These are the tank options I'm considering - which should I go with?

[rverma]

Hey, long time lurker, but first time poster.

I'm a new sidemount diver, but I have drank the kool-aid and I'm fully embracing it. I have the stealth tec 2.0 and currently dive sidemount mainly in cold water with a drysuit year round.

I don't own my own tanks yet but I'd like to get some so I can have them on hand and go diving on a whim, buy a reversed tank valve and permanently mount the tank bands. I know that steels are preferred for drysuit diving, but used steels are very hard to come by in my area (Vancouver Island, BC, Canada). Here are the options and associated costs in CAD:

1) Faber LP85 - $450 each new +tax
2) Faber HP100 - $500 each new +tax
3) OMS (Faber) LP 112 - $250 each. Made in 1999 but have current hydro and vis
4) Worthington HP X7-100 - slim chance to get them, found on facebook but owner hasn't replied. First and last hydro in 2011. I've read good things about these, would consider if sold for $250ish.
5) AL80s - freely available. I'm the equipment manager for my dive club and don't pay for tank rentals or fills.

In my lurking, I have discovered that the LP85s are the preferred option for their buoyancy characteristics. However, I like that the HP100 has the same diameter as the AL80s. The extra gas is a bonus as well. If I go with new steels, for an extra ~$50, I'm thinking "why not?" I'm not extremely concerned about the extra on-land weight of the LP112, but they have a diameter of 8" and I haven't found any instances where people have commented on their use for sidemount. They're mainly in the running due to cost, and that I could potentially fill them with a modest overfill (maybe 3000ish) myself if I wanted.

I don't mind spending money on new tanks, but saving money is always nice as long as it doesn't result in having to replace the equipment.

Are either of those used steels a good option? Should I spend money on new steels? Or just continue to use free AL80s?
Thanks!

 

[lexvil]

Well free is always good, I wouldn’t buy anything just yet.

otherwise HP 100 (lp 85 also has the same diameter as the 100 or Al 80 I believe)

 

[broncobowsher]

BC, cold water, weight is good. Not likely to find Florida style cave fills. I would say go for the 100s.

 

[tbone1004]

stay with the AL80's. You should have enough weight capacity to put all of the lead in the Stealth and then you have the easiest tanks to dive in sidemount, a system that is easy to adapt if you travel, and don't have to spend the cash.
In that temp water you probably aren't staying down for long enough to need more gas than a pair of al80's

 

[gmerick]

HP100. Yes.
Thoughts - who do you dive with? If most folks are diving a single AL80 from your dive club, You'll be happy with splashing first, and climbing last as your limit is now NDL, not gas. If you were paying for fills, your bill would effectivly double, and the time to fill will go up, because going from 3000 to 3442 takes longer than 2550 to 3000, and you have to do it twice. (while the extra gas is nice, it's quicker to treat the HP100 like a LP85, and only use it as HP when your plan says the extra 15 per tank would be nice). Ballast characteristics make HP steels nice for cold / dry diving.
AL80 - You need these, also. Keep in practice for WWPF dives.
I do a lot of sidemounting with rental AL80's - I can cope with floaty tails, yoke adapters, and wrong-way valves.

My own warm water tanks are L/R din neutral 80's.
I also do a lot of solo diving, idling along for two hours and more on a pair of fat steels is my happy place.

 

[broncobowsher]

Won't automatically be paying double for fills. If you are doing a typical 2-tank, 2-dive outing. You can do 2 normal recreational dives on a single fill of both sidemount bottles. The nice part is whatever you didn't use on the first dive gets added to the second dive. You just increased your reserve capacity. When other are paying for 2 fills to do 2 dives, you are still paying for 2 fills and still getting the same 2 dives. And not being gas limited like the single tank divers are.

 

[gmerick]

You can do 2 normal recreational dives on a single fill of both sidemount bottles.

This kinda defeats the redundancy that sidemount divers want. I start my dive with 3000 in each tank, if I suck air at the same rate as the person I dive with, she ends the dive at 500 psi, and I end with 1750 in each. Do I really want to start dive 2 lacking that redundancy? sure, she could come up with 500, and me with 500 in each, but...
I'm an air hog. What is more typical is if we both dive singles, I come up with 500, and she still has 1200. With me sidemount, she comes up at 500, and I have 1200 in each. Now I can't do a second dive with her.

 

[rverma]

HP100. Yes.
Thoughts - who do you dive with? If most folks are diving a single AL80 from your dive club, You'll be happy with splashing first, and climbing last as your limit is now NDL, not gas. If you were paying for fills, your bill would effectivly double, and the time to fill will go up, because going from 3000 to 3442 takes longer than 2550 to 3000, and you have to do it twice. (while the extra gas is nice, it's quicker to treat the HP100 like a LP85, and only use it as HP when your plan says the extra 15 per tank would be nice). Ballast characteristics make HP steels nice for cold / dry diving.
AL80 - You need these, also. Keep in practice for WWPF dives.
I do a lot of sidemounting with rental AL80's - I can cope with floaty tails, yoke adapters, and wrong-way valves.

My own warm water tanks are L/R din neutral 80's.
I also do a lot of solo diving, idling along for two hours and more on a pair of fat steels is my happy place.

If I dive with the club, everyone is doing single tank 80s or 100s. Were I to do sidemount with the club dives, I would do as @broncobowsher said - simply end the dive when my single tank buddy is done or when I reduce my own gas the the point where I would end the dive on a single tank. I also have a buddy who I dive with a few times a month who uses a twinset or sidemount setup, depending on what he's feeling.

Based on input thus far, I'm leaning toward staying with AL80s and keeping an eye for great deals on used steels. Has anyone dived with the Faber LP112s? Tmassey's tank spreadsheet says they're -1 lb when empty with valve, similar to the HP100 which is -0.59 lb.

 

[PR_SMITH]

I'd go with the HP100's. They are slightly smaller than an al80, but hold 20ft more gas, and they stay negative. I have done SM with al80's, steel 72's, LP98's, etc and my go-to is always the HP100

 

[lostsheep]

BC, cold water, weight is good. Not likely to find Florida style cave fills. I would say go for the 100s.

^^^This. I dive in NorCal (not that much different from BC) and my hp100s are hands down my preference. It’s cold here, we need the negative buoyancy characteristics especially when diving dry. The amount of lead needed with LP85s or god forbid al80s is horrible.

stay with the AL80's. You should have enough weight capacity to put all of the lead in the Stealth and then you have the easiest tanks to dive in sidemount, a system that is easy to adapt if you travel, and don't have to spend the cash.
In that temp water you probably aren't staying down for long enough to need more gas than a pair of al80's

Um, no. It’s not about volume it’s about buoyancy characteristics. Single Al80s suck , AL80s in SM with a drysuit are just straight up terrible from all the extra lead you need. It’s not like we’re handing off bottles so incorporating the ballast isn’t a big deal.


Edit : FWIW I’ve owned and locally sidemounted PST HP100s, Faber LP85s, LP 76s, LP95s, LP50s, HP120s (don’t ask) HP40s, and AL80s. HP100s are my favorite. When I am elsewhere my opinion changes depending on fresh v salt and exposure protection.