OK, now FX-100 vs LP-95

[Guy Alcala]

exactly. pretty smart on their part to make their product more accessible by more gear owners.

what the did pretty much has become the "new standard".


BTW... you can get 4000psi yokes also. but the industry just seems to shy away from using them. (can't say I blame them).

FWIW, I consider this site to be the most useful one out there as far as telling you everything you're likely to need to know about tanks, valves and so on. It's very objective, no-hype info from people who've seen and filled more tanks than an individual will do in 100 lifetimes.

How to Select a SCUBA Tank - Dive Gear Express

Guy

 

[WD8CDH]

Just a little more info. When HP cylinders first came out they were rated at 3500psi. They were required to have 7/8" UNF threaded valves as well as 300 bar DIN interface.

Today the mfg get around that by having the working pressure be just under that at 3442 psi. As such, the valve threads are 3/4" straight and the valves can be either yoke or DIN.

The first HP cylinders weren't "required" to have 7/8" UNF threads or 300 DIN. It was purely a marketing decision by the manufacturer of those first tanks. At that time, Sherwood was selling a yoke valve with 3/4" NPS threads rated for 5,000psi. I don't have the current specs in front of me for the absolute limit of 3/4" NPS cylinder threads but it is well above 5000psi.

These days, it's hard to find a yoke regulator that isn't rated to at least 3442psi. I have a few yoke regulators that are rated to 4500psi.

Yes, the DIN connection is more secure, but it's not "required". The current ISO standard (aproved by DOT and even sold by CGA) allows for yoke use well above 3000psi.

 

[Scared Silly]

Thanks ... somewhere I thought it was a "requirement." Probably like some of the other so called scuba requirements.

 

[WD8CDH]

I think what causes a lot of the misinformation is that the standards are not available for free. Often you see quotes of misquotes of guesses made by somebody's uncle's friend's father-in-law. I have hundreds of dollars of CGA and ISO standards and I still don't have all of them that pertain to SCUBA.

 

[cbrich]

I have a HP100 and have dove with a LP95. I prefer the HP100 over the LP95 because of weight, and size. If you dive AL tanks you will want a HP100 it's the same diameter, 7.25", and the LP95 is 8". If you get a LP95 you will be adjusting the tank bands a lot, but it's not a big deal but might get annoying after a while. The length of the HP100 is shorter than the AL80, I will try to post a photo between the two.

Everyone talks about the not getting a good fill on the HP100 and it decreases the volume. This is true, but you are talking about not much air; at 3,440 psi it's 100 cu. ft., at 3,000 psi it's 89 cu. ft, and 2,640 psi get you 80 cu. ft.

X-Series Steel SCUBA Tanks by Worthington Cylinders - Dive Gear Express
This is off just a little, but it gets the point across.

If you want a tank that is about the same size as a AL 80 get a HP120.

 

[Guy Alcala]

I have a HP100 and have dove with a LP95. I prefer the HP100 over the LP95 because of weight, and size. If you dive AL tanks you will want a HP100 it's the same diameter, 7.25", and the LP95 is 8". If you get a LP95 you will be adjusting the tank bands a lot, but it's not a big deal but might get annoying after a while. The length of the HP100 is shorter than the AL80, I will try to post a photo between the two.

Everyone talks about the not getting a good fill on the HP100 and it decreases the volume. This is true, but you are talking about not much air; at 3,440 psi it's 100 cu. ft., at 3,000 psi it's 89 cu. ft, and 2,640 psi get you 80 cu. ft.

X-Series Steel SCUBA Tanks by Worthington Cylinders - Dive Gear Express
This is off just a little, but it gets the point across.

If you want a tank that is about the same size as a AL 80 get a HP120.

An HP120 is 2" to 3.5" taller (depending on the manfacturer) than an AL80, and unless you're 6'3" or taller many people find it awkward to both wear (height and/or trim) and carry by the valve (you're dragging it on the ground unless you bend your arm at the elbow). A buddy of mine who's considerably shorter than 6'3" likes his HP120, though, as it's several lb. lighter than an HP119 for about the same capacity, and it's a 7.25" tank so no band adjustment is necessary when switching between it and his HP100. Most average size males find a 24" high tank like an HP100 or LP95 to be a good height for trim and carriage.

Guy

 

[fnfalman]

Faber makes two different types of HP100's now.

the 3442psi FX-100 and the 3180psi+10% HP-100.

