Large Capacity Tanks and Doubles

[Scuba-Stu]

Wondering what peoples opinions are of diving big tanks (HP 130's and 150's) vs doubling up lets say some lp 77s. The redundancy of the doubles is nice, but im also curious to know which option you think trims out better? which option has more 'roll-over' potential?

 

[Jimmer]

Wondering what peoples opinions are of diving big tanks (HP 130's and 150's) vs doubling up lets say some lp 77s. The redundancy of the doubles is nice, but im also curious to know which option you think trims out better? which option has more 'roll-over' potential?

I prefer the doubles 90% of the time. I do a lot of dives between 100 and 130 feet using my double 72's, and I couldn't be happier. I like them partially for the redundancy, but also the balance. 2 tanks, side by side on your back are more stable than one large one right in the centre.

 

[TSandM]

I love my doubles in the water, but they are a major PITA on land. They're hard to schlep in and out of the dive shop for fills, hard to get in and out of a car or truck, heavy to carry as you walk to the water, and hard to carry up a ladder to get back on the boat. I wouldn't want to do heavy surf entries in them, either. For convenience and agility, a 130 has them beat. For pleasure of actually DIVING, I'll take the doubles, because of their wonderful stability.

 

[Tortuga68]

Doubles are better hands down, both for redundancy and trim - if you have your own and they are corectly set up

If you borrow/rent a rig and it doesn't fit/suit you, you will be miserable

Oh, and since you're a guy, you get +10 butchness by lugging them out of water/up the boat ladder

 

[Tanked]

Oh, and since you're a guy, you get +10 butchness by lugging them out of water/up the boat ladder

Hmmm I was gonna say thats the reason I DON'T dive doubles cause i don't want to drag them up the ladder. Instead i'll just say that i prefer my single 120's. That way I can still be macho. Right?

 

[WD8CDH]

I would say 99.9% of the time, I prefer smaller multiple tanks over a single of the same capacity.

In Europe, they have some sweet size tanks that are particularly nice for replacing a large single. They are 5.5" diameter and range from 50 to 75 CF.

In the US, Double 45's or double 72's make nice rigs.

With custom manifolds, there are more choices. I have triple 20's, double 35's, double 40's, quad 20's, triple 35's and triple 40's. They all dive nicer than similar capacity singles.

 

[battles2a5]

The only time I dive singles is warm water vacation diving. Otherwise, I'm in doubles. I have a couple of sets of HP130's, a set of LP108s, and LP85's. The 130's and 85's feel very similar in the water in terms of trim bouyancy when empty. I really can't tell the difference in size until I get out of the water. The 108's on the other hand are monsters. Doubles definitely trim out better when set up correctly. I wouldn't worry about the "roll over" effect. You might turtle once or twice when learning how to use them but it should bot be an issue once you get the hang of it.

 

[Jimmer]

I would say 99.9% of the time, I prefer smaller multiple tanks over a single of the same capacity.

In Europe, they have some sweet size tanks that are particularly nice for replacing a large single. They are 5.5" diameter and range from 50 to 75 CF.

In the US, Double 45's or double 72's make nice rigs.

With custom manifolds, there are more choices. I have triple 20's, double 35's, double 40's, quad 20's, triple 35's and triple 40's. They all dive nicer than similar capacity singles.

I have both double 45's and 72's and I love them both. My 72's get the most use, simply because of my average depth dives in Lake Erie are 100 feet or so, but the 45's are so nice.

I still want to see a picture of your quad 20's, that sounds really interesting.

 

[TSandM]

Forgot to mention that most shops will also charge you double to fill doubles, even if they are putting in the same volume of gas that would fill a large single tank.

 

[mwilding]

I would say 99.9% of the time, I prefer smaller multiple tanks over a single of the same capacity.

In Europe, they have some sweet size tanks that are particularly nice for replacing a large single. They are 5.5" diameter and range from 50 to 75 CF.

In the US, Double 45's or double 72's make nice rigs.

With custom manifolds, there are more choices. I have triple 20's, double 35's, double 40's, quad 20's, triple 35's and triple 40's. They all dive nicer than similar capacity singles.

I'd love to see some pics of those set-ups!