Faber 117 vs 133

[Auradeus]

I recently bought what I thought was a Faber 117, but the dive shop made an error which I hadn't noticed and it was actually a 133. I had bought two, the second one had to be ordered, and when the second actual 117 arrived the difference in size was obvious.

The dive shop is being cool about it and is giving me the option of keeping the 133 and either getting another 133 or giving back the used 133 in exchange for two 117s. They would give me a deal on price on a second 133 and are not asking for more money on the original purchase (I paid the price of a 117) given the error and given it would not be in their favor to take back a used tank. Trying to decide what my best option is.

I wanted a 117 because I was only getting 35 minute dives out of my AL80s. I dove once with the 133 (thinking it was a 117) and it was awesome because I got about a 70 min dive in underwater (it was a shallow dive, only 20 feet), but I dropped my flag at the end of my dive (I'm a new diver, 24 logged dives) and had to do a pretty long surface swim out to sea to recover the flag, and then swim back to shore (shore dive). But I was able to do the entire dive, including the surface swim, on air and still had 500 psi when I got out of the water.

Thing is, that wasn't a very typical dive for me. I was exhausted due to the surface swim recovering the flag and was sucking air like crazy. So I'm wondering if keeping the 133 is overkill. Although it was nice to have extra air during the unexpected. I am able to carry the tanks with relative ease. Not very tall, only 5'11" but I lift so the extra weight is bearable. So weight isn't a huge factor.

I guess my question for the community is would you say more air is better as long as you are strong enough to handle the tank? Or are there other factors I should consider when opting for the 133 vs 117s?

 

[Scared Silly]

The specs for the two cylinders are basically the same, the 133 is 2.5" taller than the 117. If you are that much of a hover I would suggest getting the 133.

 

[Aquavelvet]

The question will be about handling the extra weight. I have three Faber 117s and they are my favorite tanks for shore dives where there may be a bit of a walk from my vehicle down to the water. They are the lightest of the higher capacity tanks. I know a few folks who use the 133s for longer dives, but at that point I step up to doubles or sidemount twins to get redundancy.


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[Dnaber]

I also have the 117, and love it. But if you can handle the 133 I'd say stick with it. Its all about dive time

 

[RhodeDiver]

Seeing you are getting a deal on the additional 133, I would go with the 133. Plus 133's and 117 are similar in size. More air is always better.

 

[luscioman]

I have 117s and like them. I would love to have a 133 if I can find a deal on what. What type (depth) of diving do you do?

 

[ams511]

Not to sidetrack the discussion, but do you guys have any issues with the diameter of the 117/133?

 

[Auradeus]

I have 117s and like them. I would love to have a 133 if I can find a deal on what. What type (depth) of diving do you do?

I almost exclusively lobster dive between 30-50 fsw. I've only been diving for six months and just have 24 logged dives. On another board, someone pointed out that my SAC rate is really bad. I can only get 35 minutes in 50 fsw with an AL80. I'm starting to think that getting really big tanks is going to be treating a symptom not resolving an issue. And if I have a ton of air all the time, my SAC rate will not improve. The other time I dive is during vacation down the keys. Can't rent 133 cubic foot tanks there as far as I know, so I may kick myself in the ass for not improving my SAC rate down the road.

I also find the buoyancy characteristics of the 133 troublesome. Even though I wear ankle weights for trim purposes, the tank tends to elevate my feet.

Dollars wise, there's not really a big difference in price between what I paid and and what a 133 goes for. It's like $50 difference per tank. I'd rather get the right tank and be happy down the road as I improve, so I'm more asking advice in terms of what's the better tank for me. At 5'11 and 220 pounds (I'm kinda overweight, muscular, but I should be under 200) people on other boards are saying the 133 (and even the 117) is too big for me. Apparently the guys that opt for 133's tend to be deep divers (which is not me, although I'd love to try it sometime) or really big guys (like 6'8").

Any further thoughts are much appreciated, you all have been great. But just bear in mind my questions are not about value but more about fit.

---------- Post added August 26th, 2015 at 03:35 PM ----------

Not to sidetrack the discussion, but do you guys have any issues with the diameter of the 117/133?

I'm a new diver, only 24 dives, but I've done most of my dives with 7.25" AL 80s. I did not mind at all the increase in diameter to 8". I am fairly broad shouldered though, I have a 75" reach (not sure if that matters). However, as I mentioned above, the increase in length was problematic for me. Even with ankle weights, the 133 tended to elevate my feet toward the end of the dive.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Auradeus,

I recommend the bigger tanks. If you don't like them, I'd be happy to swam for two of my 117's that are a year old and have just been VIP'ed.

Can you elaborate on the trim issue you are facing. It sounds surprising to me that the longer tanks would lift your feet. I would have expected the opposite.

 

[KevinNM]

How high are the valves? If you push the valves up higher behind your head instead of pushing the far end towards your feet it can make you head heavy. I'm not sure how you should position them, but if you are tending to go head down you might try moving the valves lower.