To Rent Or Buy, That is The Question?

[Ironhed]

living here in florida I dive all the time, for me I need to have my tanks available at all times in case we decide to head offshore and go spearing. I keep my tanks filled. now for you it might be easier to plan when your going diving and just rent the tanks for the day. If you decide to buy them I strongly suggest diving larger steels because you can get 2 times the air for the same price of a fill. i dive steel 120's and steel 95's. I can get almost twice the air of an aluminum 80 in a steel 120. I made the mistake of buying aluminum tanks at first and if I could go back I would have started with a steel 120' shop around. one shop here in daytona has steel fabers for 249.00 out the door filled. other shops will tack on another 100 bucks for a steel faber.

 

[mattroz]

how does 120 = 200% of ~80? i think you mean 150%

 

[PJH]

If I remember right, the steel tanks can be filled to a higher pressure than an Al 80, no?

 

[jdvaughn]

it depends....lp steel cant and HP steel can

 

[spectrum]

If I remember right, the steel tanks can be filled to a higher pressure than an Al 80, no?

Thats only a question of the pressure rating of the cylinder for it's stated capacity. Low pressure steels are properly filled below the 3000 PSI fill of an AL80. HP steels are filled to a higher pressure.

If you are thinking of the practice of overfilling low pressure steel cylinders that's not a solid decision maker since not all shops will provide that service. If you choose to overfill and you can have it done then I suppose you could consider it a bonus.

Pete

 

[PJH]

Sorry, I was thinking of the HP cylinders. I should have been clearer.

A HP steel 120 could hold nearly twice the air of an Al 80, couldn't it?

- Paul

 

[spectrum]

Sorry, I was thinking of the HP cylinders. I should have been clearer.

A HP steel 120 could hold nearly twice the air of an Al 80, couldn't it?

- Paul

A steel HP 120 holds 120CF of air.

Through a marketing miracle the common AL80 holds 77.4 cubic feet of air.

My math says that you have 55% more air in the 120.

Pete

 

[Vicente]

I keep filled cylinders around the house. If you live someplace warm, don't store them in the tin shed or car trunk eh? Or expansion will overpressurise and blow the burst discs.

I have 2 Worthington HP-80's at the moment. Seriously considering adding a HP-100. Really nice when I decide to go shore diving, to not factor in a 1-hour trip to the dive-shop to get fills. Next step is my own compressor I think.

 

[spectrum]

Next step is my own compressor I think.

That's not a step, it's a leap, good luck!

Pete

 

[skynscuba]

How much diving are you going to do near home (South Dakota?), and how much on trips? You won't be taking your tanks on trips by air. I have a couple of used AL80's that I bought for $50 each, but they haven't seen much use. Actually, they've seen more use in my swimming pool, checking out gear and getting my newby girlfriend comfortable, than on actual dives. The local dives I do are mostly boat dives, where the tanks are supplied on the boat. I still like having the tanks, and do use them for some shore dives.