No weights with steel tank unsafe?

[MSilvia]

Me too! I actually went to my LDS and had them explain how to vent a drysuit just in case I needed to know.

But the nice thing about drysuits is the redundant buoyancy. They are absolutely the way to go. Except for the cost...

Richard

Awesome! I'm glad to hear it. It's a good piece of equipment to be familiar with, but let's hope you never need to remember how one works unless you have occasion to wear one!

 

[MSilvia]

In the case I cited earlier the diver could not swim up because he forgot to turn his air on and had no air in his BC.

I don't mean to belittle the tragic loss of a diver, but IMHO, the biggest mistake this diver made may have been his failure to make absolutely certain he was comfortable with opening, closing, and (if he was using an isolation manifold) isolating his valves before diving with doubles. I believe you NEED to be comfortable with valve operation skills if you're going to dive safely. If you can't reach your valve(s), that's a serious problem in my book.

Didn't check regs (would've noticed air off)
Didn't check SPG/PSI on computer (would've noticed air off)
Didn't inflate BC (would've noticed air off)

it seems it could've been easily avoided with the most basic of pre-dive self-checks.

I can forgive those failings to some extent. As a sometimes very cold water diver, pre-breathing regs or power-inflating on the surface can sometimes cause a free-flow due to icing, so I don't always do either, and an SPG can read a full tank if a valve was opened and then closed again.

What I have trouble with is that the diver apparently didn't turn his tank on when he noticed he couldn't breathe. IMHO that should not only be something a diver has tried... it should be reflexive. I usually turn my tanks on when I'm already wearing them, just to be sure I'm able to. It only takes a couple of seconds to crack open a closed valve.

 

[heavyjeffd]

Very true, very true.

I don't wear my tank quite high enough to reach the valve as when it's that high I also hit my head.

My stumpy arms don't help much either. :|

 

[MSilvia]

My stumpy arms don't help much either. :|

I thought I had that problem too, until I found out I was reaching the hard way. When I reached for the valve, I did so with my elbow pointed out to my side. I was surprised to learn that pointing my elbow forward instead gave me several inches of extra reach behind me.

 

[Chad Carney]

Hi guys.

I'm considering purchasing a tank rather than continuously renting partially because I just like to own all my own gear and because the Worthington 130's are really attractive to me being almost the same size as the AL80's yet a lot more air. However, I have a concern about the buoyancy.
Jeff

Jeff,

The HP130 tank you are considering has many differences compared to the AL 80 you have used.
I've seen many divers ditch HP130's after owning them. Honestly, I would not own either of them!

HP 130: Besides the extreme 11.7 lbs negative buoyancy in sea water (worse in fresh) of which you admit being a worst case candidate, it's a beast at 43 lbs empty (about 53 lbs full), a little long, and the fat 8" diameter also makes it unwelcome on many dive boats.

AL 80: Low 77.4 cu ft capacity, somewhat long (and I'm 6'1"), and PIA 4.4 lbs buoyant empty.

You really need to dive something that's more of a compromise!

My favorite tank is the HP 100... own 7 of them. 25% more capacity than an AL 80 without all the disadvantages. (At 2800 psi they are 80.) Also own 2 HP 120's for when I need the extra 20 cu ft, still much lighter than a HP 130, but they are long. Own 2 HP 80's for ladies and kids, but I dive them often when somebody else needs more capacity.

Chad

Statistics: XS Scuba Worthington Steel Cylinder Specifications and Luxfer: SCUBA Cylinders: Specifications

 

[heavyjeffd]

Thanks for the input, looking into those now.

 

[John_B]

Chad's advice is golden.

One other tank I personally like is the Faber LP85 (7" diameter steel tanks). They are neutral in salt water, they trim out nicely, they are full at 2640psi, and they make great small doubles if you ever decide to go that route.

 

[heavyjeffd]

Excellent, thanks!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

for warm water diving with little or no wetsuit, if you are a very strong swimmer and have good fins, it is quite possible that you could swim the tank up, even after a total BC failure. As mentioned if you were then stranded on the surface and getting too tired, you ditch the entire rig and float in the wetsuit.

I dive a big single steel tank with no lead and have had a total BC failure which I swam up from 190 feet (and did a little swimming deco too) . A better solution is to have an emergency SMB (WITH A OVER PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE) that you could sit on and dump air on the ascent as needed.

I personally feel more comfortable diving a lighter tank and wearing 6-8 lbs of lead, but the big fat tank allows me 3 dives some times and the shop only charges me once to fill it (my largest tank hold 149 cu-ft without any overfill).

It is good to be wary of a heavy tank, it IS MORE dangerous in my opinion. Try one out and see if you like haveing to swim around with a big tank on your back and more air in the BCthan you normally use.

 

[black1]

I dive steel HP 120 tanks in salt every weekend using a SS backplate and no weights, am I overweighted, yes, just slightly but i can swim and have swam the entire rig to the surface with full tank and no air in Wing, so I know if there is that emergency it can be done, I also now carry a lift bag with 50lb lift as well in case i need to use that. Staying at the surface while swimming can be done for a short period of time which would be short for me because I dont dive with inexpierienced boat captains who diddle dally around, they know right were you are and are there immediately, and if needed I would ditch my rig and float by my own bouyancy and wetsuit, my life is more important than my tanks...which can be retrieved by another diver as well. I also use freedive fins instead of split, these are better for what I do and give me a more powerful kick so it helps considerably with steel tanks, I do use probably a bit more air in my wing when i first get in to trim out but at the same time no were close to what i used to were in a traditional BC because im in a hog harness and have no bulk or anything disturbing my streamline, only a small puch that carries my finger spool and a few small things and so im still very streamlined and move perfectly fast through the water, thanks all.