high pressure carbon fibre tanks

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JS1scuba:
IN 2003 Luxfer introduced the Luxfer Limited 4350 PSI HoopWrapped Aluminum Cylinder. These things were / are great. They come in 2 sizes. 106 cuft and 85 cuft. The 106 is the same physical size as an aluminum 80 and the 85 is the same physical size as the alum 63.

I had/have the first batch that came out of the factory and was doing the water tests on them. They were/are outstanding tanks. The bouyancy of them is great and they are nicely balanced. Only one thing ...... if you want the rated volume you gotta have the 4350 psi pressure. If you can only fill them to 3000 psi then you have effectively an 80 and a 63.

The price on these retail is in the $325 range which put them in line with HP steel. The only problem from a marketing standpoint is that there are few dive centers set up to fill them. As a result they were a dud. At best I belive they sold a few hundred. But they are still available on a custom order basis.

These are a standard thick aluminum with what i like to call the "kevlar girdle" to help with the greater pressure.

Carbon Fiber wrap cylinders were used early in tech diving as experiements. These are very light and hold a lot of gas at 4500 psi but float like a cork --which makes them unattractive for diving.

The big market for carbon fiber wrap cylinders is the home-health care market for granny to tote her oxygen bottle around and not feel like she is lugging a bowling ball.

Paintballers also love them for weight and agility.

Hope that helps you.

Regards,
I thought I had a great idea for once. Surprise, someone's already done it :p
 
jonnythan:
I thought I had a great idea for once. Surprise, someone's already done it :p


Sorry -- this stuff is kinda old hat ..... divers have been messing with SCBA bottles for years .... they just dont work for what you want to do with diving.

Regards,
 
mike_s:
A din is rated to I think 3500psi?
300 BAR DIN = 300 BAR * 14.5 PSI/BAR = 4350 PSI.

Roak
 
DIN means Deutsch International Norm ........ it's a thread size

300 Bar = 4350 psi
232 Bar = 3364 psi
200 Bar = 2900 psi

A 300 Bar rated cylinder will take 4350 psi.

A 300 Bar DIN outlet Valve only means that the valve has a 9 thread count and can take a 9 thread DIN male connector. IT is the base or "boss" of the valve that determines the pressure it can acccept from the cylinder.

A "high pressure" cylinder ie 3500psi-4350 psi will have a small neck opening where as a "lower pressure" cylinder ie 2015-3442 psi will have a larger 3/4 inch neck opening.

Fill 'er UP

Regards,
 
SeanQ:
The only benifits to SCUBA that I can think of is that they are easy to haul around on land or boats.
Now that's an interesting point. While it's true that more weight on the belt would be needed to offset the cylinder's bouyancy, that weight would only need to be carried to the dive site once. On a multi-dive day that means less total weight needs to be hauled to and from the beach or boat. Less physical effort is a good thing from a DCS perspective.
 
derwoodwithasherwood:
Now that's an interesting point. While it's true that more weight on the belt would be needed to offset the cylinder's bouyancy, that weight would only need to be carried to the dive site once. On a multi-dive day that means less total weight needs to be hauled to and from the beach or boat. Less physical effort is a good thing from a DCS perspective.
You leave your weights on the beach while you go home and sleep?
 
The "finding a good fill" problem, along with the cost make the composite bottles a pass, at least in the US. They've been in use in Europe for quite a few years & they've been able to work out a lot of the "undesireables", like a short lifespan.
I have a set of little doubles from the early '70s that are rated to 4400 psi, I don't think they've ever been pumped up anywhere near there.
 
jonnythan:
You leave your weights on the beach while you go home and sleep?
Yep. Around here we call them "rocks". They become a problem when beachcombing tourists want to take the "pretty rock" home with them.
 
JS1scuba:
Carbon Fiber wrap cylinders were used early in tech diving as experiements. These are very light and hold a lot of gas at 4500 psi but float like a cork --which makes them unattractive for diving.

I can't remember where I read this, but didn't the early carbon fiber tanks have some kind of leakage problem - they were too porous for helium or something?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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