I don't know what your point is.. If its about lp95's and thicker wet suits, then ok. My point was,,, for me a shorty 3mm with a lp95 allows me to place the tank where I can get to the valves and still trim out. with a full suit you would have to lower the tank to balance out the extra lift from the suit on the legs. the more suit you have the longer tank you need to shift weight lower and still reach valves. IN that case the lp85's may be better or start looking for heavier fins. OW has nothing to do with diving singles or doubles or side mount. If I have missed something help me out.
LP 95 or no?
- Thread starter Ready4Launch
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lv2dive
Formerly known as KatePNAtl
First of all, I agree with everyone above who has said, try before you buy. There is no good way to know what works well for you until you try them.
I am going to speak to my experience in *doubles,* but the overall concept is the same. When I was considering buying tanks, I was told 95's would be a great tank for me, bc they were short tanks and I am short(ish) at 5'5". Not having dove a lot of different tanks, I assumed the people who told me that knew what they were talking about and I purchased 95's. I had a hard time getting and maintaining trim in the 95's - I was really head heavy BECAUSE they were short and I didn't have the body length to compensate. When I tried 85's it was a whole different ball game. I sold the 95's and now dive the longer 85's and 104s/130s.
But - again - different tanks work for different people. So if you can try some out before buying, that is the best solution!
I am going to speak to my experience in *doubles,* but the overall concept is the same. When I was considering buying tanks, I was told 95's would be a great tank for me, bc they were short tanks and I am short(ish) at 5'5". Not having dove a lot of different tanks, I assumed the people who told me that knew what they were talking about and I purchased 95's. I had a hard time getting and maintaining trim in the 95's - I was really head heavy BECAUSE they were short and I didn't have the body length to compensate. When I tried 85's it was a whole different ball game. I sold the 95's and now dive the longer 85's and 104s/130s.
But - again - different tanks work for different people. So if you can try some out before buying, that is the best solution!
I used single 95s for a long time, and I didn't have any problem with them, except that they are darned heavy! They aren't uncommon tanks up here in the PNW -- they hold a reasonable amount of gas and they aren't as unwieldy as the 130s. I prefer HP100s, which are smaller and lighter, but there's nothing wrong with 95s. Until you double them, that is.
I love my LP95s doubled - they are my favorite backmount set, and the only set I kept doubled up when I broke everything else down for sidemount. They ARE quite heavy, but they give a metric crap-ton of gas when pumped to high pressure. As a single tank, though, I'm not sure it would be my choice...for a few reasons:
1) You say you are boat diving a lot - since the LP95 is an 8" tank, do you know if they fit the tank holders on the boats you go out on frequently? Most boats around me are not set up for 8" tanks, so I prefer not to use them for boat diving
2) While I am talking about diameters - the wider profile of the LP95 is evident in the water. It adds to your swimming resistance. Not a ton...but it does.
3) LP tanks are larger and heavier than their equivalent sized HP tanks. Unless you can get your LP steels pumped to HP pressures, you are just lugging around extra tank. I LOVE my Worthington HP100's for single tank diving for this reason - they are smaller than an AL80, but pack more gas. They are also the same diameter as AL80s, so no problems like I described in #1, and have more gas than my LP95s at normal fill pressures
4) Do you really NEED 130cf of gas for your single tank diving needs? If no, then consider a smaller and lighter HP tank. If yes, maybe it's worth considering a smaller set of doubles. For example - if you had a small set of doubled LP50's, you would have something that holds as much gas as your LP95 (pretty equivalent volume at equal pressures), AND they are about the same weight, AND you gain redundancy from a doubles set, AND you are building helpful experience if you are looking to move to tech in the future. Oh...and they are delightfully streamlined and easy to swim around.
OP
Ready4Launch
Contributor
In response to #4, where do you come up with 130cf? I've dove HP100's and I do like them, but I would prefer a low pressure tank. I'm not looking for doubles. I am going out Thursday on the Peace boat, and will look into the diameter. I knew that might be an issue, but I think the boats here can accomodate.
---------- Post added August 18th, 2015 at 11:16 AM ----------
I'm using about 22-25 lbs across all the different tanks I've been diving...Al80, Steel 80, HP100. Zeagle Ranger.
StefinSB
Contributor
You may want to check your spreadsheet. The Faber LP85 DVB is 2.38 positive empty without valve (and not with as stated in the table) according to the Faber website.
For clarification, please revisit the specs found at Blue Steel Scuba - Cylinder Specs +2.32 for the LP85DVB is correct.
Weight and length do not include valve or boot. Buoyancy is in salt water, but a cylinder without a valve is not buoyant, it will fill and sink.
Weight and length do not include valve or boot. Buoyancy is in salt water, but a cylinder without a valve is not buoyant, it will fill and sink.
I'm talking about the volume (roughly) that the LP95s would hold if they were pumped up to HP pressures of 3500 psi, rather than their rated pressure of 2640. This is not done everywhere, but is a rather common thing down here in Florida.
An LP 95 is supposed to hold 95 cu ft at 2640 psi - so if you pump them to 3500 like you would a standard fill on a high pressure steel, the math works like this: 95/2640*3500=125.9 cu ft @ 3500 psi. I rounded up when I said 130 cu ft.
I was only mentioning this as a follow up to my point #3 - if you are not having your LP tanks pumped to higher pressure, you can get more air in a smaller tank with a tank designed to be HP. LP tanks really only get an advantage when you are pumping them up to higher pressures, allowing them to hold a much larger volume of gas.
The reference you provide says buoyancy in salt water TANK ONLY. I spoke to a faber distributer about this in the past and they said that it was with out valve because the valves in the us are lighter than the overseas valves. I want to say that us valves are 1.5# and overseas are 2.5#. Of course then you put on H valves and the weight goes up.
Then there is the huron numbers and they say their buoyancy is with valves. I found that my lp 95 floated with the valve on it. even though it says it is -1.2. That like I said before faber said that was because the numbers were with heavier non us valves in them.
*Empty weights do not include valves (except Pressed Steel and OMS), which would add 1.5 - 2.5 lbs, but buoyancy figures do.
Then there is the huron numbers and they say their buoyancy is with valves. I found that my lp 95 floated with the valve on it. even though it says it is -1.2. That like I said before faber said that was because the numbers were with heavier non us valves in them.
| OMS 85 | 2400 +10% | 85 | 7 | 26 | 31 | -6.7 | |
| Faber 95 | 2400 +10% | 95 | 8 | 23.8 | 37.2 | -1.2 | -8.325 |
| PST 95 | 2400 +10% | 96.6 | 8 | 24.75 | 43.8 | -3.3 | -10.4 |
*Empty weights do not include valves (except Pressed Steel and OMS), which would add 1.5 - 2.5 lbs, but buoyancy figures do.
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