OMS LP85 & Faber LP85 worth buying

[eelnoraa]

First, are OMS and Faber LP85 the same tank? It seems they are both 26" tall, 7" diameter, same buoyancy charateristic.

2nd question. I local diving is Monterey CA, (50F drysuit). Would these be good choice? How woult this compare to X7 HP100

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'd buy em! You can pump them up like I do to 3200 and have nearly 105's. Take em to 3500 like many cave and wreck divers do and you have 120's. And you can nearly always be sure of 85 cu ft at any shop. HP 100's need 3442 for 100 cu ft. Get a shop that hot fills or pumps to 3000 and your 100's are now 2 cu ft more than an 85.

 

[eelnoraa]

How about between lp85 & lp95? How do they trim out?

 

[Scott L]

First, are OMS and Faber LP85 the same tank? It seems they are both 26" tall, 7" diameter, same buoyancy charateristic.

2nd question. I local diving is Monterey CA, (50F drysuit). Would these be good choice? How woult this compare to X7 HP100

OMS and Faber are identicle. OMS was manufactured by Faber. LP85's, LP95's or HP100's? Talk to your tech instructor/mentor concerning the best selection for you. LP85's seem to trim out better for most folks...

 

[aquaregia]

The Faber LP85 is probably my favorite tank for singles, in terms of trim/balance/comfort. I've only done one dive on an X7100 but that was also pleasant. I haven't dove with either in a drysuit, just a 7mm.

 

[eelnoraa]

I have a chance to pick up 2 lp85s or 2 lp95s. They are price about the same, about $140/tank, in hydro. I am leaning toward lp85 because it is lighter and narrower, . I imagine I will have better balance. Also, possiblity of making them double. But I haven't dived with either, so I just want to get as much infomation about them before making the decision.

 

[stairman]

Id go with the 7 inch tank as a single. I do not like an lp95 [8 inch] tank by itself. Doubled up however they are fine but heavy.

 

[scubafanatic]

Among my tank 'fleet' are a single Faber/OMS LP85 as well as a set of doubled Faber/OMS LP 85's. The single LP 85 is a sweet tank, my main issue with it is the 7" diameter, which won't fit a boat's standard 7.25" dia tank holders (meant to fit more common tanks like AL 80's or most HP tanks) which can be a pain if you do boat diving. My twin set is also sweet, and represents about the upper limit of how much tank weight I want to have to carry around topside, and they trim/balance in the water very nicely. As with all painted tanks however, I prefer the galvanized finish on PSTs/Worthingtons for steel tanks, much superior to the painted Faber/OMS tanks, especially in seawater. If I had it to do all over again, I'd go for galvanized Worthington steel LP 85's (Worthington didn't exist in the US market when I bought my doubles back in the day.) I've dove Faber/OMS LP 95 doubles, they dove fine in the water (although other have reported issues with trim since they're short/stubby tanks), additionally, the LP 95 doubles represented a noticable increase in topside weight which I defintely didn't enjoy having to move around, I'd only buy/dive them again if I really needed the extra gas capacity to do my desired dives.

 

[idive2]

I never dove the older oms steel tanks but do have the newer worthington lp85s and like them
a lot. They trim out well with maybe just a little bit more weight toward the bottom of tank.
Buoyancy-wise the lp85s are about 6 lbs more negative than the AL80, so nice to dive with a
few less lbs on belt or in bc. I mount my tank just a bit higher than an AL80 and they work out well.
If given the choice I would go with the newer tanks with the convertible valves. Just checked the
specs on the newer worthington lp95 (8 inch dia) and they are almost 8 lbs heavier on land than
the lp 85 and almost 10 lbs negatively buoyant (3 lbs more negative than the lp85). So I guess it
kinda depends on what you're looking for.

 

[TSandM]

Trim is really not an issue with a single tank, because you have so much flexibility in where you can put the tank in the cambands.

For Monterey, I personally would want a bigger tank than an 85. Lobos just gets prettier and prettier as you go out, but it gets deeper, too . . . I wouldn't want anything smaller than an HP100, and honestly, when I dive there, I dive a 130.

85s are great doubles, though, although I prefer the Worthingtons to the Fabers. The Fabers are lighter and a little butt-light.