Tank Talk

[philipvenero]

im new to diveing wich tank is the best what are the different kinds and wich last the longest stuff like that and what ever else you want to ad

[philipvenero]

oh and what is the diff between low pressure tank and high and what is better

[elan]

There is not thing like the best tank. Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages. One of the factors, to mention a few are: the water temperature you are diving, your body composition, your air consumption whether you double them up or not. those are only few

You can read some info here: How to Select a SCUBA Tank - Dive Gear Express (http://www.diveriteexpress.com/library/tanks.shtml) it helped me when I was selecting

[Scared Silly]

I would suggest reading the many many posts in this forum. Many of your questions and have been discussed ad nausium. Also they are so general that perhaps a trip to your local dive shop might be in order. And this is even though you might leave with more questions than answers but at least you will have some basis for those questions.

[DA Aquamaster]

I never ever say this - but the search function is your friend. There are literally hundreds of threads on this issue.

[Doc Harry]

You could spend years reading all the previous threads on this subject.

Or, you could just get a cheap and trustyworthy aluminum 80 for now while you figure out what you really want.

[rjenbody]

Steel rules. A steel 80 is much smaller and lasts longer than an alum 80. I've got a steel HP 120 and I love it. Heavy it is, but I'm not running out of air anytime soon.

[Brewone0to]

You live in cave country, so I would suggest finding a set of low pressure doubles.
Often times a set of double 95's-108's can be had for $500-$600.

If you separate them, it leaves you with 2 tanks.
Buy a pair of valves online, and sell off the manifold, bands, and bolts.
For decent brands this should result in a gain of $50-$150 for the trade out,
further reducing your overall cost factor. (just be sure that they will pass hydro test)
Using this method, you should be able to get a pair
of LP steel tanks for about what AL80's would cost you.

If you think I'm wrong about the LP steel tanks for your area,
just take a ride over to Luraville to "The Divers Outpost",
or go to Cave Excursions in High Springs and ask them.

BTW if you get "cave fills" in LP 85's, they hold just over 120 cu ft. each.

Low pressure tanks are what most people in your area end up
with for their buoyancy characteristics.
If you found them to be unsatifactory for you,
they would be the easiest tanks to sell off up there.

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Search is your friend and so is TDL's chart found here:

Scuba Cylinder Specifications from Tech Diving Limited - 928-855-9400 (http://www.tdl.divebiz.net/pub/tanks.html)

My $.02, buy an aluminum 80 with a 200bar DIN convertible valve for your first couple tanks, they are light weight, offer plenty of gas for recreational NDL diving (usually) and are cheaper then their steel cousins. oh and go with a paint free brushed or blasted finish IMO.

Aluminum 80's make great stage bottles if you move into technical diving, they are readily available at most shops, most places use them as their primary rental tanks, etc.

another good option are the old low pressure 72's (w/ 3/4" threads of course) or another favorite of mine is the Hp 100 or LP 104.

to answer about HP v.s. LP:

a low pressure tank is rated as "X" cubic foot based on a lower pressure usually around 2400 PSI. though that tank will only actually contain that rated volume of air if it is filled to its "+" rating of 10% over. so a low pressure 72 is only 72 cubic feet if its filled to 2400 + 10% or 2640 PSI.

a Medium pressure tank is generally not labeled as such but would fall into the 3000psi catagory.

a High pressure tank will be considered HP if its over 3000 PSI (I think) as some tanks are rated to 3442 and some 3500 and yet others are 3130 + 10%. Again a tanks volume (cubic foot) is relative to its pressure so that HP 100 can only contain 100 cubic feet if its filled to 3442.

With that said, a LP104 and a HP 130 are pretty much the same tank because at 2640psi they are both about 104 cubic feet and if you over filled that LP tank to 3442psi it would come in at about 130 cubic feet.

So I just said you can fill a LP tank to a pressure exceeding its rating, well true people have done this and do do this but its technically illegal and most shops wont to it. Is it safe? thats up to you to decide.

So why not go for a HP tank? Simply put not everyone will or can fill to that higher pressure so why buy a HP tank when all you can get are LP fills.

Why not buy the biggest tank I can find? because you probably dont need it. the added expense and weight doesn't usually warrant the huge tanks unless you move into deeper diving or extended bottom times. When you get to that level of diving you will know how much gas you use and what size tank to buy.

hope that helps.

[WD8CDH]

Remember, when deciding on the safety of overfilling an LP tank that while an LP tank may look like an HP tank the strength of the steel is entirely different due to different alloy and heat treating.

[roturner]

im new to diveing wich tank is the best what are the different kinds and wich last the longest stuff like that and what ever else you want to ad

A tank is just a means to an end. I don't think you can see the "tank" separately from the configuration as a whole and the goal/type of dive you want to make.

Work your logic backwards from the question: "what do I want to do" and the right tank for that job will fit into the puzzle.

R..

[FritzCat66]

Accept nothing less than a pure titanium alloy 350 cubic foot tank the size of a softball.



Might have a little trouble finding fills.



...and the tank.

[SparticleBrane]

Steel rules. A steel 80 is much smaller and lasts longer than an alum 80. I've got a steel HP 120 and I love it. Heavy it is, but I'm not running out of air anytime soon.

That isn't 100% accurate...

The 3442psi 80s are quite small, while LP80s are close to Al80s in size.


To the OP I might also recommend a course in spelling and grammar...:eyebrow: