What is your tank lineup?

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SINGLES

AL80 (4) - 2 for backmount singles, or sidemounting; 2 for deco bottles
AL40 (2) - pony or deco
AL30 (4) - pony or deco
AL6 (1) - drysuit inflation
HP 100 (2) - back mount singles, or sidemounting
HP 120 (2) - previously doubled, but broken down for sidemounting

DOUBLES

AL80 (1 SET)
HP 100 (1 SET)
HP 130 (1 SET)

As previously noted:
decompression:
Just tools to get the job done.

I have just about everything I need, even if I don't have everything I want. Next acquisition will probably be LP85s (2) for sidemounting.
 
HP100 (4)
HP80 m(4)
MP Faber 72 (2)
LP72 (1)
AL80 (2)
Al19 (1)
Al40 (1)
 
LP40
LP85
LP100 x 2
LP125
HP120

I use an LP100 most of the time.

I bought the LP125 with Nitrox for a specific dive site in Sydney which I dive frequently. It is a but deeper (22m) and longer so the extra gas helps and the nitrox means I can stay deeper longer. I have more recently got the HP120 for the same site (same weight and volume as the LP125 but 2kg less buoyant when empty so I can carry 2kg less weight). I can also use the LP100 + LP40 for that site and also have redundant air.
 
The tanks we've used have changed over the years as our diving has changed.

Currently:

4 LP 85s
8 LP 95s (for sale)
4 LP 45s (for sale)
6 Steel 72s
2 2 Liter Faber FX 15s
3 AL 80s
3 AL 13s
1 AL 6

-----

Starting out in OW in 1985, I had two steel 72s. I still have both of them today, along with another four I picked up along the way. They are still excellent tanks for single tank diving with better buoyancy traits than AL 80s. We also use them for side mount dives in OW and in smaller cave passages. They again have delightful buoyancy traits for side mount diving and when filled to 3000 psi offer an honest 86 cu ft capacity, 9 cu ft more than an AL 80.

We also own three Luxfer AL 80s (but they've been on loan the last couple years to an instructor who uses them for OW students). We used them as stage bottles for longer deco dives in caves, and they'll work just fine for side mount rebreather bottles as well for diluent/bailout gas.

We own 4 Cyl-Tech/Hy-Mark AL 72s and they are extremely nice to dive, with the same 7" external diameter as a Steel 72. They are only 1/4 smaller in diameter than an AL 80, but the difference is noticeable. They also make excellent stage bottles and diluent/bailout rebreather bottles.

The Steel 72s, AL 72s and AL 80s are all light enough to be floated with an SMS 50 (22 pound wing) in a 5mm wet suit, along with cave lights, reels, etc.

We own four Faber LP 85s that we use as side mount tanks for cave diving. They are once again 7" diameter tanks and help make small passages feel bigger. With a 3600 psi cave fill, they provide 115 cu ft of gas each, 230 cu ft per pair, only 30 cu ft less than a pair of cave filled LP 95s. They are heavy enough that the SMS 50 won't float them with a wet suit, however they are nearly ideal for side mount cave diving with a dry suit and they make excellent diluent/bailout bottles for our side mount rebreathers.

We have four pairs of LP 95s, and we used them for about 5 years as doubles for cave diving, and then for the last 5 years as side mount tanks for cave diving. They are however currently all for sale ($400 per pair, with bands and isolators available) as they are no longer the best fit for the dives we do.

We had four Worthington X7-100s that were absolutely superb tanks for NC wreck diving, holding 100 cu ft for about the same weight as an AL80, once you factored in the additional weight needed for AL 80s in a dry suit. We rarely do that kind of diving anymore, and if we do, we'll use our LP 85s, or our rebreathers, so I sold all four to the local dive shop about a month ago.

For smaller tanks, we have four LP 45s that we used for O2 decompression bottles, with an eye toward possibly using them for very small passage side mount diving, but I don't think that's a direction we're moving in, so they are up for sale ($300 each, O2 cleaned for the pair just back from hydro and $250 each for the set due for hydro next year).

