a shop that will do cave fills for ya, you get PLENTY of gas...also, schlepping up a ladder in 4 to 6 foot rollers, is a heck of a lot easier with one tank, than with two....