Removing tank boots?
- Thread starter Marie13
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weird. They definitely look like faber boots, but I've never seen any with that notch in them before. I'd cut it off if you want to use them and find them annoying. Otherwise I'd clock them so they are on the "top" of the tank when I'm diving
aquacat8
Contributor
Maybe an anti roll thing?
@Marie13 Over here apart all of us who use steels (the majority) all have boots fitted. We even have them on our personal AL80's to stop the bottom being scored by hard surfaces (which can cause a fatigue initiation point)
As you know our waters have a really high saline content and together with hot and humid climate, its a great environment for corrosion. I hose mine down from time to time and remove the boots occasionally to inspect. As long as the surface finish is okay then you won't get corrosion.
I've never had my boots get caught in a tight overhead on the wrecks we penetrate either.
I've lost a boot, but that's a peculiarity caused by the summer heat here.
The only down sides of boots for me is that they make it slightly awkward to stack cylinders in my truck. When Wifey and I go diving for a weekend, we generally haul 20 or so cylinders - so again not an issue most will see
All our tanks are stored vertically, they get stood up on the dock as well as when we gear up on bard. Not had one go over yet
As you know our waters have a really high saline content and together with hot and humid climate, its a great environment for corrosion. I hose mine down from time to time and remove the boots occasionally to inspect. As long as the surface finish is okay then you won't get corrosion.
I've never had my boots get caught in a tight overhead on the wrecks we penetrate either.
I've lost a boot, but that's a peculiarity caused by the summer heat here.
The only down sides of boots for me is that they make it slightly awkward to stack cylinders in my truck. When Wifey and I go diving for a weekend, we generally haul 20 or so cylinders - so again not an issue most will see
All our tanks are stored vertically, they get stood up on the dock as well as when we gear up on bard. Not had one go over yet
All our (faber) boots have them, never found them an issue. I always thought it might be so you can attach a cord to stop boot coming off. Not that we do
I never used steel tanks until I started technical diving, and my instructor was adamant--you never, ever, ever leave boots on steel tanks. I got the idea that they will rust away in a matter of weeks if you do. So when I got my first steel doubles I of course go rid of them.
Years later, I started doing some sidemount, and I bought some LP 85s (Worthington) for that purpose. I also figured I could use them for single tank diving as well. I of course took the boots off, even though I was by then far removed from that original instructor. I took them with me on my annual trip to Florida, where I used them as single tanks for recreational diving off of boats. What a PITA! There was simply no way to keep them stable in their places on the sides of the boats. they were constantly tipping over. They were also a royal pain just getting fills. As soon as I got home, I retrieved the boots. They now only come off when I do my annual visual inspections, and I have never seen a sign of rust when I do those inspections.
All of our tanks in our training fleet are Steel and have boots on without ANY issues. We rinse the tanks with fresh water after use in pool and salt water and everything is all ok. We removal the boots occasionally when rinsing them and always when doing VCI. This exaggerated hype about rust and how "bad" boots are is just that, exaggerated hype nothing more.
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Rred
Contributor
I'm with Bob. Those tabs would make a wonderful way to prevent my J-rods from rattling around, instead of kludging into the tank band. Instead of grinding them off, get J-valves and pullrods so you can make good use of them. Your local LSD and certifying agency will tell you J-valves kill, despite the fact that the USN and NOAA still sanction them and sometimes even require them. And perhaps coincidentally, they have way fewer divers dying from unexplained out-of-air incidents. (A J-valve will nag you and forgive you, in a way that no pressure instrument ever will.)
Like you, I dive open water in fresh water, i.e. the Great Lakes.
I have both steel and aluminum tanks. I was told that I should remove the boots from the aluminum tanks unless I was going to be resting them on a surface which could be damaged by metal. For example, if I was storing them in a room with ceramic tiles. The tanks could potentially crack the tiles. Not a concern for me so I took off the boots on the aluminum tanks. They have flat bottoms. So storing them, transporting them or using them on a dive boat isn't a problem.
I was told to remove them because it didn't really help me and it could potentially trap water. I guess they could protect the tank if I was dropping it on something like rocks or something.
The steel tanks however do not have flat bottoms. I see all the same problems you see. The boots allow me to stand them up on the boat. When I have them stored at home they are standing up (secured so they don't fall over).
However, it makes sense to me that a cave diver would recommend removing the boot from your tanks. I have been looking into sidemount cave diving. A few of the videos have the divers squeezing through some small passages. They are doing sidemount and no mount diving. A tank boot would be one more thing which could catch on something and interfere with them getting through a cave.
When I have gone cenote diving in Mexico they usually have these stone tables where you prep for the dive. These tables are maybe 3 feet high. Leaving a tank standing up on a 3 foot table is an accident just waiting to happen. So everyone I observe assembles their gear and lay the tanks down. They therefore don't need a tank boot. When they put them in the pickup for transportation, they put them all together and strap them together. With 8 to 12 tanks all strapped together, it does not matter if the bottoms are round or flat. They aren't going on a boat with them. They bring them down to the cave entrance and lay them down at the water entrance. Again, no need for a tank boot.
So for a cave diver, being a catch hazard is a concern. All the benefits we, as Great Lake divers, see aren't important to them.
So tanks I use in Mexico for cenote/cave diving have no boots. Steel tanks I use for Great Lake diving have boots.
I have both steel and aluminum tanks. I was told that I should remove the boots from the aluminum tanks unless I was going to be resting them on a surface which could be damaged by metal. For example, if I was storing them in a room with ceramic tiles. The tanks could potentially crack the tiles. Not a concern for me so I took off the boots on the aluminum tanks. They have flat bottoms. So storing them, transporting them or using them on a dive boat isn't a problem.
I was told to remove them because it didn't really help me and it could potentially trap water. I guess they could protect the tank if I was dropping it on something like rocks or something.
The steel tanks however do not have flat bottoms. I see all the same problems you see. The boots allow me to stand them up on the boat. When I have them stored at home they are standing up (secured so they don't fall over).
However, it makes sense to me that a cave diver would recommend removing the boot from your tanks. I have been looking into sidemount cave diving. A few of the videos have the divers squeezing through some small passages. They are doing sidemount and no mount diving. A tank boot would be one more thing which could catch on something and interfere with them getting through a cave.
When I have gone cenote diving in Mexico they usually have these stone tables where you prep for the dive. These tables are maybe 3 feet high. Leaving a tank standing up on a 3 foot table is an accident just waiting to happen. So everyone I observe assembles their gear and lay the tanks down. They therefore don't need a tank boot. When they put them in the pickup for transportation, they put them all together and strap them together. With 8 to 12 tanks all strapped together, it does not matter if the bottoms are round or flat. They aren't going on a boat with them. They bring them down to the cave entrance and lay them down at the water entrance. Again, no need for a tank boot.
So for a cave diver, being a catch hazard is a concern. All the benefits we, as Great Lake divers, see aren't important to them.
So tanks I use in Mexico for cenote/cave diving have no boots. Steel tanks I use for Great Lake diving have boots.
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