What tanks are you diving in the DelMarVA?

[maniago]

Folks, strictly an "owning tanks question" assuming AOW diving....

....just kinda wondering what every one is using around here, cold water quarry vs Ocean City diving, non-training dives. I can afford to buy steel tanks, say a Worthington 3442 (name your size) for argument sake, but wondering about all the nuances of having one tank to make two dives, or two smallers for two dives, pain in the back of lugging a one tank beast, or maybe Nitroxing instead etc etc (btw my LDS doesnt nitrox any more, strictly air. But that's just their business model).

What are you guys diving who own tanks and what do you get for bottom time for your set up on an AOW dive....?

BTW, if it helps, I'm thinking about for both the wife and I. I can probably hump a few more pounds than an AL80, but maybe not so much the wiffy...

Thanks for any info.

 

[parzdiver]

It depends a lot on your amount of exposure protection. If you are regularly diving dry or even 7mm in the ocean, a steel tank will help offset some of the lead you need. My personal preference in tank is a high pressure (3442) steel 100. For my height (5'9") it trims out very nicely, if I was taller I might go with the 120's. I use a backplate, so I only need to put a little extra weight in the trim pockets when diving dry with a single tank. Two tanks is going to be better than one large tank. Even with the reserve, two steel 100's or even AL-80's will give you more air per dive than a 130. Plus the 130 is a beast of a tank.

AL-80's are good tanks, but don't have the capacity of similarly sized steel tanks and you will need more lead (about 4-5lbs compared to the steel 100) to offset their buoyancy.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

An X7-100 only weighs two pounds more than an AL 80 - but also requires about 4 pounds less weight on the belt for a cold water diver, so there is a net weight savings of 2 pounds. However it offers 23 more cubic feet of gas and is much better suited to dives in the 80-110' range that you'll commonly encounter offshore.

Our preference however has been to take a single set of doubles on a two dive boat trip, using about half on the first dive and the rest (minus reserve) on the second dive. In that situation a set of AL 80s (either backmount or sidemount) will work as you have all of the left over gas from dive 1 on dive 2 and you are not leaving residual gas in an unused tank on the boat during dive 2.

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On the other hand, if your shop does not do nitrox, your gas requirements are going to be less as your bottom time will be less and an AL 80 will be fine. But I'd find a new shop as you're losing significant bottom time for the buck on every boat dive.

 

[Randy g]

I use steel LP121's and LP131's with H valves and have 4 LP95 for my gf. I keep 8 tanks filled with 30/32 and ready to go at any time. We do a lot of weekends in Morehead and it makes the trip that much easier, not having to chase gas fills after the dives. I know the filling station, they are filled with what I want and how much I want. It makes for a relaxing way to do weekend get aways.

I am 6'2 220lb and the longer, bigger low pressures trim out nicely, reduce lead and carry a lot of gas. With the lds filling I get anywhere from 160-190 cu ft from each tank with this set up. I run them at 3500psi cold consistently.

Using the big singles saves lugging doubles up the ladder with my old rebuilt knee and make it alittle easier to handle on land. I have a set of 108 doubles but they are kept for the elevator dives aka Hatteras dives on Under Pressure.

 

[maniago]

An X7-100 only weighs two pounds more than an AL 80 - but also requires about 4 pounds less weight on the belt for a cold water diver, so there is a net weight savings of 2 pounds. However it offers 23 more cubic feet of gas and is much better suited to dives in the 80-110' range that you'll commonly encounter offshore.

Our preference however has been to take a single set of doubles on a two dive boat trip, using about half on the first dive and the rest (minus reserve) on the second dive. In that situation a set of AL 80s (either backmount or sidemount) will work as you have all of the left over gas from dive 1 on dive 2 and you are not leaving residual gas in an unused tank on the boat during dive 2.

----

On the other hand, if your shop does not do nitrox, your gas requirements are going to be less as your bottom time will be less and an AL 80 will be fine. But I'd find a new shop as you're losing significant bottom time for the buck on every boat dive.

Thanks for all who responded up to this point. This is great info for a newbee. Please keep it coming re: your combinations

@DA Aquamaster: Help me if I understand you wrong, but I think you are saying: on a two-dive saltwater day, you are using one XL-100 nitrox tank per person - half a tank the first dive (say a 100'er), the remainder the second dive (say an 80'er) with gas to spare. If so that seems like a winner combination to me. Both of us will be diving Solafx 8/7 semi-dry (just showed up on the doorstep - wahoo!) so a good deal of buoyancy coupled with Balance BCDs. The LDS loaded me with 24lbs of lead before tank. Seems a bit "generous" I thought...dunno yet. How's my read on your speak?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Sorry, you have it wrong. We use a single set of double X7-100s for DE and NC diving in 80-120' range, mostly as we tend to be first in and last out and run profiles requiring about 5 minutes of deco without delaying the boat and some extra gas and reserve is nice to have. But that said, using a single X7-100 on each dive (two tanks total) is fine.

An X7-100 is still very hard to beat as a recreational tank, especially in cold water as you can take off about 5 pounds of weight compared to an AL 80.

---------- Post Merged at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:38 PM ----------

Sorry, you have it wrong. We use a single set of double X7-100s for DE and NC diving in 80-120' range, mostly as we tend to be first in and last out and run profiles requiring about 5 minutes of deco without delaying the boat and some extra gas and reserve is nice to have. But that said, using a single X7-100 on each dive (two tanks total) is fine.

An X7-100 is still very hard to beat as a recreational tank, especially in cold water as you can take off about 5 pounds of weight compared to an AL 80.

 

[maniago]

Oh bummer. And I thought I had found the holy grail.. haha! Yeah from what I've read in other posts around, sounds like the HP100 is the sweet spot, singled or doubled...weight within spitting on an AL80 and 20+ cubes extra....

 

[bikediver]

I have a pair of Genesis HP 100s I' like to sell. They need hydro, but I guarantee they'll pass. DIN valves. About the same size as AL80s, but they are neutrally bouyant when empty. Also have a modular manifold and bands if you want to consider doubles.

Steve in Crofton MD

 

[maniago]

I have a pair of Genesis HP 100s I' like to sell. They need hydro, but I guarantee they'll pass. DIN valves. About the same size as AL80s, but they are neutrally bouyant when empty. Also have a modular manifold and bands if you want to consider doubles.

Steve in Crofton MD

Nah thanks. Gonna go steel if I buy. Youre close in Crofton tho - anywhere near Ritas? PM me Cheers Mick

 

[Paleface]

Genesis HP are steel tanks although they are heavy