Norris Tanks (Sport Chalet)

[tau]

Hi guys,

I'm getting ready to purchase a HP 80 from Sports Chalet. The only brand they carry at this time is Norris. PST are out of stock until late September. Has anyone here heard of Norris Tanks? Any inputs.

I just don't want to end up buying a piece of junk.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Hi guys,

I'm getting ready to purchase a HP 80 from Sports Chalet. The only brand they carry at this time is Norris. PST are out of stock until late September. Has anyone here heard of Norris Tanks? Any inputs.

I just don't want to end up buying a piece of junk.

I was in a Sport Chalet store the other day and looked at the Norris tanks. I own both Faber and PST steel tanks as well as Catalina and Luxfer aluminum tanks, and for my money I would probably not choose to spend my money on one of the Norris tanks. Having said this please remember that my opinion is purely subjective.

The finish on the tanks does not seem as good as the PST tanks. Both of the brands in question seem to be hot dip galvanized this is a good point for comparison. All of my regulators are DIN so the fact that the Norris tanks come with valves that I would need to immediately replace is another concern for me.

Pressed Steel and Faber both have long histories of making SCUBA cylinders, perhaps Norris does as well, but I am not aware of such a history. In the United States SCUBA cylinders are regulated by the Department of Transportation and I am sure that the Norris cylinders have passed all of the necessary requirements, so I would not worry about the safety of the cylinders.

Personally I make rather conservative choices when it comes to SCUBA equipment, I tend to buy established brands and proven designs, but then I also dive in underwater caves and go deeper and stay longer than recreational limits allow, so I place an extremely high value on quality gear.

Look around at other tanks in other shops, compare the Norris tank with Faber and Pressed Steel tanks. I would also consider a tank that will give you whaterver volume of gas you want if that tank is only able to be filled to 3000 PSI. If you are able to get a full 3442 PSI then that additional volume is a nice bonus, but on a dive boat you might only be able to get the tank filled to 3000, so you should consider that volume as your base volume for the tank. Below are some common tanks and their volumes at their rated fill pressures and (in the case of high pressure tanks) the volume at 3000 PSI. In the case of the Low Pressure tanks I have also shown the volume at only 2400 PSI.

Aluminum 80 at 3000 PSI is 77.4 cubic feet of gas (not 80 as the name implies)

Low pressure 85 at 2640 PSI is 85 cubic feet of gas
Low pressure 85 at 2400 PSI is 77 cubic feet of gas

Low pressure 95 at 2640 PSI is 95 cubic feet of gas
Low pressure 95 at 2400 PSI is 86 cubic feet of gas

High pressure 80 at 3442 PSI is 80 cubic feet of gas
High pressure 80 at 3000 PSI is 70 cubic feet of gas

High pressure 100 at 3442 PSI is 100 cubic feet of gas
High pressure 100 at 3000 PSI is 87 cubic feet of gas

High pressure 120 at 3442 PSI is 120 cubic feet of gas
High pressure 120 at 3000 PSI is 105 cubic feet of gas

These numbers are approximate but do serve to illustrate how much gas you will have at either rated fill pressures, or 3000 PSI if that is lower than the rated fill pressure.

If you use less gas than all of your dive buddies or really need a tank that is physically small then the HP 80 might be the way to go, but consider all of the ramifications of your choice before you spend a couple of hundred dollars.

Mark Vlahos

 

[scubacalifornia]

Hi guys,

I'm getting ready to purchase a HP 80 from Sports Chalet. The only brand they carry at this time is Norris. PST are out of stock until late September. Has anyone here heard of Norris Tanks? Any inputs.

I just don't want to end up buying a piece of junk.

You might consider posting this in the equipment/tanks section of Scubaboard, as you may get a lot more responses. Also, consider searching that thread for Norris tanks, as I'm sure you're not the first person to inquire about them. I see those tanks every week I go into Sport Chalet for fills, and I've wondered the same. I heard from an employee awhile back that Sport Chalet had a falling out with Pressed Steel and was exercising it's clout as a large PST retailer by dropping their product line. PST has also had production delays for the last year or so. I got one of the last E8-130's before they disappeared off the market last summer. I can tell you that I love my PST tank, and the E8 series is worth waiting for. Please let us know what you find out about Norris.
Thanks,
Kevin

 

[OldmanandtheC]

Latest delivery date on tank #1 is Aug 26th (Ordered early July) This is Tank #2, ordered on Monday from Diveriteexpress. I have seen E8-120's and E7-80's at several sites, but wanted matched tanks.

Status: In Transit -
Rescheduled
Rescheduled Delivery: Aug 9, 2005

Shipped to: ALHAMBRA, CA, US
Shipped or Billed on: Aug 1, 2005



Tracking Number: 1Z 93Y 05A 03 9500 584 0
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 39.00 Lbs
Note: Your package is in the UPS system and has a rescheduled delivery date of Aug 9, 2005.

