Pressed Steel Status?

[spectrum]

They say they are back in the game but I haven't been seeing them locally.

Are they in the stores?
How do they look?
In good supply?
Are they competitive?

Does anyone think they will go to war with the Worthington X series?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Hard to say until they actually start shipping and showing up in shops. I'd like to see worthington and PST compete and bring steel tank prices down $50 or so per tank, but i don't see that happening soon.

 

[captndale]

Does anyone think they will go to war with the Worthington X series?

It's hard to attack the other guy when all your energy is going into keeping your head above water.

 

[matt t.]

They are currently selling H.P 80's (I've seen them locally), which is a little strange because that had to be one of their worst selling tank sizes previously. They are saying that they will be selling the more popular sizes (100, 119, 120, and 130) at a later date. I wouldn't wait around. Buy the Worthingtons. With the prices on metals going up almost daily, there will almost certainly NOT be a drop in price even with market competition.

 

[spectrum]

FWIW my question was more of a curiosity as an owner than working towards a purchase decision.

Also FWIW the HP80 was probably the best seller around here. Great buoyancy/weight properties and comparable gas to buddies with AL80s and less. In 2005 when the E7-80 was built for Tec and priced for rec @ $205. they were a great buy.

Pete

 

[scubafanatic]

....I've got a number of the newest versions of the HP PST's ( 1 X 130 / 4 X 120 / 2 X 100 ) and I've been very happy with them, so I'd welcome their re-entry into the market...however, PST's prior dealer supply problems will be hard to overcome, I'm not sure I see a strong motivation for all those dealers who then switched over to Worthingtons to risk angering Worthington and flip-flopping back to PST.

Karl

 

[wmspdi]

Yesterday I purchased a new PST E7 80 with an OMS sticker on it. Sitting next to it in the show room was a new PST E7 100 with the blue PST sticker. Both tanks had matte finish OMS 200 bar DIN/yoke valves on them.

The LDS said that OMS is now buying their tanks from PST instead of Faber. The LDS also said he was offered about 25% of the tanks he had on back order when PST went down. He said the PST rep explained that they are trying to spread the stock around until eveybody who still wants their back ordered tanks get their stock. The OMS deal (if true) should help them get back into the game. Pesonally I like the old Thermo DIN/yoke valves better, but the OMS valves may have been part of the deal to get OMS to carry their tanks. However I will be swapping out the Thermo DIN/yoke valve on my pony tank for the compact OMS DIN/yoke valve on the new E7 80. Besides, the OMS valve is smaller and will work better on the 19cf tank.

I already had 3 of the old E7 100s (2 doubled up and a single) and I liked the tanks. I had been looking for a used E7 80 for shallow dives and pool work, so it worked out fine for me.

 

[Rainer]

In 2005 when the E7-80 was built for Tec and priced for rec @ $205. they were a great buy.

Pete

Are you kidding??? HP80s are a horrible choice for nearly all tech divers. Doubled up these would put just about anyone over 5'2" on their heads. I don't know any tech divers using these small cylinders. Having tried them once as a single, I found them terrible (just too short to trim out; I'm 6'0").

 

[spectrum]

The notion of coming back to fill back orderrs is hillarious but I suppose it was a good conversation opener.

While they don't get the long dollar on branded items such as OMS it does make for good cash flow which must be critical right now.

The OMS valve also differntiates the product and keeps some distance from the guy down the street carrying the PST branded product.



Pete

 

[wmspdi]

The new PST brand E7 100 cf I saw in the LDS showroom (with the blue PST sticker) also had the same OMS valve on it. It may be that OMS is PST's exclusive valve supplier now, and that Thermo is out of the PST picture.