Need advice on tanks.

[SeaArch1]

I have tried searching other posts and cannot find what I'm looking for. I am in the market to buy tanks and cannot make up my mind and need some help. First I will give some information about myself i am 5'9" 160lbs, with my DSS single tank rig ss/bp and an AL80 in fresh water I wear 5lbs on my belt, in a 7mil in freshwater I wear 15lbs. I am trying to decide on what tank would be right for me, air consumption is not necessarily a problem because i seem to do pretty good, but more bottom time would also be good. I would prefer a steel tank but am having a difficult time deciding on what size and whether i should get HP or LP, HP fills around where I live are not a problem. I am currently interested in the X8-119 or 100 but am afraid I may end up grossly overweight. I would really appreciate anyones advice on what would be right for me. Thanks

 

[David P]

if you go with the 119, you will drop 6 lbs from your belt in salt water. I have this tank and honestly, its alot of air! Except for when I do two dives on one tank, I've never come up with less than 1500 psi. With an Aluminum 80 on your normal dives, what is the reason you come up, low on air, or NDL? One other comment I'll make is the diameter of the tanks, regular 80s are 7", the HP 119 is 8". If you go on a boat that just swap out tanks instead of refilling (Ive been on a few) then you will have to readjust your cam straps. Not that it is a big deal, but if you go with a 7" HP steel, its just that much easier. Plus some boats have funky tank supports that wont hold 8" tanks.

My recomendation is go with the HP (PST or Worthingtongs so you can get the hot dip galvanize)100. Even with a fill of only 3000 psi youll have around 87cubic feet.

 

[paulithepin]

the lp steel 95's have served me well. Rent before you buy to ensure trim and weighting are correct! No one around here can fill to the pressures to maximize the use of HP tanks. For what its worth....Enjoy your research as well as your diving!
PC

 

[DiverJP]

FWIW, I looked closely at the Blue Steel, LLC tanks at Beneath the Sea this year, and they look to be very, very nice tanks. They are the distributor for Faber steel tanks in the U.S. now. They offer DOT exempt HP as well as LP & IMHO, the tanks were a lot nicer than the Worthington's a couple of aisles over. Regarding PST, my LDS tells me that PST is bankrupt & going out of business... Don't know if that's true, but at any rate, the Faber tanks still looked better to me. I personally like the HP steel 100, but Blue Steel also offers a neat little HP 80. Just because you have a HP tank doesn't neccessarily mean that you have to get a HP fill... As a poster above pointed out, even with a HP 100 filled to only 3000 psi you still get a lot of air. If you anticipate being in an area where you can only get LP fills (i.e. around 2400 psi, like on CA dive boats), I think the 8" diameter HP 117 would be a better bet as a LP fill on that tank will still give you almost 95 cu ft. They also offer a 7.25" diameter HP 120, but that is a rather tall tank, at least for me. You can check out all the specs on the tanks at the website http://www.bluesteelllc.com/ and the Blue Steel rep at the show told me that they are currently shipping tanks with no backorder problems. As far as weighting goes, I can offer that with a full 3mm wetsuit, a Zeagle Ranger, and a HP steel 100 in freshwater, I sink easily with no additional weight required but have no difficulty with trim or neutral bouyancy. (I'm 5'6" & 140 lbs) Hope this helps...

JP

 

[SeaArch1]

Thanks to all those who replied for the advice. However, where I live there is no where I can rent steel cylinders, only AL80's. So anyone else who is around my size I would still appreciate more info on different choices. I am starting to lean towards a HP 100 or an equivelant size LP tank. Thanks

 

[Charlie99]

Just keep in mind that if you buddy has an 80 cu ft tank, that going to something like a 119 doesn't do you much good. In that case, you can just make life easier for yourself by getting a tank that has the lightest total weight, such as HP80 or HP100. (By lowest total weight, I mean the total of tank + lead that you need when using it)

So you have to think about both where and what sort of dives you will be doing AND who you will be diving with and what tanks they will have.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thanks to all those who replied for the advice. However, where I live there is no where I can rent steel cylinders, only AL80's. So anyone else who is around my size I would still appreciate more info on different choices. I am starting to lean towards a HP 100 or an equivelant size LP tank. Thanks

Go with a Faber (Blue Steel) 95. It's about 6 pounds negative, so you can take that off your weight belt.

It's a great tank, beautifully balanced, and being low pressure, you'll be able to get a great fill anywhere. Assuming you don't develop a tast for "cave fills" (hugely over pressure), it will outlast you and your heirs.

Terry