Tank decision: 120HP vs 130HP Worthington

[Thezeker]

A little about me. I am 6-4 260. I have been using a faber 100HP. It is a nice tank for some of the diving I did in Key Largo that wasn't that deep. However on deeper dives off West Palm and Jupiter Fl (60-80 feet) I found it lacking.

The question is should I go with a 120 that would avoid any conflict with tank holders on boats (7.25 vs 8 inch) and fit me well at my height or go with the 130 that would provide more air.

I dive a SS BP.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[FireInMyBones]

I love my HP120. I am 5'7" and 170lbs.

What is your Respiratory Minute Volume (RMV) (most commonly mistaken as Surface Air Consumption (SAC))? Do you need the extra gas?

I have never had issues with either 7.25" or 8" tanks on boats.

 

[Chugwhump]

6'-4" and 260....go whole hog, and get a couple Faber 149's!!

OK......
End of smartypants answer.

I have a bunch of tanks for different reasons and uses.

2 AL 80's....mostly for friends to borrow and for short shallow boat dives.
2 AL 90's...see above and when you think you might want just a little more gas than an 80.
4 Steel 130's...for deep dives, long dives, and when I only want to bring one tank for several shallow dives on a boat.
1 Steel 149....Beach dives only. It is a big heavy pig, but 4+ hours on a beach dive in warm water is a wonderful thing.
I have had to do the 8" tank storage workaround a few times on boats with my 130's that are 8" diameter, but it is no big deal to me.
Steel 120's will do pretty much everything you need for commercial boat dives, unless you are a big breather.
Hope this helped.
Just my two pieces of zinc with a copper coating.
Chug

 

[paddler3d]

I haven't had any problems on boats with the 8" tanks.

Look at the air consumption rate, RMV. For sake of ease lets say your have a pretty bad consumption rate of 1cfm. At 60ish feet your almost to 3ata. You'll be woofing down 3cfm at that depth. That is 3 extra minutes with the bigger tank an that depth.

I'm tired, someone check my math.

Is the difference in weight between the 120 and the 130 worth the extra 3 minutes?

Food for thought.

 

[FireInMyBones]

The weight difference, on Worthington tanks, is only 5lbs empty. At depth, you wont feel much of the difference. The length is going to be longer on the 120 vs the 130 if that makes a difference.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Well, I believe one can never have too many tanks...or regulators.. or wetsuits...

But this is really about your gas usage rate (cf/minute or lites/minute)

Note: there really should be a metric minute...100 per hour... 10 hours per day.. would make the math much easier. (that would be roughly 80 something metric seconds to our minute.)

I'm your size and have an average surface usage rate of between .4 and .8.. with an average of around .6.

I have 100's, 117's and 133's...but I normally dive the 117's. At 66 ft, I would be using gas at the rate of 1.8 cubic ft/minute... or a tank would last (with a safety margin) around 55 minutes, and as dives are limited to around 1 hour... that is usually just about perfect.

I use 100's for shore diving, where. that .6 means I can do several hours.

If you have a higher breathing rate, then get the 120's...otherwise, let price be your guide.

 

[Thezeker]

So much input. OK.....I had just started diving again after stopping in 1985/6. These computers are great things. Looking at my last dive (In November) my sac was .65. I figured at 60ft I was using about 1.82cf per minute. That is an improvement over my last dive and has been an improving trend. (And I have been training for a sprint triathalon since Dec. so it will be very interesting to see what sac is now).

The good thing about this thread is that it forced me to figure out my sac (and learn about sac) and do some math and thinking. I guess they didn't have sac back in the 80's.....or something like that.

Well I think I shall go with the 120. Being 6-4 with a long torso I would prefer the longer tank. I notice with my 100 that I tend to be a bit head heavy so maybe a 120 will correct some of that. Also since I can only afford one tank right now it would make sense to get the 120 as it is the same diameter as the 100 so i won't have to resize cam bands in between dives.

I did check out that monster faber 149. Holy crap is that thing big. Maybe for multiple shore dives at the Blue Heron Bridge. But not right now.

Thanks all for your input. Like i said it forced me to learn a few things and I got my decision made!

 

[keithdiver]

So what did you decide on???????????????????????????

 

[ONESPEED]

I have 120's & 130's, if I had it all to do over again I would not have purchased the 120's. 120's are nice but I actually find the 130's a little nicer to dive being shorter tanks (I'm 6'2"). My vote, as someone with many dives on both size tanks, is go with the 130's, a little extra gas in a friendlier tank. That said, I too used to dive these tanks w/ a SS BP and was a total dirt dart, I had to switch to an AL plate, but most of my diving is in a 3mil wetsuit.

 

[Thezeker]

Well I had settled on a 120. But then I read onespeed's post above. I can't think of any place that rents 120's and 130's...maybe fill express. But I will probably go 120 for the reasons stated in my last post. If I don't like I know I can sell a 120HP real quick for a small loss and get a 130.