NEW to BP/W...need tank matching advice

[Curbs]

Hello everyone, Curbs here. I’ve been lurking for a while, but this is my first post, so bear with my loooong intro.

My question deals with a new BP/W I just purchased, and what tank to get with it…so turn away now if Wings are a HOT topic for you. (Which it usually seems to be on here.)

My introduction: Recently certified, went through AOW & Enriched (PADI). I jumped in head first (as most do with a new “hobby”) and bought it all…BC, regs, cpu, etc… After a few weeks of diving my BC, I just felt like I had too much CRAP. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great BC as far as BC’s go, but I just felt like there had to be an easier way. (I’m an engineer by trade and a minimalist by nature.)

That’s when work took me in to the heart of Cave country. I had a job in NW FL and figured I’d try a “fresh” experience and do a spring dive. I stopped by the local dive shop to rent a tank and my whole world got turned on end. As soon as I saw the Hog rig, I knew that’s what I was really looking for. So after much research and forum lurkings, I found I REALLY liked the Halcyon wing, but couldn’t justify the price compared to similar setups on the net. Now fast forward a few weeks….

When I went back today to try on a single tank wing, they had a “blemish” batch on the floor. (ie scratch-n-dent sale). Anyway, I walked out with a full Halcyon rig for the price of a mid-grade BC or a similar competitors’ BP/W. SOooo STOKED!!! Got the rig I wanted at a price I couldn’t turn down!!!

Now my question comes down to weighting. I live beach-side in East Florida, so most of my dives are done on shallow Atlantic reefs between 30-80ft with either no rubber or a 3mm. With my traditional BC, a 3mm suit & a rented AL80, I dive with just 10lbs & have no problems on an empty tank. Now that I’m going to throw on a 6lb BP and with extra rigging, I’m already at about 8-10lbs of “unditchable” weight.

So I’m in the market for tanks, and I’m really leaning towards steel, but when I do the math, it seems like I may be severely over-weighted. Should I ditch the whole steel tank idea all together? Should I get an aluminum back-plate, or should I get the steel tank & just dive with a mostly full wing?

Thanks in advance, and see you guys in another atmosphere...

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Now my question comes down to weighting. I live beach-side in East Florida, so most of my dives are done on shallow Atlantic reefs between 30-80ft with either no rubber or a 3mm. With my traditional BC, a 3mm suit & a rented AL80, I dive with just 10lbs & have no problems on an empty tank. Now that I’m going to throw on a 6lb BP and with extra rigging, I’m already at about 8-10lbs of “unditchable” weight.

So I’m in the market for tanks, and I’m really leaning towards steel, but when I do the math, it seems like I may be severely over-weighted. Should I ditch the whole steel tank idea all together? Should I get an aluminum back-plate, or should I get the steel tank & just dive with a mostly full wing?

Thanks in advance, and see you guys in another atmosphere...

For this kind of diving with a steel backplate you should probably go with an aluminum tank. A steel would be just too heavy. BP/W users who dive your profiles with a steel tank use either an aluminum plate or a plastic/kydex plate. I think you're spot on to be worried about a steel bp and a steel tank given the kind of exposure protection you're using.

 

[crpntr133]

I agree I don't think I would do it with a steel. Not saying that it can't be done but you have already done the math. Either switch the plate or switch the tank.

 

[battles2a5]

Yep, you are right on w/ your assessment. With a steel BP, I can dive a AL80 in salt water w/ a 3mil and no weight. A 5 mil in fresh water. If I were to dive a steel tank, I would swap out to an AL/ABS backplate to make up the difference. I wouldn't swim around overly negative w/ a full wing. That's counterproductive to the streamlining benefits a BP/W affords. Stick w/ your instincts on this one. If you are diving 30-80ft, AL tanks should be fine for now.

 

[MBH]

My single tank rig that I dive wet is an aluminium BP, 32lb wing, and a Worthington X-8119. With a 5mm full suit I wear 3 lbs ditchable weight (so I can hold a stop with a near empty tank). It is a "balanced" rig in that I can do two things with it; #1- with a full tank and no air in my wing, I can easily swim it up from depth, and #2- with almost no air in my tank I can hold a 10' stop.

This same rig with a SS BP, 5mm fullsuit, and no ditchable weight is "unbalanced" because it takes too great an effort to swim it up with a full tank and a deflated wing. I would only dive this rig with a drysuit.

Oh yeah, welcome to the board.
Brent

 

[TN Traveler]

My single tank rig that I dive wet is an aluminium BP, 32lb wing, and a Worthington X-8119. With a 5mm full suit I wear 3 lbs ditchable weight (so I can hold a stop with a near empty tank). It is a "balanced" rig in that I can do two things with it; #1- with a full tank and no air in my wing, I can easily swim it up from depth, and #2- with almost no air in my tank I can hold a 10' stop.

This same rig with a SS BP, 5mm fullsuit, and no ditchable weight is "unbalanced" because it takes too great an effort to swim it up with a full tank and a deflated wing. I would only dive this rig with a drysuit.

Oh yeah, welcome to the board.
Brent

Is this in fresh or salt water?

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I do similar dives using both AL and steel plates. With the AL plate, I need about 3 lbs, and I need no weight with the steel plate. I don't have any issues with diving with no ditchable weight, so most of the time I use the steel plate, which leave me perfectly weighted. If I were diving in what I'll call a "PADI or training environment," I would wear the AL plate so I have a weight belt.

 

[RJP]

Go for an AL 100.

Though if it were me I'd go steel HP 119 with no ditchable weight. If you can't swim that rig up from 30-80ft you shouldn't be diving.

Also, I hope you're probably now seeing that you should have asked this question before buying the plate.

The most expensive gear you can get is the stuff you buy INSTEAD of the stuff you should have bought!

 

[Randy43068]

Actually for my single tank kit I use an HP120 with a SS backplate and Pioneer wing. I don't have to carry much weight on the belt and I trim out pretty nicely. Trim for me is much better with the 120 than with the AL80.

 

[Curbs]

I really appreciate all the advice, it confirmed what I was thinking.

And I agree with RJP as far as buying equipment "INSTEAD of the stuff you should have bought!"... I've been down that road before for sure!

But this time I was still in the research phase and I actually wasn't planning on walking home with anything that day. But because of the "blemish" units, the price was so good that I can still pick up an aluminum plate and the total cost for the rig with both SS BP & AL BP will be cheaper than a new Halcy rig with one plate.

Well, as soon as the weather clears I'm going to try it with both steel and aluminum tanks, and if the steel tank just seems like too much, I'll pick up the AL backplate.

Thanks again for the help!