Steel tanks, Yoke valves, DIN valves and the lot?

[MechDiver]

I am starting to think that I need to stay with an AL 80 or perhaps a 100 for personal tanks. If I shed weight, I will be diving with almost none in the tropics or flordia. Hmmm ok I will have to think on this... there is alot more to this then I thought....

Depends on if you'll be taking your tanks with you. Most don't for tropics and you'd be using alum there most likely anyway.

I don't worry about ditchable weight and dive a SS bp&w, STA and steel 80 with a drysuit, freshwater, with no additional weight. I add 5 pounds for saltwater.

As the steel tanks are so expensive, it really helps if you can dive a couple different types/sizes to see how they work for you. Many folks have trim problems with the shorter tanks, but my short 80s work great for me.
It bears some thought before jumping.

MD

 

[Greg Barlow]

Generally, steel tanks are a better bet than alum because, when near empty, they go to neutral or negative instead of positive. This doesn't mean that you don't have to overweight yourself at the start of a dive, but it does mean you no longer have to add weight on top of that for a positive swing.

The offset is that steel tanks are expensive and require somewhat more attention to care than alum. HP steel tanks carry more air for their size, but that is sometimes offset by less than stellar trim qualities and the chance that all shops cannot give you a good fill. LP tanks are heavier than HP and that may allow you to remove somewhat more weight. They can also be overpressured, depending on personal feelings and the enlightenment of shop personel, to match that of HP tanks in most cases.

MD

In my opinion, the new E-series basically make the old HP tanks obsolete. The new E-series can be "legally' filled to their working pressure for a substantial increase in gas volume. If the high pressure fills aren't available, you still have considerable volume in a nicely sized package. The 119ft versions are really nice for shorter individuals and contain nearly 50% more gas than an AL80.

Of course, some divers for years have been overfilling their older LP tanks for the increase in volume, only now every capable shop will do it. A large number of shops simply refuse to overfill any tank regardless of its composition.

Greg

 

[pescador775]

Raven, you will need to take a Sherwood 5000 valve, new style, to a machine shop and machine the existing thread and O ring channel to 7/8-14 UNF. You should furnish an HP DIN valve to the machinist to copy. Also, install a 3500 psi WP disc into the valve. Before machining you must disassemble the valve, remove all loose parts. Don't worry about the security of the yoke system. It will easily handle 3500 psi. Comments to the contrary are silly.
Pesky

Ok I am sure this has been answered previously, and the terms I keep plugging in give me tons of gear for sale, but no answers to my questions.

Ok, after looking at tanks for quite a while and discussing SAC, and weighting questions with a bunch of people. The tank I am looking for is a HP Steel 100 or 120.

Now the issue is I am only finding these tanks with DIN valves and like many recreational divers gear, I have yolk adapter on my first stage. Sooooo.... is this a simple matter of an adapter? Do I need to re-think my entire thought process on this?

(I am not buying new regs)

 

[Boogie711]

Raven, you will need to take a Sherwood 5000 valve, new style, to a machine shop and machine the existing thread and O ring channel to 7/8-14 UNF. You should furnish an HP DIN valve to the machinist to copy. Also, install a 3500 psi WP disc into the valve. Before machining you must disassemble the valve, remove all loose parts. Don't worry about the security of the yoke system. It will easily handle 3500 psi. Comments to the contrary are silly.
Pesky

LOL! Machining valves? Dissassembly? Adding new disks? Dude - have you read the thread?

Or maybe he can just get a DIN convertor for his reg, hmmm? Why on earth anyone would WANT a yoke reg is beyond me anyway.

 

[zboss]

I am starting to think that I need to stay with an AL 80 or perhaps a 100 for personal tanks. If I shed weight, I will be diving with almost none in the tropics or flordia. Hmmm ok I will have to think on this... there is alot more to this then I thought....

no ditchable weight.

 

[Mo2vation]

LOL! Machining valves? Dissassembly? Adding new disks? Dude - have you read the thread?

Answer: "No - but I have more to say...."

This is the classic ScubaBoard thread... the "show up and throw up" response. To see that this sickness has spread to the hinter regions of the board (the TANK ROOM of all places) is very discouraging. You used to have to hang out in the Tek or DIR sections (or exposure suits) to get pummelled like this...

We've lost Raven forever after this one.

K

 

[pescador775]

Who are you calling 'dude'? Cheeky moron.

LOL! Machining valves? Dissassembly? Adding new disks? Dude - have you read the thread?

Or maybe he can just get a DIN convertor for his reg, hmmm? Why on earth anyone would WANT a yoke reg is beyond me anyway.

 

[cornfed]

Who are you calling 'dude'? Cheeky moron.

Would anyone else care for popcorn?

 

[Boogie711]

Who are you calling 'dude'? Cheeky moron.

OK - apparently you're easily confused. That would be you, dude.

And, as evidenced by the first word in Mo2vations follow up post, I hardly think I was out of line, Mr Ball of Happy Sunshine.

Signed,

The Cheeky Moron.

 

[Sideband]

That being said, WTF kind of tank am I looking for? I know AL100's get to be 10 to 14lbs pos when they are near empty. Soooo Unless for the begining of the dive I want to over weight a ton, what the hell....

Whoa. Are you exagerating a bit or are you looking at the characteristics of some weird tanks? 10 to 14lbs Pos.? Almost every AL80 tank I have looked at is closer to the 3-5lb pos. range. Yes, the positive swing sucks, but not THAT bad. I'd have to wear about 39 lbs of lead to keep from rocketing to the surface towards the end of the dive. That would be about a 16lb shift in buoyancy.
Sherwood makes a "neutral 80" that is -1.4lbs empty.
http://diversdiscount.com/resources.../shop/product.asp?category=200&page=1&recs=15
Relax. Things aren't that bad.