HP130 for lobster diving and spear fishing

[CT-Rich]

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

With my 120s I am seldom coming out of the water with under 1000 psi and the extra weight of a 130 would not change that. I have no desire to twin up my 120s because they would be too tough on my knees and I doubt I want to spend 4 hrs at 40’ for the extra work. My daughter uses Al80s and always has more air than me after a dive. Bigger would serve her no purpose.

The OP has more plans than experience and may find volume is not the only criteria for choosing a tank size.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

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.

These will absolutely be overkill for 95%+ of my dives. The only reason that I’m going to do this is that they’re going to be cheap ($100/each), it’s an easy way to get ahold of two more steel tanks, and I know they’re been serviced properly (my friend is meticulous).

The diameter is really the only thing I know I won’t be thrilled with. I have a second BP and I’ve been thinking about getting a second wing. I may just do that and adjust the second BP/W straps for the larger diameter tanks.

 

[grf88]

With my 120s I am seldom coming out of the water with under 1000 psi and the extra weight of a 130 would not change that. I have no desire to twin up my 120s because they would be too tough on my knees and I doubt I want to spend 4 hrs at 40’ for the extra work. My daughter uses Al80s and always has more air than me after a dive. Bigger would serve her no purpose.

The OP has more plans than experience and may find volume is not the only criteria for choosing a tank size.

The empty cylinders weigh about the same, the only extra weight would be the 10 cu.ft. of air that is less than one pound if you did fill them to capacity. You would also need less lead if you needed any to dive.

 

[grf88]

These will absolutely be overkill for 95%+ of my dives. The only reason that I’m going to do this is that they’re going to be cheap ($100/each), it’s an easy way to get ahold of two more steel tanks, and I know they’re been serviced properly (my friend is meticulous).

The diameter is really the only thing I know I won’t be thrilled with. I have a second BP and I’ve been thinking about getting a second wing. I may just do that and adjust the second BP/W straps for the larger diameter tanks.

That is crazy cheap and I am confident you will like them.

 

[grf88]

Correction. I was comparing two charts, one for full tanks and the other for empty. The 130's are heavier.

Edit. Now looking at another chart which shows similar empty weight. Maybe somebody has the correct numbers.

 

[tmassey]

You rang?

Updated SCUBA tank specifications list -- in PDF and spreadsheet

Comparing apples to apples with PST tanks, HP130s are nearly 6 pounds heavier, and 1.3 L larger water volume than HP120’s.

Diving singles, I would allow trim and body geometry to determine whether I used 120 or 130s: would you do better with a shorter tank or with a longer tank? With doubles, I really, really like my 120s because of my long torso, and I can tell the difference in resistance with the larger diameter tanks.

But for that price, you can’t go wrong.

ETA: clarified tanks above.

 

[grf88]

You rang?

Updated SCUBA tank specifications list -- in PDF and spreadsheet

Comparing apples to apples with PST tanks, 130s are nearly 6 pounds heavier, and 1.3 L larger water volume.

Diving singles, I would allow trim and body geometry to determine whether I used 120 or 130s: would you do better with a shorter tank or with a longer tank? With doubles, I really, really like my 120s because of my long torso, and I can tell the difference in resistance with the larger diameter tanks.

But for that price, you can’t go wrong.

Is that comparing them to the LP120's or the HP120's. The LP look to be a similar weight and I thought that what was being referred to. Thanks for the link to the files.

Edit: On re-reading I see it was the HP120's that were being referred to.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

You rang?

Updated SCUBA tank specifications list -- in PDF and spreadsheet

Comparing apples to apples with PST tanks, HP130s are nearly 6 pounds heavier, and 1.3 L larger water volume than HP120’s.

Diving singles, I would allow trim and body geometry to determine whether I used 120 or 130s: would you do better with a shorter tank or with a longer tank? With doubles, I really, really like my 120s because of my long torso, and I can tell the difference in resistance with the larger diameter tanks.

But for that price, you can’t go wrong.

ETA: clarified tanks above.

I’d like a pair of HP120’s at some point. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a deal on used ones. I can’t say that I’ve seen any pop-up locally that weren’t pretty steep.

 

[iyakonboats]

Ok, I'm sure you're getting a lot of opinions. For us, we go steel, hands down. We carry far less weight than most people and trim is a lot better, and easier, to achieve. Personally, I saw no benefits to buying Aluminum other than they're cheaper and may require less care, but we take care of all of our stuff.

We have eight tanks, four HP100s and four HP133s. We can both get the same dive time on the 100s and 133s in shallow 50-60' and even our "deeper" dives of 70-90'. So what we do is simple, we use the 100s for shallow and we like to use the 133s for deeper dives. The only caveat with the HP133s is they're 1.49lbs positive at around 1000lbs and under, but we notice it around 1500psi, you'll realize you're becoming more bouyant. So with that caveat, you can carry an additional 2lbs if weight, or like we did, make your own weights at 0.5lb increments, so we just carry and additional 1lb of weight, instead if two, that additional 0.49lb left over is really nothing, good breathing control takes care of that.

Consider this, for two HP100s with an XS Scuba PVD valve, much nicer than those BlueSteel valves, runs about $800-$950 for two tanks. If you plan on doing a lot of shore diving, or know you'll do a lot of boat diving and can recoup the cost of the tank rentals, then go ahead and get you some tanks. But just remember, you'll need annual VIPs, likely need to be "O2 cleaned" if you're doing pp fill Nitrox or want to run pure O2 for tech diving. Also, every five years you'll need to hydro the tank.

For us, it was a no brainer to own tanks considering our diving frequentcy and our future plans. It's a big investment, so don't go crazy up front, start with two, maybe three, tanks and the better bang for buck would be the HP100s. Work on your breathing and improve your SAC rate the best way you can. You can, if you want, buy a pair of HP100s and a single 133 if you want, to try it.

If you buy them, DO NOT get those stupid rubber boots, they're a PITA. Some People will mention back issues, if you have them, consider that. If not, I suggest you look into doing Yoga and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to prevent back issues as much as possible. Good luck, be safe.

 

[CT-Rich]

Even though I dive steel 120s, I am going point out something in favor of the AL 80s. If you have back/disk issues and are interested in just standard recreational dives, steel tanks are hanging a lot of weight from your shoulders and the center of gravity is much farther up and out when walking with a steel tank.

Yes, you wear more lead with an AL tank, but it is either on your waist (belt) or chest (pouches). Keeping the center of gravity lower and more towards your natural center of mass. This may spare your back. An important part of using a big tank is that you don’t want to create a situation where you aggravate a back problem because everyone says bigger is better. If you have disk issues a steel 120 or 133 may be a poor choice.

I already expect that I will ditch my 120s when I get into my mid 60s.