First Deco Bottle

[rjack321]

Fundies and I'm supposed to take Deco 1 and adv nitrox which was supposed to be in May, now tentatively August (time conflicts). I"m not sure if fundies and taking deco 1 and adv nitrox outside the GUE course conflicts or not. I guess I'll find out.

GUE doesn't care if you chose to go onto some other course after GUE-F. Although if you are somehow thinking this TDI Deco 1 course will help you prepare for eventually taking GUE Tech 1, I would counsel against that. It will probably just build some different habits you might need to unlearn.

 

[rjack321]

Really? Since when? I've never heard that. (but then again...I haven't shopped for a tank in years)

Luxfer stopped making scuba tanks around the end of 2008. TDL among other places have basically blown out their old stock. The Hymark's seem to be equivelant. To save a machining step, the neck isn't turned down on a lathe like the Luxfer's so there's slightly more metal around the neck. Buoyancy wise I can't tell them apart tho. I have 4 Luxfers, and 2 Hymarks.

 

[Clammy]

GUE doesn't care if you chose to go onto some other course after GUE-F. Although if you are somehow thinking this TDI Deco 1 course will help you prepare for eventually taking GUE Tech 1, I would counsel against that. It will probably just build some different habits you might need to unlearn.

Fundies is coming first for me.

 

[JeffG]

Luxfer stopped making scuba tanks around the end of 2008.

I can't seem to find any evidence of this. FWIW

 

[Blackwood]

I can seem to find any evidence of this. FWIW

I heard the same thing (about them stopping production of scuba cylinders) and bought a handful of extra 40s last year. Since then I've heard that they're stopping production of SOME of their scuba cylinders, but will continue making the best sellers (including Al40 and Al80).

I can't verify this. Just what I've heard.

 

[rjack321]

I can seem to find any evidence of this. FWIW

While Luxfer seems to have been caggy about what exactly is going on, its definitely hard to find a Luxfer 40 at shops or online for now. They may or may not be manufacturing, but Luxfer seems to not be shipping anything out at least for now

The Hymarks are readily available and seem to work fine.

 

[Bismark]

GUE doesn't care if you chose to go onto some other course after GUE-F. Although if you are somehow thinking this TDI Deco 1 course will help you prepare for eventually taking GUE Tech 1, I would counsel against that. It will probably just build some different habits you might need to unlearn.

Agree with Richard on this one. My guess is after you complete a GUE course you will most likely want to continue in that line. I would suggest saving some of your hard earned money and apply it to your GUE Tech I when you feel you are ready and comfortable to do so. You also get trimix training with the GUE class.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Blackwood is closer to the truth. My understanding is that Luxfer has scaled production of scuba cylinders way back and will in essence make the occasional run of scuba tanks (probably AL 80's) when the demand warrants it. I would not bet on AL 40's being available to the same degree they have in the past - at least from Luxfer.

Hymark however has entered the market with some excellent tanks in AL80, AL72 and AL 40 sizes so Luxfer will not be missed.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Hi, I was wondering what a good first deco bottle would be? We're not talking long decos, just simple stuff where maybe 10-15 minutes of deco with nitrox at shallow depths are required. Al40?, 73, 80? those are my choices at the moment. I mean I know the 40 will be sufficient but should I go with larger tanks just to get used to it?

It was suggested to me that I get a 40 for my ADV nitrox/deco class but its hard for me to get good fills because I partial pressure blend my nitrox so I really wish I had got an 80 or a 72 for my 40-50% tank instead of an aluminum 40. Then I could get 2 good dives off a tank with a comfy reserve. I have lots of aluminum 80's around and they are easy to come by used but I haven't taken the time to O2 clean them yet. If you have to buy a tank specifically for this use I would suggest the 72's or 80's.

For 100% O2 a 40 is fine but I still only get one dive off it or sometimes 2 short ones, simply because I can only fill to 2200psi or so.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

That is one of the advantages of an LP 45 over an AL 40. It still has a decent capacity even if only partially filled to the 2000-2200 psi range and you can get much better partial pressure fills with the lower 2400 psi service pressure.

Plus, many shops either lack the ability to do a 3000 psi O2 fill or are unwilling to do so, due to the high pressure. So for an O2 bottle an LP 45 makes a lot of sense. At 2200 psi an LP 45 will still hold 37 cu ft compared to 29 for an AL 40. An AL 80 will hold 56 cu ft at that same pressure, but it is much larger and harder to handle especially when you consider that it is 4.4 lbs buoyant when empty, so it is essentially a buoyant tank when you start out at only 56 cu ft.

The bad news is that LP 45's are hard to find and cost about twice as much as an AL 40.