The FX-100 is similar in characteristics of the Worthington X7-100, bu the 3180psi is a freaking boat anchor. Something like 39 pounds empty and -14 pounds negative. It might be attractive to dry suit divers who need extra negative weight on a tank, but diving it wet, you'd be pretty negative and a BC bladder failure could be catostrapic.

I've got the Fabers. they are painted. So far, no rusting issues.

however, I agree with you on prefering the hot-dipped galvanized.

The M-series HP100 tanks are not much more heavier than the FX100-series. A few pounds at most.

I dive 7mm wetsuit with the M-series HP100 or HP120. For giggles, I've done swim up before and it's workable. It's all in the weighting process. If you overweighed yourself plus this heavy tank then you're screwed.

As far as hot dip galv versus zinc plating, it's a wash in my book. As a construction engineer, I've seen hot dip galv steel versus zinc coated steel structures in refineries by the oceans. Neither rust unless somebody chipped away the coating on purpose.

 

[mk706]

I dove LP95s, but didn't like the increased diameter and weight. I ended up buying a pair of Worthington X7-100s. All-in-all great tanks. The only problem I've had is short fills.

Allow me to explain, let's say I recently dove with a dive op for a week. Dive destinations were selected each morning by the crew based on conditions. These decisions drove EAN mixture. So, I'd arrive in the morning, we'd agree on sites and mixes, and the crew would fill the tanks to ~3500. As the tanks cooled, the pressure lowered to around 3300. Not too big of a deal, considering I was still limited by the air supplies of dive buddies.

At home, my LDS fills the tanks to around 3442, then allows the tanks to cool and tops-off. I realize that this is the easy fix, but not always an option when the destination dive shop is trying to fill ~20 tanks in a short period of time.

I do love all that air in the 100s. I recently did several dives to around 40' for an hour and came up with about half a tank. On that note, these tanks could easily get you into trouble if you don't follow your dive plan.

 

[scubafanatic]

Faber makes two different types of HP100's now.

the 3442psi FX-100 and the 3180psi+10% HP-100.

The FX-100 is similar in characteristics of the Worthington X7-100, bu the 3180psi is a freaking boat anchor. Something like 39 pounds empty and -14 pounds negative. It might be attractive to dry suit divers who need extra negative weight on a tank, but diving it wet, you'd be pretty negative and a BC bladder failure could be catostrapic.






I've got the Fabers. they are painted. So far, no rusting issues.

however, I agree with you on prefering the hot-dipped galvanized.

...agree here...the Faber 3180 psi + 10% steel ARE boat anchors !!! I dove them for most of my 9 days trip last 12/08 on Nautilus Explorer.....and although I'm a big capacity steel tank fan/owner....on my last day I finally saw the light and switched back to AL80's.....those Fabers are WAY negative and were a pain the azz.....and they weren't filling the steels to capacity (to 3500 psi) anyway....so there wasn't very much difference between an AL 80 @ 3000-3100 psi versus my Faber @ 3000 - 3100 psi anyway...if I had that trip to do over again, I'd just go with the AL 80's in the first place. Also, IMHO, it's a lot easier to repair scratches/dings to the regular hot-dip galvanized 'bare-metal' tanks than try to fix the colored paint on the Fabers. BTW, I don't exactly hate Fabers (I own (3) LP 85's....a single and a twinset...as well as a single LP 108...and the bouyancy on those is fine) just didn't like that particular HP Faber's bouyancy on my liveaboard trip and wouldn't use that tank again.

 

[fnfalman]

...agree here...the Faber 3180 psi + 10% steel ARE boat anchors !!! I dove them for most of my 9 days trip last 12/08 on Nautilus Explorer.....and although I'm a big capacity steel tank fan/owner....on my last day I finally saw the light and switched back to AL80's.....those Fabers are WAY negative and were a pain the azz.....and they weren't filling the steels to capacity (to 3500 psi) anyway....so there wasn't very much difference between an AL 80 @ 3000-3100 psi versus my Faber @ 3000 - 3100 psi anyway...if I had that trip to do over again, I'd just go with the AL 80's in the first place. Also, IMHO, it's a lot easier to repair scratches/dings to the regular hot-dip galvanized 'bare-metal' tanks than try to fix the colored paint on the Fabers. BTW, I don't exactly hate Fabers (I own (3) LP 85's....a single and a twinset...as well as a single LP 108...and the bouyancy on those is fine) just didn't like that particular HP Faber's bouyancy on my liveaboard trip and wouldn't use that tank again.

It's all depending on where you're at. That boat anchor comes in handy when you have to wear a heavy wetsuit or drysuit and need weight to sink you.