Shed lead , New tanks

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I have recently acquired a couple of Blue Steel (Faber) HP 133 tanks. Been diving Catalina AL 80’s . Question is where to start with my next weight check. I am thinking about 10 lbs off . Am I close? Or at least a good place to start?

DD...

Perform your usual shallow buoyancy check...as per OW instructions...your weight...your suit buoyancy...wing/BCD...are all going to be factors...your new 133's are heavy...you'll find that once you gain a little experience with the new tanks...your ballast will be minimal...

Enjoy your new tanks...

Warren
 
I switched to steel 120s a few years ago. Nobody straps on a 130 and doesn't plan on using it.... If you were the first one out, you will now be hanging with the sparrows that sip air like wine. You will sink like a rock early in the dive and become a little buoyant towards the end. If you are shore diving and diving dry, I would think get rid of more on the six lbs side. You might find you were diving a little heavy. It is easy to add a couple of lbs later. A weight check will help as others have suggested.
 
I dive AL80s and HP100s. I dive with 4 lbs. less weight with the steel cylinder and both give a good safety stop and ascent to the surface when equally empty. I start out the dive a couple lbs. heavier with the steel tank.
 
I made the exact same switch a couple of years ago. I went from 23 lbs lead to 16 lbs. I'm now at 12 lbs but more do to normal reduction in lead for new diver. Also, err on the side of being slightly heavy to start. The 133 is -9.08 full and 1.45 empty. That's over 10 lbs of air.
 
I have recently acquired a couple of Blue Steel (Faber) HP 133 tanks. Been diving Catalina AL 80’s . Question is where to start with my next weight check. I am thinking about 10 lbs off . Am I close? Or at least a good place to start?

Is this your first 8 inch tank? You can put an H valve on those and do an intro to tech!

I've never been a fan of 8 inch tanks, it's only 3/4 of inch but it feels like a mile to me. Double 7.xx feel better to me.

Personally I'd trade them for 120's.

PS: Please be careful, it's going to be real tempting to go into deco with those. Early on I was a cowboy and I would have.
 
Is this your first 8 inch tank? You can put an H valve on those and do an intro to tech!

I've never been a fan of 8 inch tanks, it's only 3/4 of inch but it feels like a mile to me. Double 7.xx feel better to me.

Personally I'd trade them for 120's.

PS: Please be careful, it's going to be real tempting to go into deco with those. Early on I was a cowboy and I would have.


I have dove 8” tanks before. I am not planning on doubling them up. But I will be filling them with 32% . Lol guy I bought them from told me the same thing , watch your deco time.
 
I made the exact same switch a couple of years ago. I went from 23 lbs lead to 16 lbs. I'm now at 12 lbs but more do to normal reduction in lead for new diver. Also, err on the side of being slightly heavy to start. The 133 is -9.08 full and 1.45 empty. That's over 10 lbs of air.


16 pounds of lead? Your obviously not diving dry with that are you?
 
16 pounds of lead? Your obviously not diving dry with that are you?

No. I am diving a 7mm wetsuit (upper St. Lawrence, no thermoclines). I am also 6'5", 260 lbs and under 100 dives. I started with 23 lbs in my OW course. The amounts aren't as important as the difference. When switching from an Al 80 to a 133 I lost 7 lbs of lead (and gained 8 lbs of tank so overall about same weight).
 
16 pounds of lead? Your obviously not diving dry with that are you?
I am not sure of your point here.

If I dive in the ocean with a single Worthington (XS) steel LP 85 tank, a 5mm suit, and a steel backplate, I don't use any weight.

A while ago I worked in fresh water with a student who had had another instructor in the pool. He had used a 7mm suit in the pool so he would have his weight dialed in before doing the OW dives with me. His pool instructor said he was perfectly weighted with 22 pounds with a 7mm suit, an AL 80 tank, and fresh water. When he was done with the OW dives with me, he was much, much happier with the same setup but only 10 pounds. (He was not a big guy--weighed maybe 150.)

For most of the year I dive in fresh water with a drysuit and double tanks. If I am diving with double AL 80s, I use a steel backplate (about 6.5 pounds) and add roughly 7 pounds more. If I am diving my Worthington steel LP 108s, I use an aluminum backplate with no additional weight, and I am overweighted.
 
I am not sure of your point here.

If I dive in the ocean with a single Worthington (XS) steel LP 85 tank, a 5mm suit, and a steel backplate, I don't use any weight.

A while ago I worked in fresh water with a student who had had another instructor in the pool. He had used a 7mm suit in the pool so he would have his weight dialed in before doing the OW dives with me. His pool instructor said he was perfectly weighted with 22 pounds with a 7mm suit, an AL 80 tank, and fresh water. When he was done with the OW dives with me, he was much, much happier with the same setup but only 10 pounds. (He was not a big guy--weighed maybe 150.)

For most of the year I dive in fresh water with a drysuit and double tanks. If I am diving with double AL 80s, I use a steel backplate (about 6.5 pounds) and add roughly 7 pounds more. If I am diving my Worthington steel LP 108s, I use an aluminum backplate with no additional weight, and I am overweighted.

I just get really jealous when people say they dive with 16 lbs lol. In my 4 mm dry suit with an AL80 I need almost 60 lbs to stay down at 500 psi
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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