HP130 for lobster diving and spear fishing

[The Chairman]

My next try will to move the weights (5 lbs each side) to the lower cam bands.

You need weights? OK, you're probably diving dry.

FWIW, I refer to my LP120s as water heaters. I love 'em.

 

[JohnN]

You need weights? OK, you're probably diving dry.

FWIW, I refer to my LP120s as water heaters. I love 'em.

Yepper. Steel BP plus 16 lbs

 

[Doc Harry]

I dive twin steel 130s.

Trim and roll are a real PITA at first, but with some practice it's as easy as diving with an AL80.

It's all about skill.

 

[rjack321]

Around Puget Sound single 130s are one of the most popular tanks. We barely have any charters left and none of them ever had bench rings that posed a problem anyway

 

[rx7diver]

I loved my HP130s, but think my LP120s are even better... especially with a cave fill.

I own one OMS/Faber LP 126 cylinder (8" OD). I bought it new ca. 1998 when I intended to learn to do Tri-Mix dives to ~300 ffw on Great Lakes shipwrecks. Until I purchased a second one, I thought, I would use it as a back-mounted single with a Y-valve. (I had read, somewhere, that Brett Gilliam had used one for one of his record-setting deep air bounce dives.) So, I tried this single, using the original Halcyon STA. Once. Never again, thank you! What an absolutely miserable configuration (for me)!!

I gave up my Tri-Mix plans shortly after that (for unrelated reasons).

Periodically, I dust off the cobwebs that seem to collect too quickly on my LP 126, which sits neglected in my scuba room.

rx7diver

P.S. Hmmm. I've never tried my LP 126 with my SS Freedom Plate. I wonder ...

 

[The Chairman]

If you need a place to store it, I offer you space in my scuba shed.

 

[rx7diver]

If you need a place to store it, I offer you space in my scuba shed.

Ha! I honestly don't know why I still have it! It has always been massive, but it seems to have gotten even more massive every time I move it to dust it. I think I still have the original OMS box that it came to me in...

rx7diver

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

The pair in question are by PST. They’re in hydro, but one needs a Vis. For the price that I’ll be taking them off his hands, I’ll just go ahead and buy them and see what I think of them. Looking forward to checking them out the next time we’re able to get out for some dives.

 

[CT-Rich]

I haven’t read the entire thread, but have a few thoughts.

Keep cylinder diameter in mind my HP 120 is the same as AL80, so they can be switched without adjusting the cam bands. Most steel tanks have similar buoyancy when empty, so switching between types of steel tanks shouldn’t effect your weighting that much. I am 6’7”, so tank length on a 120 is not a huge problem for me. My dive buddy was jealous of my tanks and bought a set for himself. He is shorter and lighter than the OP and has no problem with the length. I have a female friend who is maybe 5’5” and 130 lbs. just for a laugh, I loaned her a 120 for a dive and she loved it.

I would say try out some different tanks. If your SAC is really good, these monster tanks may be over kill.

 

[JohnN]

I haven’t read the entire thread, but have a few thoughts.

Keep cylinder diameter in mind my HP 120 is the same as AL80, so they can be switched without adjusting the cam bands. Most steel tanks have similar buoyancy when empty, so switching between types of steel tanks shouldn’t effect your weighting that much. I am 6’7”, so tank length on a 120 is not a huge problem for me. My dive buddy was jealous of my tanks and bought a set for himself. He is shorter and lighter than the OP and has no problem with the length. I have a female friend who is maybe 5’5” and 130 lbs. just for a laugh, I loaned her a 120 for a dive and she loved it.

I would say try out some different tanks. If your SAC is really good, these monster tanks may be over kill.

Yeah, but, there is no such thing as having too much gas left at the end of a dive