tank advice

[gerardnealon]

Whats up guys? I have been reading SB for days now about my up coming purchase and I am still not sure what to do....

I have always dove singles (AL80's to be exact) and wanted to upgrade to a larger steel tank. I purchased the PST HP E7-120 and absolutly love the tank. Now here is my problem. I want to start diving with doubles but when I bought the tank I didnt think about doubles at the time. So I dont know if I should buy another E7-120 or buy 2 say LP 100's. I want to be able to mix my own gas in the future and heard that LP tanks are easier to mix with. But I also dont want to waste the E7-120 that i bought.

Dont worry about 240cf of gas and getting bent. I dive w/ a computer and am well aware of NDL. Plus I plan on taking advanced classed and deep diving in the near future.

To throw a wrench in the works I am also going to buy a set of doubles for my wife. 120's are prob too much for her but I think she can handle 100's. Is it stupid for me to dive with double 120's and she dive w/ double 100's??

So I guess my question is should I just buy 4 LP 100's? or ?!?!? I dont know what to do. Its a lot of money either way. Are the LP's a lot heavier? Can I take a lot more weight off? My wife and I also dive w/ a SS BP/Wing. Thanks for any help. I just dont want to make a foolish purchase.

Gerard

 

[Uncle Pug]

Are you diving wet or dry?

What will be your typical dives?

Why, exactly, do you want to dive doubles?

Will you ever be wanting to dive with singles again as well?

 

[gerardnealon]

Are you diving wet or dry?

What will be your typical dives?

Why, exactly, do you want to dive doubles?

Will you ever be wanting to dive with singles again as well?

I dive dry. I also plan on getting an OMS 65# lift to compensate for the extra weight. As you know no dive is really typical, depends on the dive site. Most of the good wreck around here are 100+ feet. Besides for the redundency factor of doubles I plan on getting certified for deco diving so I want to practice my trim and boyancy w/ doubles now before I take the class. I do own a pony so I have that for redundancy now but dont use that for extra back gas. I am sure some dives will call for singles, that is what the STA is for. Thanks for the quick reply.

Gerard

 

[NEWreckDiver]

I dive dry. I also plan on getting an OMS 65# lift to compensate for the extra weight. As you know no dive is really typical, depends on the dive site. Most of the good wreck around here are 100+ feet. Besides for the redundency factor of doubles I plan on getting certified for deco diving so I want to practice my trim and boyancy w/ doubles now before I take the class. I do own a pony so I have that for redundancy now but dont use that for extra back gas. I am sure some dives will call for singles, that is what the STA is for. Thanks for the quick reply.

Gerard

There is a lot more than just buying the tanks and throwing them on your back. Not only will you need the tanks, but manifolds, bands, two sets of regs each and if you are going to deco training you will need regs for them as well.

Be careful about being to conservitive on size. I bought 4 100's and dove them for one season and will be ditching them this year for larger tanks. I will be doubling my 120's I was using for singles. (I was afraid of the weight)

Remember where you are diving. Most of the good site are 100' plus as you said. You will want the volume later. Even if you don't think so today.

As far as the wing goes, unless you have a lot of money to waste, get the biggest wing you can up front. You will need it later on even though you don't need the extra lift now. (you don't have to fill the wing)

My point is, It cost more to replace gear as you progress. If you know where you want to be later in your diving, prepare for it now. It will save you a lot.

Good Luck and Dive Safe

 

[Uncle Pug]

If you plan on getting into technical diving then plan on spending an order of magnitude more for gear... in fact double that since you plan having your wife involved as well.

Therefore don't let the gear you have now (including the hp120 - keep it for a single) constrain your future gear choices... and don't worry about over spending... accept that as a fact of life.

