My first tank purchase?

[Venom]

I'm a SoCal local.

Was considering a SHERWOOD ALUMINUM COMPACT NEUTRAL 80.

Any thoughts or recommedations?

TIA
V

 

[Rainer]

I much prefer steel for cold water.

 

[spectrum]

The Neutral Aluminum 80 as a concept is akin to polishing a turd.

Here is my rant: http://home.gwi.net/~spectrum/scuba_al80.html

The Neutral Aluminum 80 has all of the bad atributes of it's AL80 brother with the needed dead weight built into it. On top of that they fill at 3300 PSI so you are entering the realm of the hot/short fill.

The HP steels 80s like the X80 are much better products.

Pete

 

[divinginn]

hard to beat the steel hp tanks,except for price,but think of it as a long term investment,i have two steel 72s that are 30 plus years old and still going strong.

 

[douglasville diver]

Steel works for me, LP 104's or LP 95's, good for over fills good for buoyancy during and at the end of dive [less lead] they seem to last longer and you don't seem to be able to get the cf with aul.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

I'm a SoCal local.
Was considering a SHERWOOD ALUMINUM COMPACT NEUTRAL 80.
Any thoughts or recommedations?
TIA
V

Most people dive aluminum tanks because they are cheap. If you're diving shallow all the time or in warm and relaxing tropical waters with little exposure protection needed, they work fine. I dive 'em and love 'em in Hawaii and Cozumel, when I wearing a 3/2 suit in warm water.
I hate 'em in SoCal, in my 7mm wetsuit or drysuit.

If you are committed to the gorgeous cold water diving of SoCal, I would strongly recommend a high quality steel tank. Couple of top reasons:

• steel tanks are generally negative when empty, which means you don't have to wear extra weight to remain neutral towards the end of the dive. Aluminum tanks become buoyant as they empty. This can make it very difficult to hold a safety stop as you ascend unless you wear more weight.
• hot-dipped galvanized finish on many steel tanks wears very well. No paint to chip.
• You're wearing a 7mm suit, and possibly a drysuit eventually. These exposure suits are very buoyant. The buoyancy of aluminum tanks means you need to wear more lead. Negative steel tanks are great!
• You consume more air in colder water. Your dives may be short now while you're learning, and 80 cu.ft is sufficient. Polish your skills and you'll be making one-hour-plus dives within a year or so. Steel tanks are available in larger volumes so you can do longer dives, and deeper dives, more safely. You always want to have enough gas in your tank that, were your buddy's air supply to fail at the deepest part of your dive, you could both surface safely while breathing on just your tank. hp100 and hp119 and hp130 tanks give you a great range of safe diving.

I started with hp80s, then added an hp100, and finally worked up to hp130s.

To this day, if I must use an AL80, I need to add 4 lbs to my weight belt.

Ask this question of the divers at the Wrinkles dive next Saturday, too. It's always good to hear about other experiences.

Good luck, and Welcome to Scubaboard and the SoCal forum

~~~~
Claudette

 

[Penopolypants]

Another nod for steel in cold water. My aluminum tank is very sad and lonely since I dumped it for steel.

You can get a steel LP85 from divesales for $199.99 - about what you'd pay for the neutral aluminum (with free shippng too).

http://divesales.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/001211.1.064560365818069552#st85

 

[Jibeho]

Don't forget that most if not all HP steels are DOT Special Permit tanks and at the mercy of the manufacture to renew this permit.
See this link
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=157431&highlight=norris

 

[Divin'Papaw]

If you're going to go with aluminum, get the Luxfer. IMHO it's a much better tank. I purchased two Luxfer AL80s about 10 months ago and they have served me well. I finally saved my pennies long enough and recently purchased two Worthington HP100s. I can't wait to get my first dives in with them!

If you can possibly afford it, get steel thanks from the get-go.

 

[Jimmer]

I'll put in another nod for steel tanks for cold water. They really do make a difference.