Steel tanks and wetsuits...

[countryboy]

We see the terms "balanced rig" and "properly wieghted" quite a bit...

Given the attention to these two terms, what is the stigma with regards to steel tanks and wetsuits? Singles / doubles, if you are properly weighted, why not steel?

Debate away...

 

[Rainer]

I dive a SINGLE steel in my wetsuit (either LP 95 or HP 100). It's cake to swim up from depth. Have never been in doubles, so I have no idea how doable this is. From what I've read here, it certainly isn't recommended.

 

[PerroneFord]

Steel tanks, even double steel tanks can produce a balanced rig under the right conditions. It's all about understanding the scenarios. I hear some divers talk about needing 25+# of lead. In those scenarios, a pair of 108s would give them OODLES of time underwater, and reduce their belt to maybe 5 pounds.

 

[pacchill]

I have never really heard of not diving steels in a wet suit in terms of balance. Just that it is kind of a no-no in some circles to dive doubles with out the redundant lift associated with a dry suit.
PacChill

 

[OE2X]

I have never really heard of not diving steels in a wet suit in terms of balance. Just that it is kind of a no-no in some circles to dive doubles with out the redundant lift associated with a dry suit.
PacChill

Ditto. You don't want to be 20# negative with a pair of steel 130's when they are full if your only source of bouyancy is a wing. That's why in most tek circles it is advocated that you dive double steel tanks with the redundancy of a drysuit or lift bag.

 

[PerroneFord]

Lets say for the sake of argument that you are wearing a 2-piece 5mm wetsuit. It requires about 12 pounds to sink. And lets say you intend to dive with a pair of LP85s, which offer 10 pounds of negative buoyancy. And you have a can light at 2.5 pounds. And the regs/manifold offer another 2 pounds. I am now 2.5# negative with full tanks. My gas swing is going to be about 12 pounds if I drain the tanks. I am going to be WAY light at the end of a dive in this gear. So I have to wear a weightbelt of about 10 pounds to be sure I can stay down if necessary.

If I have to ditch at the beginning of the dive, and I drop my belt, An easy breath will bring me up. Rig is fairly well balanced.

This isn't rocket science.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Ditto. You don't want to be 20# negative with a pair of steel 130's when they are full if your only source of bouyancy is a wing. That's why in most tek circles it is advocated that you dive double steel tanks with the redundancy of a drysuit or lift bag.

I tend to disagree with this somewhat. A decent amount of my diving (unfortuantely) is in quarries where the depth might not reach anything beyond ~30ish ft. Any deeper and I'll need a shovel. Does one seriously think I need redundant inflation for a dive such as this?
If my wing died, which is highly unlikely, I could take the rig off and either do a swimming ascent from the bottom or ascend breathing off my buddy's gear.

Note that I'm not advocating this approach for anything else other than a scenerio such as this. For ocean diving or deeper diving, obviously you'd want redundant inflation.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I tend to disagree with this somewhat. A decent amount of my diving (unfortuantely) is in quarries where the depth might not reach anything beyond ~30ish ft. Any deeper and I'll need a shovel. .

Who cares what you wear in 30 feet of flat calm freshwater! I can snorkel that deep without fins!

 

[countryboy]

I am comparing double aluminum 80's (where MANY people add an 8 lb v-weight) to LP 108's.

The difference in negative buoyance is ~ 4 lbs when using the v-weight, and ~ 12 lbs when not using it... (my worksheet is home, so forgive me if the #'s are off.. but they are pretty close)

People are quick to approve the double 80's / v-weight, and just as quick to shoot down the Steel 108's...

My thoughts are they are not that much different, and I always have a lift bag in the mc pak...

 

[PerroneFord]

Countryboy, While I agree, not everyone uses a v-weight. I actually dive the AL80s without any weight. Or rather, I use a 3# tailweight just to keep the butt end of the tanks down, but not because I need weight.

The LP108s have excellent buoyancy characterisics for someone who doesn't need a lot of weight. They are my tank of choice, though I am considering the Worthington LP121s. At my normal fill pressure, that's 160cuft of gas each. Essentially I'll have the equivalent of 4 AL80s as backgas.

People talk about how much the tanks weigh, but to be honest, when you look at the weight of LP95s plus an 80 stage, the 121s begin to look a LOT better.