New to Sidemount Tank HELP!

gday guys! i started Scuba only this year and in the next month i am doing a
side mount coarse! I was just wondering what cylinders do you suggest for side mounting?
First off Alloy or Steel? and Size?

Cheers

In cave country lp85's seem to be the most popular, also hp100's. I sidemount 85's and love em. I also see lp95's and lp104;s but rarely anything else. In Mexico they use standard 80,s. Youll have to tweek things and having a pool or other water close by will help alot. Sidemount is very individual and takes alot of checkout dives to get dialed in but is a great way to dive 2 tanks or more.

Sidemount is an excellent choice. My preference is HP steel 120s, most of my diving is open water. I would probably choose something smaller and more streamline for caves. I've also used LP 95s, aluminum 80s and so forth. Like stairman stated, you'll need to practice with any changes in configuration to work out weight and trim issues.

Describe the dives you are going to be doing. Warm or cold water? Wetsuit or drysuit? Recreational or tech? OW or overhead? Shallow or deep? Deco? Stages? What are you trying to get from sidemount? etc. All of this will help

Check out this article written by Rob (Diveaholic) here on the board. It is the second article down and talks about cylinders.
Sidemount « Rob Neto

James Linked the article that I was going to haha.

Anyways like they said, you can pretty well side mount any tank out there.

That being said, my preference is to the narrower tanks (7.25"), i find them easier to manage. The two I side mount with are HP100s, and Al 80s. For single tank recreational side mount I use an Al80 or an Al63.

I've been using AL40s for the pool, but steel LP50s for open water based training dives. Once the student gets the basics we move on to cylinders most appropriate to what they'll be diving ususlly. For warm water or people who prefer renting to owning, thats AL80s. LP85/HP100 are next most common, for average height guys like myself LP95, and for my taller (and more buoyant) students we use HP120/130. At the end of the day though, I'd say it's significantly easier to trim out and adjust for various cylinder sizes in Sidemount than in Backmount, so worry a bit less and dive what's available.

Enjoy your class, and Safe Diving!

MattWilliams:

in the next month i am doing a side mount coarse! I was just wondering what cylinders do you suggest for side mounting?

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As several have said, or implied, the very precise, specific, and technical answer is, 'It depends.'

You are new to diving, I suspect you are looking at an open water sidemount course that will not necssarily involve overhead (hard or soft) environments such as caves / confined spaces, or decompression obligations.

What are you diving now for a back mount (single) cylinder? How does that trim out for you? What exposure suit do you plan to use? What BCD do you plan to use? There are many options available, and it is hard to say that any particular option is wrong.

You could dive with two AL40s, to get a feel for the rigging of SM cylinders, and to practice gas switching. But, they are uncoomon in routine use because it is hard to see the benefit - for most recreational diving - of two AL40s over a single AL80. You could dive with two AL80s, because they are so common / ubiquitous in diving that learning how to manage them is a very useful skill.

You could use any of the cylinders recommended by other posters. You could dive with various steel cylinders - HP or LP, short or long, slim or fat, and whether or not they 'fit' you depends very much on you. Each respondent can tell you what we like - in my case AL80s or steel HP100s. Some of us can tell you what we start SM students off in - AL 40s, or AL80s, in my case.

I suggest you engage the instructor you are going to work with, and see what s/he prefers for training, and WHY.

MattWilliams:

gday guys! i started Scuba only this year

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Good for you - pushing the envelope a bit, but with formal training. Let the Board know how the course goes.