Updated SCUBA tank specifications list -- in PDF and spreadsheet

[ZamaTim]

Hello!

I have wasted my entire day re-working a SCUBA tank specifications list. I've been working with the Huron Scuba list for *years*, but I'm suspicious of the information: where did it come from? Also, it includes a lot of junk I've never seen in real life, as well as tanks that no one should *ever* dive. So, I completely reworked it.

My favorite part is that I've included links to where the data came from. In most cases, it's straight from the manufacturer, or at least a major US distributor. (So Blue Steel and XS Scuba for Faber, for example.) I've also added a few extra columns. The most important is the water volume of the tanks. With that, you can figure out the true capacity of the tanks -- and not just with air.

I'm including a PDF here. This is just the simple list with the water volume added and all numbers updated. This is for quick and easy reference. But I'm also including the spreadsheet I created as well. This has several additional columns. It has a column that calculates the true air capacity of the tank (including compressibility factor) from the stated water volume at rated pressure and the difference between rated pressure and calculated, as well as a column showing EAN32 capacity at 3600 PSI, and tank factors based on both the air and EAN32 capacities.

If all of that sounds too complicated, simply hide or delete columns E through J. And that's what the PDF is!

I've also both expanded and cleaned up the original list. I've added Worthington and Metal Impact tanks, and I've removed some goofy tanks (like Heiser tanks and weird MP tanks). The biggest items removed are the OMS steel tanks. I really wish I had a reference for these, but I can find nothing of verifiable value. It doesn't help that OMS doesn't actually make tanks, and they changed suppliers over the years... so without verification, I simply removed them. If you have a verifiable source (not just some random list on the Internet!), let me know!

There's more notes and comments in the spreadsheet, so check it out for further information.

I'd love any suggestions or thoughts you might have -- or sources for manufacturer specs, particularly for the OMS steel tanks, but also early PST tanks. I only have references for the E7/E8 (3442) tanks. If you have anything from the manufacturer for the LP or true-HP (3500) tanks, that would be good too.

P.S.: Grrr! You can upload MS Office formats, but *NOT* Open Document formats! So, I've exported it to Excel format. Hopefully it'll be properly formatted for you... It expanded everything to a million decimal points, but it will still work.

Edit: Attachments updated 2019/09/15. See post #58 for more details.

Edit: Attachments updated 2024/02/22. See post #88 for more details.

Great info, and I don't think you wasted your time at all. I was wondering if you have any data on the Avelo dive system? I haven't found very much real specs on the tank for some reason. I wonder why that is.

 

[DivingLane]

This file has been so helpful. I started diving last year, first using an aluminum 80. Bought myself two XS Scuba X8-119s (same as Worthington in your files I found out). and reweighted myself 6 lbs lower. That has worked well for me

I just bought the XS 80 and 100 tanks (same as Worthington's in the chart I think) for my son, who was also using the AL80s before. Am I using the charts correctly to decrease his weights by about 6lbs? I added columns in the sheet to compare buoyancy between the AL80 and our steel tanks. Hope my screenshot comes through.

Thanks all!

 

[tmassey]

Am I using the charts correctly to decrease his weights by about 6lbs? I added columns in the sheet to compare buoyancy between the AL80 and our steel tanks. Hope my screenshot comes through.

Excellent job really digging into this!

The only purpose for lead is to keep you neutral at the point of maximum buoyancy. And that point is when you have minimum gas (i.e. “empty” tanks) and maximum suit buoyancy (i.e. at minimum depth — at the safety stop). That means that for weighting, the only stat of the tank we care about is the empty buoyancy. And yes: in the screenshot you included, you can see that the difference is just over 5 pounds at least. So that’s how much lead you can drop.

Why do you sometimes hear a diver saying something like ‘I switched to steel and dropped 8 — even 10 pounds!’? Simple: they were overweighted *before* the switch. Other times you’ll see someone say that they can — or even worse, telling someone else that they *should* — drop 4 pounds between an HP100 and HP120 ‘because the tank is bigger and heavier’. But look at the empty *buoyancy* between those two tanks. You might actually need *more* lead with the 120’s: depending on the exact tanks, the 120’s might actually be a pound or so *floatier* than the 100’s! So again, how do people actually get away with that? They were already overweighted!

(An aside: is empty buoyancy the only number that matters? Nope: *full* buoyancy is the other important number in the water. It determines how much lift you need to float your rig at the start of the dive. So that number — along with the *minimum* amount of lift your exposure suit can deliver even in the event of failure — will determine how much lift you need from your wing. Is that the only other number you need? In the water, yes. But the full *weight* is an important figure for what it will take to move your rig around on shore. Remember: keep up on your weight-bearing exercises, kids: especially squats with excellent form!)

Proper weighing is kind of a passion for me. So, I’m excited to see others put solid effort into it. Keep up your thinking and analyzing. And remember while tanks are a big chunk of the issue, so is exposure suits — and suits are a lot more variable. Plus all the other small things that go into the process. But it’s worth the effort: Scuba is so much more enjoyable when you truly nail your weighting, buoyancy and trim.

Then you get to work on propulsion: friends don’t let friends flutter kick…. . But one step at a time!

 

[The Chairman]

Then you get to work on propulsion: friends don’t let friends flutter kick…

Amen bro, amen!

 

[Scared Silly]

I noticed that some of the Faber/SP cylinders are not listed. Here is a thread with an image of the specs.

Thread 'Scubapro/Faber LP 75.8 Chromemoly Steel Tanks'

Jul 24, 2018

I've been offered a Faber LP 75.8 along with this nifty catalog shot.
I want to buy myself a tank but I'm a bit of an air hog so I was hoping to buy 80-104ish CF.
How would this bad boy compare to an aluminum 80? Would I even notice the difference in capacity? How do they compare otherwise in the grand scale if bm singles tanks?

• Scuba Doobie Do
• 75.8 chromemoly lp-75.8 tank
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Tanks, Valves & Bands

A bit hard to read, but good enough. The ScubaPro MP71.4 is the same as the typical Fabe MP72. The ScubaPro LP95 is the same as the typical Fabe LP95.