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#135
 What is the story with the composite tanks?
Unsoughtdevil - 8/31/2013 4:03 PM
Category: Equipment
Replies: 4
Are they just over priced or is there a benefit to having them?
#6242
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ScubaCrab - 8/31/2013 6:12 PM
I do not know for shure but I would be concerned about durability. Tanks get banged around and could get damaged when bumped into other tanks’s sea walls boarding dive boats, transport and general handling. Bouyancy would cause a problem with extra weight on your weight belt. The weight has to go somewhere and I would rather have it in my tank making the tank nuetral in bouyancy or slightly negative. This could be overcome with weight pockets added to your tank strap but why make make your gear and setup more complicated. How well would it hold up in a marine envioment? Would it delaminate and or be damaged by the sun and the harsh enviroment of salt water? Marine enviroments are very destructive! If they are more exspensive I see them as a disadvantage.
Maybe some others with more knowlege will chime in? I would be interested in learning more.
#51828
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Greg - 8/31/2013 8:48 PM
Most dive shops can not fill carbon fiber tanks to their rated capacity, so no-one I know has made the investment.
#5471
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DiveBuddyChgo - 9/01/2013 11:26 AM
Like all new things on the market. You’ll have to wait and see where the weakness is. Why would I put 4350psi into a cylinder that’ll get very hot or a very long air fill. Also pay extra for a H.P. fill. Esp. when I can safely put 3000psi into a LowPressure 2400 steel 85 and still get the same 103 cu/ft. of air faster and not getting hot. I agree that you’ll need the weight anyways with a drysuit. Hope this helps.
#20448
LatitudeAdjustment - 9/02/2013 7:03 AM
What I like about them is you could go to a tank the size of an AL19 for a normal dive, being that size would displace less water and use less lead to sink. Be more streamlined :)

What I don’t like is no LDS has a compressor that will go that high, no local hydro facility either.

The only market I see now for these are cave divers looking for more range and wrapped tanks can’t be dragged thru the rocks. Kevlar and carbon might be stronger than steel but doesn’t like adbrasion, on composite bikes you need to watch that the brake cables don’t cut in!

I think we have a better chance of seeing artificial gills at the LDS before composite tanks go mainstream.