 

[ericrd]

I would not put the tracking # on the forum - some smart guy could convince ups to ship to a different address....

Tracking Number: 1Z 93Y 05A 03 9500 XXXX
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 39.00 Lbs
Note: Your package is in the UPS system and has a rescheduled delivery date of Aug 9, 2005.

 

[Ann Marie]

I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions here:

First: the HP Norris tanks come with DIN valves. The LP Norris tanks come with yoke valves.

Second: PST and Sport Chalet did not have a falling out. PST can not meet the supply demand of Sport Chalet. PST cylinders can still be special ordered at Sport Chalet. (As far as the pricing goes, Norris is less expensive than PST. A Norris HP80 runs about $200)

Third: Norris has been around for quite some time. They have been around for more than 60 years and have been making SCUBA cylinders since the early 80s.

I have both Norris and PST tanks. The weighting characteristics are very similar, but the Norris tank is slightly larger (maybe an inch taller).

Cramer Decker (Sherwood and Akona) distributes Norris as well as Catalina AL tanks.


Hope this helps. :10:

Ann Marie
SCUBA Department Head, Sport Chalet
Mission Viejo, CA

 

[tau]

I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions here:

First: the HP Norris tanks come with DIN valves. The LP Norris tanks come with yoke valves.

Second: PST and Sport Chalet did not have a falling out. PST can not meet the supply demand of Sport Chalet. PST cylinders can still be special ordered at Sport Chalet. (As far as the pricing goes, Norris is less expensive than PST. A Norris HP80 runs about $200)

Third: Norris has been around for quite some time. They have been around for more than 60 years and have been making SCUBA cylinders since the early 80s.

I have both Norris and PST tanks. The weighting characteristics are very similar, but the Norris tank is slightly larger (maybe an inch taller).

Cramer Decker (Sherwood and Akona) distributes Norris as well as Catalina AL tanks.


Hope this helps. :10:

Ann Marie
SCUBA Department Head, Sport Chalet
Mission Viejo, CA

Ann,

Thanks for clearing that up.

Other than the size, are there any other differences? Is their quality the same as PST?

 

[cool_hardware52]

I was in a Sport Chalet store the other day .

Hi Mark, has Sport Chalet expanded to the east coast, our were you in So Cal?
Stop by if you get the chance.

Pressed Steel and Faber both have long histories of making SCUBA cylinders, perhaps Norris does as well,

Norris has a long history of making pressure vessels, Scuba, Fire Extingushiers, SCBA, etc. They used to have a plant here in LA, that made tanks,... and artillery shells, both use basically the same processes. I do agree that the finish on the Norris tanks is rougher, no slipping tank bands though.

Regards,



Tobin

 

[rgbmatt]

Norris used to make a lot of steel 72s during the '70s and early '80s (along with PST). Can't remember offhand what companies they produced them for - Dacor I think and a couple others. If and of you are diving with old steel tanks, you probably have some Norris tanks in your possession. They stopped making scuba tanks in the '80s, and have only started again in the last year or two (afaik).

So, here are my 2c regarding modern Norris tanks, based on two sets of double HP120s that we have at work. We've also got a set each of PST and Asahi HP120s for comparison's sake.

- On the outside, Norris' tanks are hot-dip galvanized and can stand all kinds of abuse without corrosion problems. Looks just as good as the PST tanks. Much nicer than Faber or Asahi tanks that can get chips in the finish and start to rust.

- They're about the same size and weight as our other tanks of the same size. Maybe 1/2" to 1" taller than the PST tanks, which is nothing to be picky about.

- Norris tanks have nice shallow convex bottoms and fit nicely in normal tank boots. Our Asahi tanks have weird round bottoms and aren't stable with boots on.

- The HP tanks come with very nice modular DIN valves (Genesis brand). But, the tanks we bought only came with right-handed valves! So we had to buy new manifolds for them anyhow. Maybe if you ask, you can get left-handed valves instead.

- The only potential problem with Norris: Quality control on tank height seems a little spotty - different tanks of the same model aren't all the exact same height! This is not a problem when diving a single tank, but can be a big headache if you're trying to put together some doubles! If you plan on making a set of double Norris tanks, you should either look at the tanks in person before buying, or purchase from a reputable shop and make sure the owner checks that they match before he ships them.

My opinion on Norris? If I lived near cold water and was interested in diving with really heavy tanks (I don't and I'm not), I'd look at both PST and Norris tanks and buy whichever one cost less. The only nitpick I've got with them is the aforementioned height/doubles problem, which shouldn't be a problem if you're an informed consumer.

 

[scubacalifornia]

Ann Marie
SCUBA Department Head, Sport Chalet
Mission Viejo, CA

Congratulations on your promotion. I hope this means the local dive conditions sign stays up in the shop for good now.
Kevin