Thinking about selling my HP120's

[joe10540]

Right now I am considering selling my current tanks (I have owned them for the last 15 years and they belonged to my Dad before that) not because in some way they are bad but not ideal.

Being the old 3500psi steels they are HEAVY I dive dry and need 0 weight in fresh water. However that also means that I have to haul them around both at the dive site and in my car halfway across the state. Sure they hold more gas than an 80 or a 100 but it puts me at an awkward point where my tanks aren't close to empty after a one tank dive with my buddies but not full enough to get a good second dive. In sidemount they aren't to long and they trim nice underwater but if I try to go single tank I roll to whatever side the tank is on so I am obligated to use both tanks even if my buddies are diving single tanks. There has to be better options out there even if I have to add lead to utilize AL80s which you can rent ANYWHERE

So here I sit with two tanks that now need hydro and I'm debating with myself on selling them and renting for the convenience factor or selling them and buying a different set of tanks or just keeping what I have and appreciating the fact that I only have to pay for fills right now!

 

[The Chairman]

I feel your pain. I do. I had a set of HP130s needlessly condemned, and that still hurts. I often dive with LP120s aka Water Heaters and they are even heavier. I have found that LP85s are the best ticket. I don't own a pair, but I want to. I do own LP95s and they are close. Now that I'm moving to cave country, I hope to use them even more!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I also like the LP85's for deeper stuff. However, if you can find them, I have a set of LP75.5's that were sold by Scuba Pro some years ago. They are even sweeter than the 85's as far as trim and buoyancy goes. For me. As long as the dives are less than 100 ft I can get two easily within the NDL's off of them with my breathing rate.

 

[joe10540]

What would be a good price for a set of HP 120's that are 1 month out of hydro? I also have an isolator manifold and bands for them does that add value or should I try to sell them separate?

 

[2airishuman]

Joe,

I have been buying HP120s but I have 9 of them now and I think that's all I want.

I've been paying around $400 plus shipping for complete 3442 PSI (3/4" neck) HP120 twinsets (including manifold and bands) that are out of hydro. PST 3500 PSI cylinders with 7/8" neck threads sell for somewhat less, and I've only bought them when they come with a good, usable manifold for which parts are readily available (To me that rules out the OMS and Sherwood manifolds, based on parts availability and the angled outlets, respectively).

As you may be aware, 7/8" manifolds are no longer available new and are expensive and hard to find used. While Thermo provalves (non modular) are available in 7/8", they are expensive and are not suitable for doubles, whether backmount or sidemount.

 

[tbone1004]

I've been paying $300 for $350 skinny neck PST's as full doubles. Florida tends to have cheaper tank prices than the rest of the world. At 6'4" I do love them as singles, doubles, and sidemount bottles

 

[joe10540]

I do like the way they fit in sidemount they are just so heavy. However since I'd loose more than the cost of a hydro and an O2 clean on them it looks like I'm gonna keep 'em around for another 5 years.

Doing some math (scary) would I really need almost #20 of lead if I was to sidemount AL80s??? That seems excessive but losing #9 per tank for a tank that's +#2 each when close to empty is my math right? And that's in fresh water I'd need even more in salt!?!

 

[2airishuman]

I do like the way they fit in sidemount they are just so heavy. However since I'd loose more than the cost of a hydro and an O2 clean on them it looks like I'm gonna keep 'em around for another 5 years.

Doing some math (scary) would I really need almost #20 of lead if I was to sidemount AL80s??? That seems excessive but losing #9 per tank for a tank that's +#2 each when close to empty is my math right? And that's in fresh water I'd need even more in salt!?!

Not that much. You have PSTs, which are neutral when empty, unlike the Worthingtons which are maybe -4, AL80s are +4, so you would be adding about 8 pounds (4 pounds per cylinder) if you want to base your weighting on empty cylinders. If you never use the last of the gas in your HP120s and you are carrying less lead to reflect that, you might have to add the difference in gas weight, which would be 3 pounds per cylinder, 6 pounds total, giving you 14 pounds more lead all together including cylinders and gas.

 

[tbone1004]

@2airishuman where did you get those numbers?
the PST120's are about 1.5lbs negative when empty, and the Worthington equivalents are about the same. I don't know any Worthingtons that are -4 though their X7-100's are about -3.3lbs similar to a PST LP104

@joe10540 to switch to al80's you should probably add about 6lbs per tank. 12lbs is still a lot, but less than 20.

 

[2airishuman]

I have 4 PSTs and 5 Worthingtons, and I measured.

There is certainly a difference. I ran the checks because I was getting inconsistent results from dive to dive, when I was trying to get my lead dialed in exactly.