Steel Tanks at Warm Water Destinations

[scubadada]

Southeast Florida diving. Although you can use AL80s, almost everyone on the boat that you would be diving with are using HP100s. So unless you like to be the one ending the dive 15 minutes early....

I use 5 operators. The 3 in Boynton Beach get their tanks from Boynton Beach Dive Center, AL or steel available. Narcosis in West Palm offers both as does JDC in Jupiter.

You see plenty of AL cylinders, if you have a reasonable RMV, it's plenty of gas

 

[hammet]

Are the HP100s rentals or tanks that people own and bring onto the boat?

A bit of both. Many of the divers on these boats are regulars with their own tanks, especially the speargunners. Others (like myself) are traveling from other places and request them when reserving a spot online. The tanks are a about $5 more a pop and almost everyone is on nitrox unless you are doing a certification dive with an instructor.

 

[hammet]

I use 5 operators. The 3 in Boynton Beach get their tanks from Boynton Beach Dive Center, AL or steel available. Narcosis in West Palm offers both as does JDC in Jupiter.

You see plenty of AL cylinders, if you have a reasonable RMV, it's plenty of gas

I have an rmv of about .50 give or take (maybe some more when lobster hunting or fighting a current).
That's about 1.5 cf/min at 66 feet. If you have 65 usable cf in your AL80 (77.4cf less reserve), that's about 45 minutes of dive time.
An HP100 will give you about 57 minutes, give or take.

 

[scubadada]

I have an rmv of about .50 give or take (maybe some more when lobster hunting or fighting a current).
That's about 1.5 cf/min at 66 feet. If you have 65 usable cf in your AL80 (77.4cf less reserve), that's about 45 minutes of dive time.
An HP100 will give you about 57 minutes, give or take.

Yes, it' individual. My avg RMV is 0.35 cf/min. Except for UE, dives in Boynton and West Palm are loosely limited to an hour, 45 min in Jupiter. I have plenty of gas in an AL80

The reefs in BB shallower, West Palm intermediate, Jupiter, deepest

 

[_Ralph]

If you find a steel tank at a travel (warm water) locale, let me know

BDS in Belize, 85's and 95's ... available mainly for tech diving (BM/SM) and RB bottles ... else the hundreds of AL80's

_R