Steel 12l or 15l

[ajduplessis]

Hi guys/girls,

I am about to buy a Faber steel cylinder. Might also down the line to some tech diving using doubles. This is not yet cast in stone. I am in 2 minds around cylinder size. What are the pros and cons around 12l or 15l cylinders. I appreciate your input.

 

[Diver0001]

A 12l cylinder is easily twinned up into a useful doubleset. 15's are too big for most applications.

Niether a 12 or a 15l steel cylinder are suitable for stage bottles. They're too negative.

If you buy a 12 then, budget permitting, buy two identical ones and buy the long ones, not the "bomb". Buying two identical ones will help you when you twin them because you won't have to look for another matching tank. Each batch of cylinders are slightly different in weight and size the difference can be enough to make it look funny or even to be slightly unbalanced if you twin mismatching tanks.

the other advantage to having two is that as long as you don't have them twinned you can make two dives on a day without having to go somewhere to fill.

R..

 

[ajduplessis]

Thanks for the input. I can only get 12l shorts (bombs)

 

[Diver0001]

The short ones will probably make for an akward double set.

Where do you live? The Fabar cylinders are widely distributed. It shouldn't be a problem to find the long ones.

R..

 

[ajduplessis]

I am in South Africa and can not find any 12l longs. They have 10l & 15l in long.

 

[Atomic_Diver]

when did they start making 151's does any one have a pic of one? They must be huge?

 

[Diver0001]

In most of the world tank sizes are expressed by the internal volume of the tank.

A 15l is 15 "litre" or in other words if you took the valve off and filled it with water it would hold 15 litres of water.

In terms of volume it contains about 3000 litres of air when full or what you would call a steel 104cf if filled to 200 bar or a 120cf if you filled it to it's working pressure of 232 bar.

R..

 

[ajduplessis]

Atomic - The 15l cylinder is around 10cm (4 inch) taller than a 12l bomb, and 4kg (8.8 pounds) heavier. Diameter is roughly the same.

 

[Atomic_Diver]

ohhh a 15L, i thought you ment a 151 cu ft tank..

 

[Atomic_Diver]

I love my double LP 108 cu ft tanks...