Double al 80s or hp 130s?

[T. Bix]

I currently have a set of al 80s doubled up and with the trim weight I have to hang on them to get my bouyancy and trim perfect they almost weight what my 130s would. That is 10 pounds of "V" weights and 7 pounds strapped to the tanks 1/3 of the way from the bottoms. All that said I can't see why I shouldn't double up my hp 130s and just accept that I will almost always have loads of gas left as my dive buddies are ready to thumb it. With my group of usual suspects all diving al80s I usually have the most left anyway. This way I can get acclimated to this configuration before I take some more technical training....... Is there a downside that I'm missing?

 

[Scared Silly]

Yeah, 25lbs of extra dry weight and 20 lbs of buoyancy?? Call me lazy but I an not fond of schlepping around more than I need. That said, I would look over your weighting needs perhaps the 130 will offset your weight needs.

One more important question are you diving dry or wet? If wet that much extra buoyancy is a bad idea without a good redundant system. However, I am going to guess that you are diving the Lakes with a dry suit so not so bad.

 

[T. Bix]

Diving dry, and I figure I'll be carrying 8 more pounds of gas and the tanks are right around ten pounds heavier. So I recon I can take off all of the trim weight (17 pounds) and pay almost no penalty in extra bouyancy requirements, I'm thinking I need to be weighted for a safety/deco stop with the gas pretty low but the steel tanks never swing to positive so that's eight pounds I can ignore completely........ I'm still grasping to find a downside...... It looks completely justifiable to get a set of eight inch bands sorry if this seems a little convoluted or hard to follow my rambling but I really am looking for advice or that I may be I'm missing something....

 

[Puffer Fish]

Diving dry, and I figure I'll be carrying 8 more pounds of gas and the tanks are right around ten pounds heavier. So I recon I can take off all of the trim weight (17 pounds) and pay almost no penalty in extra bouyancy requirements, I'm thinking I need to be weighted for a safety/deco stop with the gas pretty low but the steel tanks never swing to positive so that's eight pounds I can ignore completely........ I'm still grasping to find a downside...... It looks completely justifiable to get a set of eight inch bands sorry if this seems a little convoluted or hard to follow my rambling but I really am looking for advice or that I may be I'm missing something....

Only negative is that they weight a lot (both in and out of the water). I dive a fair amount with a 133, bail out gas and high O2 (30 cf each), which is a lot more gas than double 80's have, with a lot less weight. Double 133, when full are a major handful. I have given thought to putting my HP 100's together, which would be lighter, but I have gotten used to doing two gas dives.

 

[rjack321]

I'd much rather have a set of doubles al80s and 2x hp130 singles in my garage than a set of doubles 130s and 2 al80 singles.

I just don't do that many dives that I "know" are short or shallow enough for a single Al80. As singles they aren't versatile enough for me, as doubles they have a much wider range. Single 130 is also quite versatile.

17lbs of lead in freshwater is a little less than what I require for double al80s. Our main diving lake is 45F right now.

 

[Lobzilla]

I currently have a set of al 80s doubled up and with the trim weight I have to hang on them to get my bouyancy and trim perfect they almost weight what my 130s would. That is 10 pounds of "V" weights and 7 pounds strapped to the tanks 1/3 of the way from the bottoms. All that said I can't see why I shouldn't double up my hp 130s and just accept that I will almost always have loads of gas left as my dive buddies are ready to thumb it. With my group of usual suspects all diving al80s I usually have the most left anyway. This way I can get acclimated to this configuration before I take some more technical training....... Is there a downside that I'm missing?

The Al80 doubles are sweet for diving wet. If you need any additional weight, make it ditchable and you will have a 'balanced rig' that you can swim-up in case of BCD failure. Both steel and AL cylinders have their place and 'mission'.

As rjack321 mentioned, single HP130 and double AL80s would make sense. Double HP130s are a bear to lug around especially before the hang on your harness; like getting them up in the truck bed in the first place. I would risk my discs only if absolutely necessary (i.e. really need 260cuft).

 

[Doc Harry]

Drawbacks to twin 130s?

Can can barely climb stairs with twin 130s, and I would definitely not be able to climb a boat ladder.

On the other hand, I've climbed the ladder out of the Temple of Doom with twin 80s with minimal difficulty.