Steel 120's

[flyboy08]

Got to love Aldora...just completed 12 dives, longest being 101 minutes...yes you read that correctly. Will do a few more with them next week as we're moving into town into a BnB home...can't say enough for our DM Juan, one of the most energetic DM I've ever met. He truly loves his profession.

Folks, the pool is open!

 

[ReadyTo Dive]

Was there in October, going back in February. Longest dive was 106 minutes and of course Gato and Sharief and everyone else at Aldora is top notch

Wish I was there now already

Edit: Average dive time was 82 minutes and 3 were over 100. Zero pounds of weight used the entire week too; I wonder why more ops don’t use 120’s??

 

[flyboy08]

Yep, Juan, Nate, Sharief, Rich.....all sought after DMs by loyal customers who appreciates professionalism mixed with shear fun!

 

[Blackcrusader]

Was there in October, going back in February. Longest dive was 106 minutes and of course Gato and Sharief and everyone else at Aldora is top notch

Wish I was there now already Edit: Average dive time was 82 minutes and 3 were over 100. Zero pounds of weight used the entire week too; I wonder why more ops don’t use 120’s??

If you have divers who are used to AL80 and suddenly give them Steel 120 they can struggle on the dives. Tanks are way wider so drag is an issue if diving into a strong current. I find with heavier tanks I put then in a different position on my BCD often moving the BCD strap further down the tank. Getting weights right might take a dive or two or if not using weights knowing your BCD bladder can compensate if you really got over weighted from the tank. I know some divers even with AL80 only use 8 pound or less.
I used Steel 120's filled to 230 bar back in the 80's as that's all we had in the BSAC club if I recall I don't remember using any smaller tanks as we were all doing DECO air dives.

100 minute dives sign me up.

 

[Manatee Diver]

If you have divers who are used to AL80 and suddenly give them Steel 120 they can struggle on the dives. Tanks are way wider so drag is an issue if diving into a strong current. I find with heavier tanks I put then in a different position on my BCD often moving the BCD strap further down the tank. Getting weights right might take a dive or two or if not using weights knowing your BCD bladder can compensate if you really got over weighted from the tank. I know some divers even with AL80 only use 8 pound or less.

You must have dove a different steel 120. As HP120s are the same width as an AL80 just taller. Weight wise 4-5lbs less is about right, the larger the steel tank the more positively buoyant it is when empty compared to the smaller ones, heck the super large LP tanks can become positively buoyant when empty.

But yes trim on such a long tank can take a little figuring out.

 

[Blackcrusader]

You must have dove a different steel 120. As HP120s are the same width as an AL80 just taller. Weight wise 4-5lbs less is about right, the larger the steel tank the more positively buoyant it is when empty compared to the smaller ones, heck the super large LP tanks can become positively buoyant when empty.

But yes trim on such a long tank can take a little figuring out.

Maybe it's only my AL100 that is wider. Haven't used a 120 for so long maybe forgot the width. I did this dive on an AL 80 starting 210 bar ended with 50 bar. Could easily have done 100 minutes with a remaining 7 mins at 5 meters. Wr3eck dive to 35m then slowly follow a slope back to where the reef wall meets the seabed around 15m depth ascending to around 10m depth then finish with a 5m safety stop.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Maybe it's only my AL100 that is wider. Haven't used a 120 for so long maybe forgot the width. I did this dive on an AL 80 starting 210 bar ended with 50 bar. Could easily have done 100 minutes with a remaining 7 mins at 5 meters. Wr3eck dive to 35m then slowly follow a slope back to where the reef wall meets the seabed around 15m depth ascending to around 10m depth then finish with a 5m safety stop.

View attachment 631573

The next size up from HP120 (HP133?) is the larger diameter. Same as the AL100, IIRC.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the reasons more operators don’t use HP120’s is: 1. Length of the tank (great for tall divers, but probably not for short or average height), and 2. Weight. They aren’t light. That and they aren’t cheap.

 

[ggunn]

The next size up from HP120 (HP133?) is the larger diameter. Same as the AL100, IIRC.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the reasons more operators don’t use HP120’s is: 1. Length of the tank (great for tall divers, but probably not for short or average height), and 2. Weight. They aren’t light. That and they aren’t cheap.

I think that another reason for it is simply that the AL80 has been very successful in the marketplace, and changing to steel would require a major investment by dive ops that would take a long time to recover. There are a lot of divers (myself included) to whom the difference between an AL80 and a steel 120 is not sufficient to drive the choice between dive ops, and if the price for a dive is significantly higher in order to pay for the tanks... well, do the math. I hasten to add that the $ per minute of bottom time is not, for me, a significant factor, but YMMV.

 

[tridacna]

Tanks are way wider so drag is an issue if diving into a strong current.

In Cozumel, you do not even try and dive into a strong current.

 

[ChuckP]

I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of dive ops here do not own their tanks - I think the tank itself rental price is 10 pesos on top of the fill cost. Pro Dive fills their own so I assume they more than likely own them - other ops own tanks too as rental tanks can be short supply in high season but theft of tanks and misplacement causes issues.

A steel tank here is about $400 (verses 200 for aluminum) and about 25% of that cost is getting it here - there's stories of boat motors and steel tanks falling out of peoples private airplanes back in the day. The steel tank lifespan is shorter also, especially the painted ones.

There's two filling stations here and the one I hear is a PITA getting consistent HP fills, the other is OK. Aldora put their own filling station in to cut thru that problem and IMO their tank fills are extremely consistent at 3450psi.

The cost of tanks, compressors and operating costs combined with the market rate for per dive cost here - you have to be filling a lot of tanks to make it a break even thing.