Tank recommendations for a girl of smallish stature?

[northcoast_diver]

Hello,

I'm looking to purchase some PST tanks for a novice female diver as a gift. She is 5'1" - 5'2" and does maily shore dives in a dry suit with a BP/wing (45#). I was thinking about picking up either an E7-120 or E8-130 for singles use now which she may eventually double up. Which of these two tanks would be a better choice? Or or both of these overwhelming for her size? Unfortunately, no shops around here rent those PST models.
...

Well you might start by asking her whether she ever plans to dive with doubles on?

And if yes, then what size tanks does her intended buddy wear?

And based on the above 2 answers, then why not just get her a set of doubles right now? You could be a gentleman and carry them down the beach for her!

$600 for the tanks, $150 for the manifold, $125 for the bands, she would love you for it all.

 

[scubafanatic]

...why not consider a pair of PST HP 65's ? .....I should think that would make a perfect set of doubles for a short, petite, novice diver.......and would provide 130 cu. ft. of air, which would be a respectable air supply for a petite lady? ...........my impression is a pair of 120's or 130's would be FAR too heavy/bulky for her.......I 'only' use a pair of LP 85's, full they weigh in at 85 lbs ( 2 tanks/air/bands), and not counting stainless backplate or anything else, and that's as heavy a twinset as I want to fool with, wouldn't want to touch a pair of HP 130's!

Karl

 

[hex92]

I can't imagine that she would want the E7-120s. I'm 6'4" and they fit me perfectly. I would think that she would be crushed under the weight of one. Not to mention the bottom of the tank would probably hang down around the back of her knees.

If she is that small he air consumption should be good enought that she should never have to consider anything larger than a 100.

The E7 120 is 10lbs heavier (38) and 8.25 inches longer (28.25) than the 80. The 100 splits the difference.

The E8 119 weighs more than all the E7 tanks.

I have the Spec sheet for PST tanks. I can PM it if anyone is interested.

 

[SubMariner]

Have you actually asked your s/o what SHE wants to do, or are you simply making assumptions?

Just wondering,

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The LP95s are the same dimensions as the 119s, but the 119s are a few pounds lighter. I would say that the 119s are the biggest you need to go with. It would probably be good to try out several before making a decision.

My E8-119's are about 2 lbs heavier than my Faber LP95's.

Here is a good place to get specifications for various size cylinders ...

http://www.huronscuba.com/gear/cylinders.htm

Getting back to the original poster's question and comments ... I would not recommend either the E7-120 or the E8-130 for your friend, unless she's an exceptionally strong individual for her size. At that size, if her technique is reasonable she won't need that much air for recreational dives, and should go with doubles for tech diving.

FWIW - I own a set of E8-119 doubles, and they're really HEAVY! With backplate, manifold, regulators, and gas you're talking about a rig that weighs more than 100 lbs.

My recommendation is to go with E7-80's, and double them when she's ready to get into tech diving.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[koi]

To all -

I have been digesting the information kindly provided by various members over the past several days. The primary points I've taken away from this discussion are that 1) bigger is not always better and 2) buy the right equipment for the job and 3) saving money in SCUBA diving is very difficult [=

I've only recently become aware of the physical specifications of the PST tanks. Locally, my dealers only have the HP80 in stock and I was foolish to think that the larger PST tanks would maintain the same sort of "compactness" of the HP80. That said, the original tanks we were considering are out of the question. Also, at this time, we are unable to go to a doubles setup as some had suggested since we have single tank harnesses. But the info provided here will be a helpful reference in the future.

So, my final conlusion is that at the moment, an HP80 for her and an HP100 for me seem to be the best choices. If we want to go a little larger, an HP 100 for her (since that tank is approximately the same physcially as an AL80) and an HP120 for me (although it may be too tall for me, so an E8-119 may be better).

In any case, all the information has been very helpful and I appreciate it. Hopefully, this will be a good primer on tank selection for other individuals as well.

 

[tlessard]

One other consideration might be the Faber 72 cu ft tanks...they are only 6.75 around and a little under 21" high. It's sort of a LP tank(?) that fills to 3300psi with the plus fill for a total of 72ish cu ft. You could go with the Faber LP85 which fills to 2640psi with the plus fill. Just a thought b/c it can sometimes be hard to get a fill for the HP tanks. With the 72 cu ft you get at least 66 cu ft (@ 3000psi) when they won't/can't push it up to 3300. With the LP85 you'll almost always get your full plus fill. I'm thinking about picking up one of the 72s for my little (5'3") wife...

Here's a link to a good price on the Faber 72:
http://divesales.com/tanks/

-Trey

NOTE: I made some corrections to this after doing some MORE research. ALL of the Faber tanks sold in the USA are rated at their plus fill specification. So the LP95 I bought is only 95 at the plus fill (2640)...so at 2400 psi it's no better than a big 86 cu ft tank. I was a little disappointed to find this out, as I have been telling EVERYONE I know about my LP95 that fills to 104 cu ft with a plus fill. :theyareon