Doubles - which tanks??

[ucfdiver]

Qualifiers work wonders when expressing your opinion. It's like when you said side-mount was for cave diving only ... I know people with way more experience than you in both side mount and caves who would find that statement silly ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

A lot of them have a financial motive, too. Then a student of theirs dies and it's a more highly guarded secret than who shot JFK.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

A lot of them have a financial motive, too. Then a student of theirs dies and it's a more highly guarded secret than who shot JFK.

Perhaps ... and I agree that finding real information on the causes of diving accidents is a frustration ... but that's not the point.

All of us offer advice based on our perspective, which is based on our experiences. And people who have dived in a lot of different places and environments come to realize that the mindset of diving varies from place to place. And the people who dive in each of those places has their own reasons for the choices they make. Many of them are surprisingly valid ... even though to someone who hasn't been exposed to that environment they might not make much sense.

In that respect, making any claim that a given piece of gear is only for diving in a specific environment isn't usually a valid claim.

FWIW - one person I was thinking of in my previous post is Curt Bowen, who used side-mount on our Port Hardy trip in March, and will probably be using it again when we head to Nootka Sound in a couple weeks. For the conditions and circumstances of those trips, it's a very good option ... even though we won't be diving in a cave.

Likewise I'll be using my doubles up there for some Tech 1 dives. In this case, a larger set of doubles will make sense, because I'm planning to use them for two dives, and the logistics of getting a second set of smaller doubles in there make my approach a better option.

That's what I mean by qualifiers ... you can really only relate equipment choices to the conditions you've been exposed to ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

Gee thanks Bob. Now I have buddy, tank *and* garage envy ...

A lot of us envy Scott's garage. Some days, I want to leave home and live there . . .

Which tanks are the right tanks depends on what kind of diving you are going to do with them. For me double 130s are really not an option at all; if I were to do dives where 130s were absolutely necessary, I'd have to go to a rebreather. No way I'm getting those puppies up a boat ladder.

In some ways, this reminds me of the "which single tank should I buy?" discussions. You can always say that, if you are going to buy one set of doubles, buy the biggest ones you can find, because they'll NEVER limit you on a dive. But the tradeoff is that you have to haul them around all the time. My favorite dive buddy is 6 feet something and literally as strong as an ox -- he went that route, and several YEARS later started diving a set of 72s that he bought for his son, when he was doing dives where he didn't need a busload of gas, and he looked at me one day and said, "I wish I'd known how much NICER these are to handle."

Most people who start diving doubles are better off, in my opinion, with a set of tanks that will work for open water diving and light technical diving, since that's where they'll begin anyway. If they later move into bigger dives, they can get bigger tanks -- the market for resale of "beginner" doubles is always pretty good. Or you can do what we did, and keep all of them -- which helps avoid the, "I'd like to dive doubles on this 100 foot shore dive today, but mine are full of trimix" phenomenon.

 

[rjack321]

the biggest ones you can find, because they'll NEVER limit you on a dive.

Oh the 104/108/130s limit you eventually too, you just don't start adding stages until a bit later/deeper.

As you noted, small-ish doubles are eternally useful and have good resale value if you can't afford or don't have the spare to keep that many sets around.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Most "Tech" divers will never progress beyond 1 or 2 sets of doubles, the capital costs, time costs, etc. are just too high. Then there is the 3 to 5 year drop out rate.....

If you get past the drop out period it gets expensive.

Two sets of X7-100's - one doubled and one sidemount, three sets of LP 95's -one set doubled and two side mount, two sets of steel 72's both doubled (one set probably soon to be sidemount)That does not include the significant other's two sets of LP 95's, 5 stage bottles, 4 deco bottles or two inflation bottles.

To support that are a wall full of technician related certs, a tank tumbler, compressor etc to try to keep costs down.

My favorite dive buddy is 6 feet something and literally as strong as an ox -- he went that route, and several YEARS later started diving a set of 72s that he bought for his son, when he was doing dives where he didn't need a busload of gas, and he looked at me one day and said, "I wish I'd known how much NICER these are to handle."

Most people who start diving doubles are better off, in my opinion, with a set of tanks that will work for open water diving and light technical diving, since that's where they'll begin anyway. If they later move into bigger dives, they can get bigger tanks -- the market for resale of "beginner" doubles is always pretty good. Or you can do what we did, and keep all of them -- which helps avoid the, "I'd like to dive doubles on this 100 foot shore dive today, but mine are full of trimix" phenomenon.

There are a couple pearls of wisdom here....

Don't carry more tank than you need and steel 72's make great recreational or shallow (100-130ft) technical offshore doubles.

And as the number of gasses or styles of diving you engage in increase, so will the number of tanks you need. Just embrace the horror.

 

[rjack321]

Just embrace the horror.

I thought you were talking about CCR

And as the number of gasses or styles of diving you engage in increase, so will the number of tanks you need.

 

[TSandM]

We're up to 30 tanks now, and I still want another set of 85s . . .

 

[LiteHedded]

you sissies! go big or go home!

 

[Superlyte27]

We're up to 30 tanks now, and I still want another set of 85s . . .

Pfft, child's play

 

[Gilldiver]

If you get past the drop out period it gets expensive.

Two sets of X7-100's - one doubled and one sidemount, three sets of LP 95's -one set doubled and two side mount, two sets of steel 72's both doubled (one set probably soon to be sidemount)That does not include the significant other's two sets of LP 95's, 5 stage bottles, 4 deco bottles or two inflation bottles.

To support that are a wall full of technician related certs, a tank tumbler, compressor etc to try to keep costs down.

There are a couple pearls of wisdom here....

Don't carry more tank than you need and steel 72's make great recreational or shallow (100-130ft) technical offshore doubles.

And as the number of gasses or styles of diving you engage in increase, so will the number of tanks you need. Just embrace the horror.

I know all about the costs, it’s a fact of life.

The tanks I use most here in the New England are the 72’s with the HP100’s a close second. Over here the beach diving generally sucks or access is restricted, depths are mostly above 60’ except in a very few locations like Fort Weatherall, RI where you can get deep if you want to. We just don’t have the depth unless you go way off shore, and with the price of fuel, there are not all that many trips going that way anymore. Anyway, most of the wrecks that can get hit from a 25-35’ 6-pack are in the 45-180 foot range (there are only a few past 130 that ever see many visits per year), so the 130’s gather a lot of dust.

As for the cost of tanks, I have never bought new when used will more then do. In fact, I think I only bought 3 or 4 tanks new ever. I’m into this stuff 31 years now and just keep my eyes open and some cash ready to buy quickly when the deal comes by.

But now I’m within a few months of 50 and with a 7 and 12 year old, the risks associated with the deeper stuff, deeper then 200’, are becoming something that is just not worth it to me. My deep window is closing very quickly.

If I could drop 20 years off my age, or if the kids were already through school, I would be using a rebreather as the tank complexity is just so much reduced – 1 Rebreather = 2 small tanks + a bail out or 2. I’d keep the smaller sets of doubles for a quick dive when setting up a rebreather is not worth it, but the 130’s would be history.

But in the garage right now are my 72's, a set of 80's, the 100's and 3 sets of 130's plus the single stages etc. and one 125 with an H-valve i use for a second dive when on a small boat where 2 sets of doubles are too much weight and take too much space.