Since you plan on taking technical training in the future I would suggest that you first select the instructor that you will be taking training from and then ask that instructor what size doubles you should purchase. If you are really serious you will probably end up with several sets of doubles anyway.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

The tank question is such a loaded question, its hard to make a suggestion for someone else. It depends on what types of dives you are doing (boat, deco, wreck, caves, deep, etc, etc...) and what cylinders are right for you. By that, I mean, some tanks you simply will not like the length/height of them, or the rated pressure, or the tank coating (paint or galvanized).
Its a tough choice to make. So, get out there and start diving them, then decide.
I will make it a little easier for you: go with Pressed Steel Cylinders. They are hot dipped galvanized and they will last a long time for you. The bad thing is, they dont make LP tanks, all of them have a service pressure of 3442 psi. The new PST E series cylinders have two different types. E8 replaces the old LP tanks. They are 8 in diameter cylinders. The E7 tanks replace the old HP tanks, and they are 7.25 inch diameter.
Good Luck...

 

[gerardnealon]

There is a lot more than just buying the tanks and throwing them on your back. Not only will you need the tanks, but manifolds, bands, two sets of regs each and if you are going to deco training you will need regs for them as well.

Be careful about being to conservitive on size. I bought 4 100's and dove them for one season and will be ditching them this year for larger tanks. I will be doubling my 120's I was using for singles. (I was afraid of the weight)

Remember where you are diving. Most of the good site are 100' plus as you said. You will want the volume later. Even if you don't think so today.

As far as the wing goes, unless you have a lot of money to waste, get the biggest wing you can up front. You will need it later on even though you don't need the extra lift now. (you don't have to fill the wing)

My point is, It cost more to replace gear as you progress. If you know where you want to be later in your diving, prepare for it now. It will save you a lot.

Good Luck and Dive Safe

unfortunatly i am aware of the expense of diving doubles. Thanks for the advice on the 100's. I think I will double up the 120. Its funny you mentioned the wing. I was originally going to get the 100# OMS wing but people seem to say it produces more drag. Do you dive with a different size wing for singles? Thanks for your informitive reply.

Gerard

 

[LUBOLD8431]

As far as the wing goes, unless you have a lot of money to waste, get the biggest wing you can up front. You will need it later on even though you don't need the extra lift now. (you don't have to fill the wing)

I disagree. Not everyone needs a double bladder 100# lift BC. Get a BC that suits your NEEDS. I started out with an OMS wing (above) dove it for a year, and then ditched it for a single bladder wing with 59# of lift. That has suited me for every dive so far, especially since I stopped using steel deco bottles. I cant see needing a BC with anymore lift than 70# for the average rec/tec diver.

 

[gerardnealon]

I disagree. Not everyone needs a double bladder 100# lift BC. Get a BC that suits your NEEDS. I started out with an OMS wing (above) dove it for a year, and then ditched it for a single bladder wing with 59# of lift. That has suited me for every dive so far, especially since I stopped using steel deco bottles. I cant see needing a BC with anymore lift than 70# for the average rec/tec diver.

What kind of tanks were you using? I was curious can you rely on your dry suit in the case of a BC failure?? What do you think of the 65# lift BC?

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Well, I have issues with OMS. That being said, I do still own some OMS stuff, but I am gradually replacing it with products from another manufacturer. I dont think the 65# BC is a bad product, although I wouldnt choose it for me.
I normally dive with the OMS/Faber 112's doubles, and last season I was using OMS steel 46's X 2 for deco bottles (this season I have switched to AL deco bottles for alot of reasons). My DR classic wing had trouble on the surface with this setup, but after the gas was used, it was no problem. And, remember the deco bottles can be ditched if I have a problem with the BC on the descent (lots of weight from gas at the beg of dive). I also have a liftbag that I COULD use for addt'l lift if needed. I just dont like the idea of having a double bladder bc. The right way to use it is to have the second power inflator hooked up all the time. When you do this, you risk a runaway inflator inflating your backup BC without your knowledge. We all know that power inflators are the least reliable piece of equipment we use. I dont want to have to worry about two of them. If I was diving steel doubles with a wetsuit (AHHHHHH, the horror!!!!), I would think about getting a double bladder 70# wing for that situation.