pst vs faber 120s yeah i know theres tons of threads already

[sh0ck1999]

Found some tanks on craigslist that I am gonna go take a look at on tuesday they are at a dive shop are in viz and hydro both are steel 120s one is a pst 3500 galvanized the other is a faber im thinking its an fx with white paint. they are $160 each which i think is pretty decent
Anyways im 6'4" dive a backplate i currently have a lp95 i bought from a friend but i need to have my top cam strap at the top of the tank just before it starts curving to get it to trim right and at that point its too low and i cant reach the tank valve. also im still a newb and suck alot of air and cant match the bottom time of my buddies using al80s . im hoping its cause im new and not cause i smoked for ten years. So the faber is probally newer but the pst has the better finish. how different do they trim out with the different manufacturing processes?

 

[Compressor]

Link to your answer (some of them at least).

 

[tbone1004]

buy both and hang onto both as it's a really good deal. Figure out which one you like more and you can either sell the other, or you just have a mismatched tank. Not going to be the end of the world. Buoyancy wise, just use the same weight that you use with your LP95 and you'll be fine. Maybe a pound heavy on the PST, but not worth changing imo

 

[2airishuman]

I have 4 pst 120s, great tanks. Also a faber hp100 twinset and a PST hp100 twinset. So, based on that...

$150 is a great deal. Going rate for 120s has been a little over $200 if in hydro and VIP. I'd get both.

Trim wise there is probably as much variation between manufacturing runs as between manufacturers. The early 3500 PSI PSTs are usually nice and light. Die wear leads to thicker walls over time until they redo their tooling. I see a few pounds difference between HP120s of various eras.

The 3500 PSI cylinders have the drawback that they accept a limited selection of valves and except in rare instances the valves that fit are DIN only, so you will have to use DIN regulators. So you want to be sure the cylinder comes with a valve you like or satisfy yourself that there are valves you like that are available. (Finding manifolds with matching port plugs is particularly difficult, singles not so bad) The Faber would have a standard neck thread and you could use any valve.

 

[2airishuman]

Also with the PST you have to watch it when getting hydro tests as there are some shops that refuse to follow the PST rerounding procedure, and if they don't follow it the tanks will fail hydro quite often even if there's nothing wrong with them. The white Faber cylinders don't have this problem. We won't know whether the galvanized Fabers have it for another 5 years

 

[luscioman]

The only thing I don't like about Faber 120s is they are very tall. You are 6'4" and will have no issues with them. I think you will get better trim on the fabers.

 

[sh0ck1999]

i probally will just get both. just as long as pst doesnt go belly up again and no ones there to renew the exemption in 2018 the tanks should last longer than me. its all fresh water by me

 

[tbone1004]

i probally will just get both. just as long as pst doesnt go belly up again and no ones there to renew the exemption in 2018 the tanks should last longer than me. its all fresh water by me

the DOT really doesn't want that permit to expire, they will harass them to keep it going. Reason for that is you can apply for an individual permit and they don't want to grant however many thousands of them that would pour in