Bigger tanks and dive ops

[Randy-S]

OK so the count down is on, we are in coz in less then 6 weeks.. YEA!!
I have been checking into the different dive ops and see that some offer bigger tanks for longer dives. SInce I am a big guy and probley a little to active of a diver. Being new to diving i dont want to miss anything. I like the thought of more air longer bottom time. Would I need to bring an adaptor for my reg to handle the bigger tank?
Wieght wise i guess I would need less right?
If anyone has any experence with the bigger tanks please chime in.
Randy

[Wristshot]

In general the connections should be the same. The only difference should be the weight and trim of a larger tank.

My buddy (and another big guy) used 100 CF tanks (as opposed to the 80 CF tanks everyone else was using) on several dives with Deep Blue in July 2004. The valves on the tanks were identical, and his regulator worked exactly the same. We just got to stay down longer.

Note that there was a small surcharge for the bigger tanks.


Wristshot

[Randy-S]

AM ok with the surecharge. I know it really "blows" to be the first one outa air on each dive.
Randy

[ae3753]

I was recommended Living Underwater, who use steel 95s and 120s. Unfortunately, I don't have any personal experience so maybe someone can chime in. But since they dove 120s, thought that it's worth passing along.

[Pez de Diablo]

I supply steel 100's to my clients that want a little more air - no extra charge- they are a little smaller in size and only weigh a few more pounds than alum. tanks. Also they are 2 pounds neg when empty. I think it is worth a small surcharge for the extra air, when you think about all the money you pay for your trip and break it down to time under water - go with the larger tanks. I like to give everyone the option of staying down for an hour and I think all dive operators should too.

I think Dive with Martin offers steel 95's
His website is: www.cozumel-diving.net/martin/

[parrotman]

Aldora uses steel 120's, no extra charge and they are a bit negative, so you can use less lead on your weight belt.
I dive with a group of friends that are pretty much all over the board as to air consumption and with the 120's we were all able to dive with pretty much the same bottom time. At least for those that use alot of air. As an example, I breath like a fish and use very little air, where as some of my friends suck it up, so we were able to log 75 minutes on average per dive. Yes, I came up with a lot of air left, but the others were able to get really good bottom times for what they were used to. I think the big tanks are worth it even if they cost a bit more.

[scubafanatic]

........did 2 trips to Cozumel last year........Dive with Martin provides AL80's as standard issue, however, for a nominal fee they provided me steel LP 95's........and Liquid Blue provides as standard issue PST HP 100 and HP 120 steel tanks, usually the ladies get the 100's, the guys the 120's....and I had a good experience with both operators.

Karl

[ggunn]

Aldora uses steel 120's, no extra charge...

Well, I guess it's in how you parse it. Aldora charges a lot more for a 2 tank dive than the average "going rate" on the island, and the larger tanks are part of their justification for the higher charge.

[sharky60]

we just were in Coz over labor day week and one of the guys on our dives was using 95's, he was burning quite a bit of air, as he come up before most of us using the regular 80's on must dives. we dove with Dive with Martin, don't know if they charge extra but they do have 95' and 120's from what i understand. your still going to limited to the DM's dive profile for the dive though as most likley most people on the boat will be using 80's.
better air consumption will come with experiance, you'll probably even notice on this trip as the week goes on your doing better.
just more food for thought,,

[Diver Kat]

We used Papa Hogs for both our Cozumel trips, and with advance notice they did not charge extra for the 100's (at that time anyway!) So Alan had his 100's, I used 80's which evened out our bottom time .... (he's a big guy as well!)