We have a pair of AL 30s that have been our primary O2 decompression tanks for nitrox and trimix cave diving. AL40s would be slightly better, but not enough for us to ever bother switching.

I have a Luxfer AL 6 and a Luxfer AL 13 that I've used over the years as an inflator bottle for cold water trimix dives. I'm still using the AL 6 as a potential redundant source of diluent for my side mount rebreather, and the AL 13 is currently doing duty holding pure helium for our Air Swimmers.

We also have a pair or Worthington AL 13 tanks that serve as O2 bottles for our rebreathers, along with a fair of Faber FX 15 15 cubic foot (2 liter) steel tanks that have the same job. The difference in buoyancy when full is only 0.3 pounds so the two types are essentially interchangeable. If I did it over again, I'd skip the twice as expensive Fabers and buy twice as many AL 13s.
 
I used to have a variety of tanks steel and aluminum 80 100 120 130 13 etc.

through wheeling and dealing, trading and selling I now have 6 HP steel 100 1 al 13 (pony) 1 al 30 (pony) and 1 hp steel 120 (shop)
 
What is the point of this?

What other people have in stock is of no use to YOU as a diver. What YOU need is what YOU need. For many years I did not need to own a single tank, and that was just fine. Most of my diving was done away from home, so I took what the operator gave me. I had hundreds of dives before I saw any need to own any tanks, and that philosophy made compete sense for me and pretty much everyone else who, like me, was a middle American diver doing most of his dives in far off lands. My diving today is very different from my diving years ago, so I have a significant tank inventory I neither needed nor wanted not many years ago.
 
What is the point of this?

What other people have in stock is of no use to YOU as a diver. What YOU need is what YOU need. For many years I did not need to own a single tank, and that was just fine. Most of my diving was done away from home, so I took what the operator gave me. I had hundreds of dives before I saw any need to own any tanks, and that philosophy made compete sense for me and pretty much everyone else who, like me, was a middle American diver doing most of his dives in far off lands. My diving today is very different from my diving years ago, so I have a significant tank inventory I neither needed nor wanted not many years ago.

I think it's interesting to see how other people make these choices even though their situations are different. The commentary on why and how is as insightful as the what.
 
I started diving using my dad's 72. Later I moved around a lot, and traveled for diving, I would rent or borrow tanks to dive with.

When I settled down a bit I purchased two Al80s because I did not dive near a shop and wanted to at least get in two dives in before a refill, which may kill the day anyway, and two steel tanks cost a lot more. I next bought a cheap used 72.

My first new steel tank was an LP 95 for $125 in a dive shop with a year or so off its hydro. Since then I have picked up tanks used when I can get a good deal and have the cash. Most of my 72s and my replacement AL80s ( my old ones were bad alloy and had to go ) were given to me or are on "permanent loan" by buddys who gave up diving.

I never actually bought a tank because I actually decided I had to have that particular tank, except for the pony. All have their pluses and minuses, but since they hold air I don't have anything bad to say about any of them.


AL19 (1) pony
AL80 (2)
LP 72 (6) 1 set of old J-valve doubles, hardware for another, 1 - 1/2" post valve for authentic double hose diving.
LP95 (1) boat tank
HP100 (1)
MP120 (2) used mainly for deep dives (too much air for my thermal protection at shallow depths)

I don't necessarily have all of them in hydro and VIP all the time as I have my favorites, and it's only on occasion I need them all operational at the same time. If I didn't work on my own equipment I would probably limit myself.


Bob
 
What is the point of this?

What other people have in stock is of no use to YOU as a diver. What YOU need is what YOU need. For many years I did not need to own a single tank, and that was just fine. Most of my diving was done away from home, so I took what the operator gave me. I had hundreds of dives before I saw any need to own any tanks, and that philosophy made compete sense for me and pretty much everyone else who, like me, was a middle American diver doing most of his dives in far off lands. My diving today is very different from my diving years ago, so I have a significant tank inventory I neither needed nor wanted not many years ago.

The point of the thread is mild curiosity. Having a conversation.

What is the point of your question?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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