buying a tank question

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aboalreem

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Scuba Instructor
Messages
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Location
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# of dives
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I am trying to buy a 95 cf or 120 cf nitrox tanks. any recommendations Alumminum Vs. Steel.
also where is the best place to buy them online?
thanks for your help
 
do you want HP or LP?

Steel tanks weigh more , but you get to take weight off your belt so it's not a disadvantage. Steel cost more though, which is why you see most people diving with an AL 80.

TDL Limited has a sale on some 2004 hydro/manufactured steel tanks. Otherwise buying them online doesn't save you much from most locations because of the shipping costs. ($25-$50 per tank). That and if you buy them at your LDS you can often get the O2 cleaning thrown in for free if you buy the tank from them.
 
Both the 95cf and 120cf tanks you mentioned are steel. The biggest aluminum tank that you will typically find are Al-100s (they are actually 98.8cf).

The 95 you mentioned is a lp95. It holds 95cf when it is "full" at 2640psi. It is 8" in diameter and 24ish" tall. The HP version of this tank (same diameter and height) is a HP-119 (or HP-117 if you are Faber). It is "full" at 3442psi.

The 120 you mentioned could be a lp120 or a hp120. The LP version (rated to 2640) is 8" in diameter and 29ish" tall. The HP version of those dimensions is a HP-149. This is a pretty big tank. Some folks call 'em water heaters.

The HP120 is 7.25" in diameter and 28" tall. Empty or full, these weigh a few pounds less than the shorter and fatter HP-119s, but you usually need to be on the tall side for them to trim out properly.

I think that for most people (if you can afford it) the steel tank is a better option than aluminum. Steel = less weight on your weight belt, more capacity in similar dimensions (than aluminum), and probably a little more durable.

HP or LP steel tanks? To me there is no reason to buy the lp steel tanks, unless you can get them at a considerable savings over the hp steel tanks and/or you live in North FL and can get consistent overfills. If you have to lug the same size and same (empty) weight around, wouldn’t you want it to hold more air (legally)?

For those who say that their LDS cannot fill the tank to 3442: I say "so what"? If they give you a 3000psi fill, you’ve still got more cf of gas than the lp steel filled to 2640 in the same size and empty weight.

For specs check out:
http://www.huronscuba.com/equipment/scubaCylinderSpecification.html and http://www.nitroxdiver.com/Tank-Specs.htm

If you are going to buy tanks on the internet look at http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Tanks.asp or http://www.techdivinglimited.com/ , but as Mike said you might do just as well at your LDS once you factor in shipping and 02 cleaning.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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