HP steel tanks.

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The HP100 is closest in size as already stated, but personally I much prefer the Faber over the Worthy tanks. Faber are less negative in the water, a little taller (I am 6' tall so short tanks dont work well for me), and they don't have as much roll in the water. Another great choice is the LP85. Many people will over-fill them and get a pretty substantial volume. They are even less negative than the HP100 and maybe a bit less expensive.

I own four Faber HP100 tanks, all Faber...two singles and one set of doubles. My singles I left the yoke plug in as my reg I use for single tanks is still yoke. I've found that yoke is what most tanks are where I've traveled. I have the DIN kit for it should I ever change my mind or need it.
 
James,

I have a question for you. It may be of interest to the OP as well, so probably not even too much of a tangent :) You say that Faber tanks don't have as much roll in the water. I presume you mean side-to-side motion when in a single tank. Can you speak to this a bit more? Do you know why they would be different? How much difference is there? I know it's subjective, but could you try to quantify it a little bit? (I'm guessing you are speaking specifically of the Faber FX 100 since you say it is less negative than the Worthington?)

I'm looking at buying my first tank(s), and the HP 100 is on my list. I am also considering the LP 85 (or a few others) but I would prefer a shorter tank.

Blue Sparkle
 
Yeah, FX100. The worthy tanks are 2lbs or so more negative (IIRC) which I think may be why they tend to want to make you flip over/roll/turtle/whatever people call it more than the Faber tank. A good friend of mine has the Worthy tanks and we did a swap for a dive to see, and it was a pretty noticeable difference for me. Bear in mind I was diving in a 5mm suit and hooded vest, AL backplate and no additional weight. With my Faber I am just a little over weighted like this and the worthy was even more weight in probably not an ideal place. If you were to dive them with a drysuit, for example, and needed even more weight on your belt or in your weight pockets the difference may not be near as noticeable if at all. When I dive dry I just swap to a SS plate rig and no weight, or maybe a 2lb if I have my thicker undergarment and will be diving shallow.

The Faber HP100, with Blue Steel convertible valve and boot is about an inch or so shorter than my AL80 deco bottle with no boot and DIN valve.

In my opinion the white tanks look a lot better, but as you know that finish wont stay perfect for long.
 
Even though I use HP130's, I do not recommend them. They are monster tanks. I am a Northern California Kelp Diver. We hike quite a few cliff trails to get to the best dive locations. The HP100 is the ideal tank for hiking.

If you get a large tank, your buddies also need a large tank. No sense in surfacing with a lot of air in your tank because you are limited by your buddies. I purchased two HP130's so a buddy can use one. Most of the time there are 3 of us. So it does not make sense to use them. The HP100 is an ideal tank to use when diving with others using Al80. Example, an HP120 is only good if buddies also have one. The HP130 is very good for solo diving off boat or easy shore access.

I bought whatever tank they sold in my area. I guess Worthington/XSSCUBA. No problem as described above. Does not make sense to me.

Take a look at my profile for gear set-up.
 
While I like my LP85's for deeper drift dives and also a few extra bonus psi at times the roll factor
is definitey there and easily noticeable when turning to the side when compared to an AL80. Also my
LP85 always seemed more negative than my old exempt series PST 100 steel. I love the LP85's on the
60 ft drift dives especially with a good fill but to be honest if diving shallow I would almost prefer to
just add the weight and dive an AL80. Seems on the shallower dives there is a bit more turning to the side
and sometimes turning to the surface and this is where you will notice the "roll" of the heavier steel tanks.
 
the "roll" that others are referring to is that with a steel tank that stays negative the whole dive you have a weight above your center of buoyancy so that when turning on your side you will feel it trying to roll you over.
With my HP 100 Worthington it was kinda pronounced , it being as much as -10 lbs when full , and this placed above a 7mm wetsuits buoyancy .. much different than the stable good trim I had with my AL80 , it almost made me want to get rid of it.
.. there is a short learning curve and after a few dives the stability is back and I wouldn't sell it, in fact I got another one
 
The HP100 is closest in size as already stated, but personally I much prefer the Faber over the Worthy tanks. Faber are less negative in the water, a little taller (I am 6' tall so short tanks dont work well for me), and they don't have as much roll in the water.
Good to point this out for the OP. As I also mentioned in my post, preferences vary and there are some differences among manufacturers in trim and buoyancy characteristics. You also bring up the issue of painted (Faber) vs hot-dipped galvanized (Worthington) tanks, which is also a basis for preferences that he should consider.
cmburch:
If you get a large tank, your buddies also need a large tank. No sense in surfacing with a lot of air in your tank because you are limited by your buddies.
Possibly, unless the OP has such a low SAC/RMV (and his post implied that he did) that he can get two dives out of a 130, where his buddy(s) get one dive and have to switch. Plus, I got the impression he is looking for a larger air supply for class-related DM work. The point about portability is important. If the OP is planning to use the tanks for shore dives, with nearby access (parking lot near the entry point or boat dock), then it isn't as much an issue. On the other hand, 'humping' large tanks over distance to get to a shore entry site is not a lot of fun.

As for the trim characteristics and weight, I dive Pressed Steel HP100s, and have never felt any tendancy for them to roll, whether I am in a wetsuit (3mm or 5mm) or drysuit. That may just be me, however, and it does not indiciate that Worthington HP100s would be the same. Notably, I have not personally noticed any roll with single Worthington 130s, either. Then again, I also dive a SS backplate for singles, and that may influence my longitudinal axis stability. Double 130s are another matter entirely, and I can easily turn turtle with them, particularly in a wetsuit, if I am not paying attention.
 
I had Worthington LP 95's and the things were like anvils. I don't see many people with them doubled up anymore. I got a great deal on some Genesis HP 120's. I love those things !!
 
I think the "sherwood" tanks were really PST tanks that were rebranded (Genesis, I think) and sold with Sherwood's name on the valves.

For DIN vs. Yoke, I have owned a fair number of both - now I only own DIN regulators, I have adapters for when/if I end up someplace that only has yoke valves on their tanks. I only think DIN is really necessary if you are now, or think you will in the future, fond of diving in overhead environments; that is wrecks, caves, caverns or even tighter swim-throughs. The reason for this is that the configuration of the DIN valve puts the o-ring which creates your seal inside the coupling where it is more protected from impacts. Yoke valves are quite sturdy, but you can bash them hard enough against a doorframe as to break the seal and create an issue. Odds of it happening? Small, but greater than zero.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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