Hey guys, I'm new to Tech diving and I'm trying to get gear together for a class this summer. I have looked at the OMS 100 lb. lift double bladder BC with the rubber bands around it and have also looked at the Apeks WTX6R "Buoyancy Cell". Do you need double bladder, It seems like a little more redundancy and safer to me, but I don't know? Which one would you choose and WHY? I've pretty much settled on getting the XTX200 regs, but I'm open to suggestion. Also why would you get HP tanks vs LP tanks? I've heard that the LP's are easier on the regulators, any truth to this? Any comments , suggestions, critiques, or constructive criticism is really appreciated.
OMS wings vs Apeks wings and LP vs HP tanks
- Thread starter bell47
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Scubastud16
Contributor
Welcome to the tech section. Both of your questions (about double bladder wings and LP/HP tanks) can be answered by using the search feature here. Not trying to be rude, but these questions get asked a lot and are answered pretty often.
Danny
Danny
PerroneFord
Contributor
If you did a dive with NO aircell and a single AL80, you would be about 5 pounds lighter at the end of the dive than at the beginning, due to the breathing of the gas in the tank. So you'd have to weight yourself at the beginning with an extra 5 pounds or so to make sure you could stay down. If you were to repeat this experiment with 2 AL80 tanks, you'd be 10-12 pounds heavy at the start of the dive. If you had 4 tanks, you'd be 20-24 pounds heavy. How many tanks would you have to take before a 100 pound lift wing started to seem like a good idea?
I've personally carried 5 tanks, and have seen divers with 8 tanks, and I have never needed more than 40 pounds of lift, and have never worn a wing bigger than a 60. And that is nearly always too much.
Double bladders seem like a good idea on paper, but honestly, in the water not so much.
I've personally carried 5 tanks, and have seen divers with 8 tanks, and I have never needed more than 40 pounds of lift, and have never worn a wing bigger than a 60. And that is nearly always too much.
Double bladders seem like a good idea on paper, but honestly, in the water not so much.
Talk to your instructor and see what he recommends.
But keep in mind what Perrone is saying above. Most of the tech divers I know locally dive single-bladder wings in the 40lb range, which is usually more than enough. New divers and new doubles divers often make the mistake of getting a wing that is *way* too big, on the ill-founded assumption that more lift must be better. Much of this has to do with the unfortunate fact that most people have absolutely no idea how much lift they actually need.
Search or PM user cool-hardware52 (Tobin of Deep Sea Supply) - he'll be happy to sit down and walk you through what you need to know to determine the appropriate size of wing you should have (and don't be surprised if it's significantly smaller than what you imagine you'll need).
But keep in mind what Perrone is saying above. Most of the tech divers I know locally dive single-bladder wings in the 40lb range, which is usually more than enough. New divers and new doubles divers often make the mistake of getting a wing that is *way* too big, on the ill-founded assumption that more lift must be better. Much of this has to do with the unfortunate fact that most people have absolutely no idea how much lift they actually need.
Search or PM user cool-hardware52 (Tobin of Deep Sea Supply) - he'll be happy to sit down and walk you through what you need to know to determine the appropriate size of wing you should have (and don't be surprised if it's significantly smaller than what you imagine you'll need).
Scubastud16
Contributor
Also, about tanks, think about whether or not you can get high pressure fills (~3500), and if you can, will they be willing to overfill LP steel tanks?
hobodiver
Contributor
As for the double bladder wing, I have read on here that many people don't like them because it means there is an extra inflator that might stick.
Since you're in Maine, your probably going to be diving dry at some point, so your drysuit would be usable as backup buoyancy.
And a lift bag/SMB would also serve that purpose.
Since you're in Maine, your probably going to be diving dry at some point, so your drysuit would be usable as backup buoyancy.
And a lift bag/SMB would also serve that purpose.
To determine if you need redundancy in your buoyancy device you first need to determine what other equipment you will be diving with. If your primary buoyancy device fails, how will you get to the surface? If you are just diving a single Al 80 you can ditch weights and become buoyant. If you are diving with a steel twinset with a heavy back plate you might not have any weight to ditch.
As hobodiver said a drysuit can be used as a buoyancy device, however they tend to leak around the neck when overfilled. A lift bag or a SMB will also work. You do not need excessive lift capability but you do need a way to get to the surface if your primary buoyancy device fails.
Equipment should be discussed in detail by your instructor in your first class. I would research but not buy any equipment before talking to your instructor, many have specific requirements.
As hobodiver said a drysuit can be used as a buoyancy device, however they tend to leak around the neck when overfilled. A lift bag or a SMB will also work. You do not need excessive lift capability but you do need a way to get to the surface if your primary buoyancy device fails.
Equipment should be discussed in detail by your instructor in your first class. I would research but not buy any equipment before talking to your instructor, many have specific requirements.
Some instructors will insist on redundant buoyancy in the form of a dry suit or double bladder whether you need it or not.
Double bladders are one option, stacking two single bladder wings is another option, a lift bag is a third (but not one all instructors accept), but a dry suit is the most workable over all.
Do a serach in the tank section - the LP versus HP debate has been covered ad nauseum. The short story is that for most LP tanks there is a similar sized HP tank that will hold vuirtually trhe same volume in a package the same weight and size. For example an LP 95 and an HP 130 are similar in size and weight and both hold about 130 cu ft at 3500-3600 psi. So the 2400 psi LP 95 makes sense in North Florida where you can get a 3600 psi cave fill, but the HP 130 makes much more sense over all as it can legally be filled to 3442 psi anywhere.
Double bladders are one option, stacking two single bladder wings is another option, a lift bag is a third (but not one all instructors accept), but a dry suit is the most workable over all.
Do a serach in the tank section - the LP versus HP debate has been covered ad nauseum. The short story is that for most LP tanks there is a similar sized HP tank that will hold vuirtually trhe same volume in a package the same weight and size. For example an LP 95 and an HP 130 are similar in size and weight and both hold about 130 cu ft at 3500-3600 psi. So the 2400 psi LP 95 makes sense in North Florida where you can get a 3600 psi cave fill, but the HP 130 makes much more sense over all as it can legally be filled to 3442 psi anywhere.
Reg Braithwaite
Contributor
I fourth (or is it fifth?) the suggestion to do a quick search of the forums.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4222980-post24.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4222980-post24.html
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