Why no one uses tank boots on doubles?

[AfterDark]

Like Paladin I remove the boots on my tanks a few times per year. I also change the O ring on my valves once or twice a year. Guess what, in all my years diving I've never had an Oring blow or rust under the tank boots. The exception is the used 50's I just picked up. Apparently the pervious owner left the boots on since 1967. A little power wire brushing and some primer fixed it for this season. I'll be glass beading and painting them completely his winter. Steel tanks should be stored upright. If water should get inside during a dive, the rust will be only on the bottom where the metal is thickest and easy to clean and confirm cleaned. Laying a tank down with water in it will cause a line of rust from the bottom to the top depending on the amount of water. When not in storage; like gearing up or SI on shore dives the tanks should be laid down so as not to be knocked over. I use wire tank stands at home to store my tanks upright safely.

 

[eelnoraa]

So looks like the reason so far is: 1) extra edge that can get caught. 2)higher rusting potential.

JamesK, does DIR specially say no tank boots on double? I don't remember hearing about that, but again, I guess no one there ask tho.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Steel tanks should be stored upright. If water should get inside during a dive, the rust will be only on the bottom where the metal is thickest and easy to clean and confirm cleaned. Laying a tank down with water in it will cause a line of rust from the bottom to the top depending on the amount of water. When not in storage; like gearing up or SI on shore dives the tanks should be laid down so as not to be knocked over.

I think this is generally good advice, but it's a little dated.

It's far more important to use practices that keep water out of tanks in the first place. The reality is that compressors, water separators and filter stacks are a lot better than they used to be and air quality from the average dive shop is a lot better than it was in the 50's and 60's when this advice was widespread.

I store my steel tanks on their sides and I don't lose any sleep over it - in part because I am careful where I get fills and because of confirmation provided VIPs each year that disclose clean tanks with not even flash rust.

 

[mheaster]

You would think that it would be far easier to locate cheap, used tank boots!
Looking for boots for two old steel 72's and one for a HP 120!

 

[Cave Diver]

I can buy the 2nd reason, but the 1st and the 3rd, it seems no different than single tank.

1. There's a lot more mass to a set of doubles, and even standing up in boots they have an increased likelihood of falling over, and due to their increased mass, there's a lot more potential for damage to occur if they should vs. a single tank.

3. The majority of single tanks you're going to encounter are aluminum. The majority of doubles are going to be steel.

 

[Paulmal]

Another reason is the tank boots are larger than the tank and when cave diving can get the diver stuck in restrictions, trapping the diver. Recreational and tech mindsets are vastly different, this leads to the different ideas of how gear should be handled.

 

[ajduplessis]

I struggle to see how boots on cylinders adding less than 5th of an inch is going to cause you to get trapped. The same would then be true for adding additional thermal protection at around half an inch. Maybe being a bit overweight is going to cause the same problem. Going through extreme narrow restitution in the first place is asking for trouble, but if you have to do it use sidemount!!

As with other I remove the boots after every trip to make sure they are dry. Using them without boots causes the surface to scratch and cause even greater rust potential.

The boots also make kitting up doubles a lot easier.

 

[drbill]

Finally, some varieties of boots trap water and cause rust or under the boot. That's a number one killer of steel tanks.

Another reason I dive almost exclusively with neutral buoyancy Al 80 tanks.

---------- Post Merged at 09:07 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:04 AM ----------

I think this is generally good advice, but it's a little dated.

It's far more important to use practices that keep water out of tanks in the first place. The reality is that compressors, water separators and filter stacks are a lot better than they used to be and air quality from the average dive shop is a lot better than it was in the 50's and 60's when this advice was widespread.

Here in California dive boat fills are often sources of water intrusion. I lost one of my HP120s due to this. It was filled almost entirely on a dive boat. No problem with rust on the other HP120 that was filled almost exclusively on land.

 

[Paulmal]

Yes the boot is only a 5th of an inch but it can cause problems when going through restrictions. Eliminating potential problems in an overhead environment is why most cave diver do not use them. At the end of the day it's personal preference, pick your poison. Tanks get scratched on the sides more than the bottom any ways.

 

[ianr33]

It's not so much the 1/5 inch that's the problem, but the fact it makes a right angle to the tanks at the top of the boot. That can snag on rock and lines.

And boots are just not cool.