LP or HP for doubles setup???

[jimdiverman]

And a PST E8-130 weighs 43 lbs, is 26" tall, 8" in diameter and holds 130 cu ft at 3442 psi.

At the same 3442 psi fill pressure an LP 95 holds 123 to 126 cu feet of gas. So in essence, the high pressure tanks only hold 3 or 6 cu ft less at the same 3442 psi fill pressure and weigh about the same or a few pounds less depending on the tanks being compared and the variety of tanks allows you to choose a shorter/taller/fatter/thinner tank depending on your trim needs.

And for only an inch or two more in height than an LP 95 and at the same basic 43 lb weight and 8" diamter as the PST LP 95, you can get the E8-130 with an honest 130 cu feet at 3442 psi.

So in short, if it were me and I were considering the LP 95, I'd either go with the E8-130 that could legally get 130 cu ft anywhere (instead of just in north Florida). If 200 cu ft were enough and I did not need 240 to 260 cu ft, I'd save 8 to 22 lbs per set of doubles and go with E7-100's.

I went with the Pressed Steel HP130s. I wanted to be legal for diving anywhere. In Florida earlier this month I was getting 3600 PSI after the tank cooled down. My gas consumption is not bad, and since I can handle these tanks, I can get some serious penetration into a cave before calling it.

 

[H2Andy]

steel LP's all the way

with a good cave fill, you get way more bang for your cc

(of course, living in north Florida helps)

 

[texdiveguy]

Steel LP

 

[Bowtie22]

Wow... A lot of different opinions on here and good arguments that go both ways .... I am not worried about the fill here because I can fill my own but when I go out of the area a need a fill that could be more important because I known there are a lot of shops that will not over fill anything (some shops won't even give LP's w/ the plus ratings an overfill to the plus limits).....

Now since I am looking at the overall differences between LP95's, HP100's, and now the PST E-8 130's I think that I really like the PST's..... They seem to have the best buoyancy cartelistic and the size and weight are very reasonable compared to the other tanks. I originally wasn't considering such a large cf tank but it is basically the same size and weight as the others....... Now if the price was just a little cheaper I wouldn't feel so guilty after purchasing a set....

Any objections to this choice???? If so why????

Thanks for the input so far.....

 

[DA Aquamaster]

That's pretty much it. In the past, Lp tanks made more sense as if you could get a technically illegal cavefill to 3500 psi you could get a lot of gas into a lighter low pressure tank.

But with the introduction of exempt/special permit 3442 psi tanks, you can legally get essentially the same LP sized tank filled to effectively 3500-3600 psi anywhere.

In that regard, LP tansk just don't make much sense anymore, except perhaps for their much lower purchase price -which in and of it self says something about where the demand is currently at.

LP 95's and LP 108's do have a following as they have more or less been the gold standard in cave diving and many of those divers will not change what still works for them - but if you need a tank that can be legally filled to 3500 psi outside of North Florida, the special permit tanks make a lot more sense.

A cautionary comment is that PST has sucked for the last few years in terms of actually making and delivering new E series tanks, so they can be hard to find. Production is in the process of being moved offshore to China but eventually they should start shipping new tanks.

Worthington has done a verty good job of picking up the slack by producing essentially identical X series tanks and I suspect they will retain the lion's share of the market.

 

[H2Andy]

In that regard, LP tansk just don't make much sense anymore, except perhaps for their much lower purchase price

ah, yeah ... that's a pretty significant "except"



i had a pair of Worthington LP85's that i loved ... cheap and very utilitarian

 

[jimdiverman]

ah, yeah ... that's a pretty significant "except"



i had a pair of Worthington LP85's that i loved ... cheap and very utilitarian

I just bought a used pair of 130s from Cathy at Dive Outpost for a smoking hot price. It came with bands and a manifold. The deals are out there. You just have to look and ask around.

 

[H2Andy]

I just bought a used pair of 130s from Cathy at Dive Outpost

god i love that woman

 

[DA Aquamaster]

ah, yeah ... that's a pretty significant "except"



i had a pair of Worthington LP85's that i loved ... cheap and very utilitarian

BP, wing, two back gas regs, 3 deco/stage regs, spg's, dry suit, cannister light, reels, fins masks, etc, etc, etc. Add it all up and then add a couple sets of doubles and the difference in price between LP and HP doubles ($100 to $200 per set) is a pretty small percentage of the total.

What you get for the extra $ is the ability to get a lot more gas for a given weight and size anywhere outside N FL.

So it's not really significant at all.

 

[RAD Diver]

If you think the only place to get an overfill is N. Fl. I can argue that point.
My LP 108's & 95's went out on a boat in Va. Beach yesterday with 3800psi. The LDS owner just lets you know that he doesn't want to hear any whining about a hydro failure.
Not that I have any problem with the OP's choice as I believe that is the tank I said he should consider at the end of my 1st post in this discussion.