#703
hopeinvalor - 11/30/2009 11:57 AM
Maureen,


What tanks have you dove so far and how did they feel? Larry made an excellent point that I never really ever thought about. One of my fellow divers have two sets of Double 80 LP’s made by Pressed Steel. He changed the burst disc and fills them to 3500psi. According to him and our head instructor, those specific tanks are no longer manufactured. I tried them out and they felt great, they’re even smaller than my Double AL80’s . And with an overfill to 3500psi, it’s like having Double 116’s. Bottom line is size and weight does matter when it comes to tanks and you need to feel comfortable with what’s on your back.



One other thing I wanted to point out (if you’re not already bogged down with enough to think about) is from the maintenance side of it. Steel tanks, regardless of high or low pressure need to be tumbled in addition to O2 cleaned especially if used for Enriched Nitrox or Trimix. Tumbling is definitely labor intense (if you’re doing it yourself) and if you’re paying a shop to do it, quite costly. My shop charges $95 per tank to tumble.



I have gradually shifted from diving Steel to Aluminum. Although steel is great in the water, on land they are a pain. From carrying to caring, it’s labor intense.



Ben