Physically Small Single Tanks

[rx7diver]

All,

I recently posted about using small singles, first, in a thread regarding setting up one of my OMS (Faber) 46's on a plastic backpack for my children (12- and 14-year-olds) to use in my parents' backyard pool, and, second, in the recent "Using 'fuller' tanks" thread in the Advanced Forum.

1. I just returned from vacation and can report that the OMS 46 + plastic backpack worked extremely well for my girls! Such a small, elegant package! Never too heavy, nor too negatively buoyant, even at 3,000 psig and wearing a "heavy" Poseidon Odin reg (compared to a Scubapro Mk 10 + G250). The 46 seemed to work much better than the Luxfer Al 63 I've rented in the past for them.

2. After piano lessons earlier today, I was chatting with our piano teacher about scuba. Since my girls' gear was still in our minivan, I offered to show it to our teacher. She is a *tiny* woman (maybe 5'2", sized 2-3, < 100 lbs) in her mid-50's, and she struggled a bit to lift the 46, but nevertheless remained interested. I can just imagine how turned off at the prospect of scuba she would have been had she encountered, instead, an Al 63 or an Al 80 (or a Steel 72)! I was immediately reminded of my posts in the "Fuller" thread in which I spec-ed out an "optimal" small single cylinder. I think the scuba industry should give some serious thought to introducing and routinely using smaller, lighter scuba cylinders.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[spectrum]

Your thoughts are central to one of scuba technologies limitations. Air is largely a determinant of bottom time and the ratio of bottom time to time invested in a dive day is already a tough nut to swallow for many. This does remind me of a splendid explanation an instructor/shop owner gave when I was getting started....

We may start out skin diving so we can dive down and browse around for a moment. The whole point of scuba is to stay down longer and thus also have the means to get deeper if we desire. In man's quest, the herd races to the longer deeper dives with bigger or even more cylinders and due to conditions at deeper depths thicker heavier wetsuits and more lead to sink the heavy suits and lights and the crap just keeps piling on. If this smothers or discourages a frail or small stature diver the logical thing is to be equipped for shallower dives; less cylinder, less suit, less led and less claptrap. Be in vogue as a minimalist if you will. The answer is NOT to give up on diving, just balance equipment, expectations and abilities.

Pete

 

[uncfnp]

The beauty of the petite diver is that they usually "sip" air, especially once they have some experience. It's their air hog dive buddies that require them carry larger tanks.

 

[tbone1004]

what he said.

Think about it. You can get tanks that are essentially the same size and weight as an AL80 but are hold significantly more air and require significantly less lead, so your net savings is 6lbs and an extra 25 cf of gas *HP100's. The issue with physically smaller tanks is the amount of air that you can hold. I have a set of 46's, I love them, when they're cave filled and hold 62cf of gas.... If I was limited to 46cf my dives would be far too short to be worth it. For your daughter it makes sense as a kid trying to learn, but think about how many threads on here get started on "which tank should I get because I am limited by gas*. The weight stinks, it does, but it's a fact of life.

If you want physically small tanks with a normal amount of gas, the Faber FX71's are pretty good, 5 inches shorter, 6lbs lighter. WRT the piano teacher, they're still 25lbs empty, so 35lbs full with a valve, same weight as an AL80, essentially the same amount of gas as an AL80 75cf vs 77.4, but you have a 12lb weight savings in rig because you don't have to carry lead. That's about as good as you can get

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I wouldn't write off the classic steel 72 as being too big for a petite person. They are lighter on land than an AL80, they are neutral in the water when empty, and they are 6.9" diameter so narrower than AL80's.
That would almost seem like an ideal tank for someone who sips air that would want to make a deeper or slightly longer dive, especially buddied with someone using a water heater mega tank.

 

[Remy B.]

There are as well 50cf tanks, a tat bigger that will suit better for longer dives and are as well light.

 

[Nemrod]

When I was a pre-teen, young teen diver I used a 33cf steel tank. It was standard diameter, 6.9 inches diameter, low pressure, I think 1800 psi. Quite a bit smaller than a steel 72 in length. When I went to college I left them in my parents attic and they moved while I was in school and left them behind and everything in the attic, forgotten!

Even now, I will use an aluminum 63 (63cf) and while this causes some fuss, the fact is that it is not a limitation for me when I dive with (most) other divers on an aluminum 80 (77cf). The aluminum 63 dives much like the old steel 72 and the old 72 was really only about 66cf at 2,250 psi. I went into deco on those 72s and can on an aluminum 63cf tanks.

Of course, people did, shhhhhh, pump those old 72s to 3,000 psi.

N

 

[diversteve]

We dove with a small lady like that once - she could claim 5' in heels. Some of her gear was even large kids sizes.

She didn't have any problems with an AL-63 the boat provided.

And could get two dives out of every tank vs. our one.

Sometimes with several hundred psi left over...we might've been diving steel 100's also.

 

[spectrum]

As I mentioned earlier small stature divers or those with other challenges will have different gear handling abilities. Falling off a dive boat and handing gear up afterwards is a world away from a rocky shore entry and exit. There are a lot of puts and takes. What I really want to add is that at first heft it can all seem ludicrous but if one can manage for openers it will get easier as one learns "the dance" and learns to handle the burden.

 

[Rich Keller]

I wouldn't write off the classic steel 72 as being too big for a petite person. They are lighter on land than an AL80, they are neutral in the water when empty, and they are 6.9" diameter so narrower than AL80's.
That would almost seem like an ideal tank for someone who sips air that would want to make a deeper or slightly longer dive, especially buddied with someone using a water heater mega tank.

Definitely a better way to go then an Al 80!

---------- Post added July 12th, 2015 at 08:55 AM ----------

When I was a pre-teen, young teen diver I used a 33cf steel tank.

I use Al 30 when I am shallow shore diving with a newer diver. I come back with 500psi like the new guy diving an 80.