Scuba Tanks

Post by GC » January 5th, 2006, 3:18 pm

I'm looking to buy some tanks new or slightly used for nitrox.
What is a fair price for an AL 80, O2 cleaned, boot, and valve, etc..etc.?

Thanks.

Post by **Tom Keels** » January 5th, 2006, 3:28 pm

I'll be honest, I wouldn't buy any aluminum tanks. I have 2 that I never use. Steel tanks are so much better for just about everything. The only pluses that aluminums have is weight loading and unloading.

But if you want to know, a used 02 cleaned AL80 in hydro will run less than $100 bucks. If you really want some aluminums I will sell you my 2 (in hydro, not 02 cleaned) for a good price.

Post by GC » January 5th, 2006, 3:57 pm

Alright.....
Talk to me about steel. HP or LP? size 80, 95, 120 and what are the benefits of steel over AL? I realize it's more durable....and rusting isn't really an issue.

PM me on the price for your 80's....I may be down for the social and could pick them up then.

Post by **Tom Keels** » January 5th, 2006, 4:29 pm

Steels. I like both HP and LP. I have a hp 120 that I love. Same diameter as an AL80 and just a couple of inches taller.

Buoyancy charachteristics are so much better with steel. Less weight to wear, negative when empty, etc.

LP's are great if you can find dive shops that will fill well above their rating. Its nice to have a LP 125 that is filled to 3800 lbs and has nearly 180 cubic feet in it. You can take one tank and make 3 dives on them.

Post by **Frank Bradfield** » January 5th, 2006, 6:09 pm

Toms right, get steel, but ( always a but ) i'm keeping mine for my son to dive , he can handle the weight better out of the water , so if your wife or son is diving consider alum. for them but you best go with steel !

Post by GC » January 5th, 2006, 6:12 pm

Thanks.

Wil · Post by **Wil** » January 13th, 2006, 9:34 pm

GC wrote:Alright.....
Talk to me about steel. HP or LP? size 80, 95, 120 and what are the benefits of steel over AL? I realize it's more durable....and rusting isn't really an issue.

PM me on the price for your 80's....I may be down for the social and could pick them up then.

Howdy guys, suddenly realized I hadn't been checking this forum in quite a while.

The LP vs. HP question has two key variables:

#1:
Where do you get your fills. HP indicates a working pressure of 3500psi. Some dive shops don't fill quite this high, while some do, but they fill quickly (so when your tank cools down you've got 3200 instead). On the other extreme, some dive shops will fill a LP tank (usually 2400-2640psi) to HP+, since they are rated for 3500 in most countries anyway. A LP 95 filled to 3500psi is 126cf.

Remember, though: If you fill your LP tank beyond its rated working pressure, you are violating DOT regulations. That being said, it's really nice to have a compact tank on your back that has a ton of gas in it. Or if you have a big frame like me, you could (if you wanted to really violate DOT regs) get 180cf per tank into your LP 125s.

I'd sum up the decision as such:

If the dive shop you use has trouble filling to 3500, then go LP.

If the dive shop you use is a stickler for rules (not necessarily a bad thing), but can fill to 3500, then go HP.

If the dive shop you use has the word "cave" anywhere in its name, or you're running the compressor yourself, go LP.

#2:
What is comfortable to you? Some people just can't seem to trim out in certain tanks. Before sinking a lot of money into tanks, borrow some and try them out. (We ought to put up a "borrow my gear" registry on here for people to try things out.)

I have some HP120s you can try if you'd like, and some LP125s. Just about anyone can trim out a HP120 nicely, but the LP125s require a large frame. If you're feeling masochistic you can borrow my double HP120s

Wil

Post by GC » January 16th, 2006, 6:08 pm

Jeez...double HP 120's??? Deep...cave diving?

Do yall purchase the lp 120's from a local shop down that way?
No one carries them in stock around here....but will order them for $300/each. Too high?

Post by **Tom Keels** » January 16th, 2006, 7:15 pm

GC wrote:Jeez...double HP 120's??? Deep...cave diving?

Do yall purchase the lp 120's from a local shop down that way?
No one carries them in stock around here....but will order them for $300/each. Too high?

Brand new lp120's will run you upwards of $275 and as high as $400.

The new "Low pressure" tanks are rated for 3442 psi. Its a marketing ploy to be able to call them low pressure. While these are nice tanks they are not the same as the traditional LP tanks that can be "overfilled" and carry more gas.

Wil · Post by **Wil** » January 30th, 2006, 3:31 pm

GC wrote:Jeez...double HP 120's??? Deep...cave diving?

Yup. It's fun to swim carrying double 120s, an al80 stage, and an al30 O2 bottle.

GC wrote:Do yall purchase the lp 120's from a local shop down that way?
No one carries them in stock around here....but will order them for $300/each. Too high?

I usually frequent the cave and technical diving forums, and pick up tanks via their "gear exchange" sections. You can get tanks pretty cheap that way.

I definitely wouldn't buy a LP120 until I'd used one before. They're huge, and it would suck to buy a tank that's too big to comfortably dive. That being said, I love my LP125s. But I'm a fairly big guy.

Probably the best all-purpose tank is the LP95. You get great buoyancy characteristics, they're reasonably small, and if you have a tech-friendly shop you can get 126cf into them at 3500psi. I wouldn't do that unless I was using a DIN valve and regulator though. (All of my regs and tanks are DIN because of this.)

I see LP 85s and 95s going for about $170-200 each all the time (brand new) on thedecostop.com, and 120s for about $200-240. Sometimes you can find a real steal though. I paid $150 each for my 125s, used.

Wil

Post by **Sea Dawg** » February 6th, 2006, 11:18 pm