tank questions

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scubajim311

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Me and my wife dive in monterey, wearing 7m suits, which causes us to have to wear a good amount of weight. My wife is a bit more frail then i am, so she always has a hard time lugging her gear back to the car. So what are my choices, can i buy her a lighter aluminum tank? but then i still have to add weight to compensate for the bouyancy at the end of the dive. Would getting a smaller tank help? she does use a lot less air them i do, so that might be an option. Or should i just be a gentleman and lug her gear too. Any suggestions appreciated, thanks
 
My ex-wife preferred Faber 72's. They were shorter than an AL 80 (21 inches) and weighed two pounds less than an AL80. They were also 4 lbs negative when empty so they were a 8 lbs more negative than an Al 80. The total weight savings when compared to an AL 80 was 10 pounds when you considered the reduced amount of lead weight required.

That said, the odds are good you will be your spouse's tank sherpa as 10 lbs may not be that much of a weight savings when you consider the total weight she has to carry.
 
I doubt if any reasonably sized tank will really make that much difference. A little smaller tank should save a few pound - would 5 pounds less really make her happy. A smaller HP steel tank would also take some lead off and might save a bit more. Best plan would be to come up with a carrying system to ease your load and eat your Wheaties. Or take her to warmer water.
 
Find her an old steel 72, weight about 35 pounds full, an aluminum 80 weighs something around 39 pounds full on my scale with boot and valve (full). The steel LP72 is neutral when empty or only slightly positive where as the aluminum 80 goes 4 pounds positive. Given that a steel 72 at (2,475 psi) is 72.4 cf and the aluminum 80 is barely 77 cf if absolutely full her dive time should not be affected. Weight off the tank and weight off the belt total should be around eight or nine pounds for her walk. N
 
I second the 72 cf Fabers. Mine is tiny and -11 lbs bouyant. Love the tank for long shore dive walks or habing to walk up and down steep paths.
 
in her situation, a smaller steel tank would be almost ideal ... and you won't have to add any weight, in fact, you'll have to take some off

as mentioned above, weight off the tank and weight off in lead will really give her a boost
 
thank you all for the helpful advice, i will definetley look into the smaller steel tanks.
 
And still do the "smart thing"....carry your bride's gear!
 
I got my wife a XS 65 HP steel for many of the same reasons. She took off 8lbs of weights and her dry weight was reduced even more. She has no need for a bigger tank because we go down just about PSI for PSI compared to my 80 when diving together.
 
Me and my wife dive in monterey, wearing 7m suits, which causes us to have to wear a good amount of weight. My wife is a bit more frail then i am, so she always has a hard time lugging her gear back to the car. So what are my choices, can i buy her a lighter aluminum tank? but then i still have to add weight to compensate for the bouyancy at the end of the dive. Would getting a smaller tank help? she does use a lot less air them i do, so that might be an option. Or should i just be a gentleman and lug her gear too. Any suggestions appreciated, thanks

Looks like we are in the same position :)
like others said you can get her a small steel tank. Aluminum tanks are not lighter than HP steel tanks. I'm currently considering HP 80 or even HP65. XS HP 80 is approx 4 lb lighter than AL80 as I remember. Then you can take more weight of the weight belt. And you have to compensate for the buoyancy no matter what tank you have as you compensate for the weight of the air. But also keep in mind that even if she breathes much less air you need to consider the options of her bailing your out in case of you SCUBA failure. It also depends how each tank feels and trims and that depends on her height.

As I have not bought a tank for my wife yet I'm being a gentlemen and haul her tank and weights :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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