Help w/ steel tank brands

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CWC

Contributor
Messages
101
Reaction score
36
Location
Arlington, TX
# of dives
200 - 499
I want to buy a high-pressure steel tank with a capacity around 120. I've been trying to research the different brands, but am getting a bit lost while trying to find out about current manufacturers. It seems that there's been a lot of change in the scuba cylinder industry this year. Worthington stopped making steel scuba tanks this year. OMS was bought by DUI, but won't be putting out any new products until next year. I couldn't find much info on PST's current offerings, if they're even still in business. I know Faber's are available. Who else is still manufacturing steel tanks?
 
Go with the Fabers. The only other choice is Chinese made, and I haven't actually seen them in the States for sale, I just keep hearing about them. OMS sells Fabers. You might find some old stock Worthington 120s if you look around hard enough.
 
I'm not opposed to buying used, but I doubt I'll find them local. By the time I factor in the cost of shipping, and possibly a new hydro, I'm not sure that the savings will be worth the risk of getting a bad tank. What would a good price be for a used HP120?
 
I would snap a Worthington up at $200, it would have to have a fresh hydro and I'd want to look in it for $300. And with the number of divers in Lakewood, I'd think they were everywhere.
 
Go over to Cave Diver's Forum....There is a recent thread/post about LP/HP tanks that clears up misconceptions/misinformation about tanks of all brands/sizes etc.....
 
I just picked up a set of Worthington X7-100's (with bands and manifolds) locally for $550 last week. Still have two years left on hydro and were just visually inspected not long ago (have 11 months left on the sticker). Best bet is to get cash on hand so you can snatch something up if you do find a local deal.

I wasn't planning on buying a set that soon, but my dive buddy told me another one of HIS buddies was selling them for that and they were in his garage ready to be picked up that night, I wasn't going to miss out. Beats paying $980 for a new set of Fabers from Dive Gear Express three or four months from now.

Now all I need to do is find the money for a set of HOG first and second stages...
 
I have multiple fabers. Ii have seapearl faber,,,, oms fabers ,,,, xs fabers,,, and faber fabers All of them lp tanks. 40's 85's 95's 120's. Some one else would have to help here but when it comes to steels the only names i can think of is faber worthington pst. if you are bent on gettng hp tanks,,, get big ones I say that because when you get a short fill you will really come up short. Especially on a 3200# system. Fill and cools to 3000#. So you loose just shy of 20%, That makes a hp 120 about a 95-100. Less than my lp95's at 3000.

I want to buy a high-pressure steel tank with a capacity around 120. I've been trying to research the different brands, but am getting a bit lost while trying to find out about current manufacturers. It seems that there's been a lot of change in the scuba cylinder industry this year. Worthington stopped making steel scuba tanks this year. OMS was bought by DUI, but won't be putting out any new products until next year. I couldn't find much info on PST's current offerings, if they're even still in business. I know Faber's are available. Who else is still manufacturing steel tanks?
 
So. there's lots of factors here. The old skinny neck PST's are much higher quality tanks than the current Worthingtons. If you look inside of them it becomes abundantly clear, Faber tanks are also much higher quality. There are a few old manufacturers, Walter Kidde etc, but you are unlikely to find them, and certainly not in large sizes.

LP vs. HP is the big question but that needs to come second to what physical size tank you need/want.
How does one find that out? Sit on the table and reach back with your right hand to just behind your ear. Basically get your upper arm as high as it is comfortable and natural and let your forearm flop back onto it. This is where you need the tank valve. Make a fist, and preferably with a second person holding the tape measure, measure from your fist straight down to the tank you're sitting on. Subtract 3 ish inches and this is your ideal tank height. This gives you optimal tank length to where you can safely reach the valve while underwater, and comfortably sit while on land. This puts the valve much higher than you are used to in a recreational environment, but if you can't reach the valve it isn't safe to dive.

Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan
XS Scuba Worthington Steel Cylinder Specifications
You can then go to that page and cross reference the measurement to the length of the common tanks. Worthingtons are not on there, but are approximately the same size as the PST X series, and I linked the XS spec sheet for you. You then need to factor in your buoyancy requirements which will help you decide if a Faber is better than a PST which is better than a worthington.
Fabers are generally the lightest of the bunch, PST HP series come next, then the X series tend to be the heaviest. You can see this when you compare the PST 104 to the OMS 108's, or the PST HP 120 to the XS x7-120. PST 104 is -3.3lbs, faber is only -1. PST HP120 is -1.3lbs while the Worthington is -2. If you're regularly diving in very cold water, the more negative ballast you will need, so it's no harm in grabbing a heavier tank. I sink like a brick, so I dive PST HP tanks most of the time.

In 120 land you have the HP120's, X7-120's, X8-119's, LP95, LP104, LP108/112, LP121's. You do not often find LP tanks from PST, so while they are there, it is uncommon to find them in large sizes except the 104's which are very popular in cave country. Height range from these is pretty wild so you have the 121 at a whopping 29 inches tall which is enormous, down to the E8-119 at 24 inches which is shorter than an AL80. Most people are too short for the HP120/x7-120 and the 121's. I'm 6'4" with a long back and the 121's are not comfortable for me to sit with. The 104's are actually about perfect with the 120's being a smidge too long for me to be happy with. I like to sit back and lean against my tanks so while the theoretical length for me is actually what the 120's come out at, 28", I prefer the slightly shorter 27" on the 104's.

Fills have already been mentioned. If your shop regularly fills HP tanks, then you will likely get most of the way to a full fill. The HP and X series 119's/120's are just over 100cf at 3000psi. The tank factor on the X8-119 is about identical to the LP95 so that is why it is on the list. At 3000, the LP95 holds just over what the X8-119 does *108cf vs 104cf*. The larger 104's and 108's are truly spectacular tanks and when pumped up to 3k, hang out around the 130cf mark.

Talk to some of the more experienced divers in your area, they may have some to let you try to figure out what you like. Beware that with the PST HP series they are 300bar din ONLY, the rest of them will likely have din valves on them if you buy used. Fabers will likely have 300bars on them and Worthingtons are usually 200bar convertibles. If you have regs already, make sure they're din, if not, make sure you buy din. My personal preference is to the PST HP tanks. I like the hot dip galvanizing vs. the finish on the Fabers, though both of them are much higher quality than the Worthingtons imho. I wouldn't scoff at Faber tanks, but given the choice, for me it's the old PSTs every time. I have LP72's and HP120's that I use all the time for sidemount from PST, and prefer the 104's to the 108's for their buoyancy and extra length when diving backmount doubles.
 

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