Faber 100 cubic foot tanks, add four pounds

[johndo88]

I have been diving with Worthington 100 cu. ft. 3442 psi tanks for two years. I currently wear 36 pounds of weight. I wanted more tanks so yesterday I picked up two new Faber 100 cu. ft. tanks (3442 psi) and today was my first dive them. I was noticeably UNDER WEIGHTED. I was holding on to two rocks to make my 15-foot stop. On the second dive I was able to borrow 3 pounds and that helped, I could probably stand to add another pound. On my next dive I'll be wearing 40 pounds with these tanks.
Turns out if you take the time test new gear before going on a boat dive with seven other buddies, you can avoid getting laughed at for carrying two rocks around on the dive.

[kdupreez]

Dang, thats a big change between HP tanks.. looks like Fabers are about 2lb lighter than the Worthington when empty. I was not expecting that much of a swing..

Faber = -0.59lb v.s. Worthington = -2.5lb

http://www.xsscuba.com/tank_steel_specs.html
http://www.bluesteelllc.com/cylinder-sp ... tions.html

[LCF]

Not only are they lighter, but they get very butt-light when empty.

I unfortunately learned this on a staged decompression dive in Monterey, diving with one buddy I always want to do well in front of (and almost never manage it) and another who is a VERY accomplished technical diver, who didn't know me from Adam, but I'm sure spent our entire 20 foot stop, while I was swimming frantically in circles trying to stay down, wondering who this idiot was and why Kevin would dive with her.

[Dusty2]

Sounds like someone, or two Lynn, forgot to do their bookwork before diving new equipment.
Of course none of us has ever done anything like that.

[Desert Diver]

We have both and I think the difference is 2 lbs. And I dive heavy enough with a drysuit to be able to switch between them without a problem.

[LCF]

I made the mistake of asking my friends if I could borrow a set of tanks, and they said sure. I didn't think to ask what BRAND of tank I was borrowing!

[kdupreez]

Yeah, I would not think twice when borrowing HP tanks to just dive them the same as my XS tanks.. when In actual fact you would need to add 4-5lb on a set of doubles.

These tanks suck..

Now I'm extra sad that Worthington stopped making tanks :(

[johndo88]

For those that know me, you realize that DUI used a bit more material to make my dry suit than what most of you dive with. Your buoyancy may differ.

[archisgore]

Will you people stop complaining? Jeez! On my last LA trip I borrowed dissimilar doubled up tanks which had a manifold with a less-than-200bar DIN valve on one end and a 300 bar DIN on another. A scubapro reg on one, apex on another. Atomics primary second stage, Scubapro backup second stage.

Beat THAT and then whine about the inconvenience of tanks you're not used to. :-P

[archisgore]

Oh wait - 60lb tacoed wing.

[CaptnJack]

Did you run those tanks down to empty or something? 500psi is still 2lbs of gas (assuming no trimix) so you shoulda at most be light by 2lbs. I suspect you were light in your own tanks too, just not by as much.

40lbs and double fx100s? Does that count a SS plate? Something is not right here.

[mancub]

Now I'm extra sad that Worthington stopped making tanks :(

No more XS Worthington 100s?! Am I correct that Worthington manufactured for XS scuba?

[spatman]

Now I'm extra sad that Worthington stopped making tanks :(

No more XS Worthington 100s?! Am I correct that Worthington manufactured for XS scuba?

Whoa, I had no idea either. I guess I'll hold on to that 119 I was selling....

[CaptnJack]

Now I'm extra sad that Worthington stopped making tanks :(

No more XS Worthington 100s?! Am I correct that Worthington manufactured for XS scuba?

Yup the big W stopped making scuba cylinders. Xscuba is distributing fabers now. They still have some W 85s left though.

[spatman]

Now I'm extra sad that Worthington stopped making tanks :(

No more XS Worthington 100s?! Am I correct that Worthington manufactured for XS scuba?

Yup the big W stopped making scuba cylinders. Xscuba is distributing fabers now. They still have some W 85s left though.

[johndo88]

Did you run those tanks down to empty or something? 500psi is still 2lbs of gas (assuming no trimix) so you shoulda at most be light by 2lbs. I suspect you were light in your own tanks too, just not by as much.

40lbs and double fx100s? Does that count a SS plate? Something is not right here.

Good questions. On my first dive with the Fabers I ran them down to about 950, pretty typical for me. As it happens I am planning to hit Cove 2 today with the intent of running them down to 500, maybe 400. And no regarding the SS backplate, I have not added that in. One correction, I am diving a SINGLE tank; I bought two, just use one at a time. And finally, I tend to make my dives a bit on the deeper side which means I spend alot of time at 15 feet. I have been very conscious about not being under weighted.

[kdupreez]

Yeeowza..

I just checked and for HP130 tanks, the Fabers are actually 1.5lb POSTIVE per tank when empty.. Probably on the ass-end too..

That really really sucks for a steel tank..

Worthington HP130's are 2.0lb negative per tank when empty and trims out really well..

So, if you have 130 doubles for trimix, you need at least 7lb freegin pounds more weight with the Fabers! I cant even imagine how head heavy those things will be in doubles..

UGGHHH...

[ljjames]

Johndoe88: Its not the end of the world, just put a weight pouch on your lower cam strap (or if you don't have a lower cam strap on your bcd get a spare one and slap a 5lb-er or whatever extra lead you need on it) and that should help trim it out a bit and fix the 15' floaties. I like the spare cam strap option because then if you have heavy 100 and a couple of light 100 you can very easily put the extra weight on the tank(s) that needs it. In the old old days when dealing with super thin walled steel 70's, some folks would just pipe clamp the necessary lead on the base of the tank (or stick it in the tank boot) to make all their tanks the same.

At the end of the day, its simple physics, the weight it takes to sink the density and volume of the diver on a whole is going to remain consistent, it just means you need to sort out distribution. These sound a lot like the old PST 102's, which are totally diveable tanks if you drop em down and redistribute your lead lower as compared to the Worthingtons, and actually quite pleasant as singles. It is helpful to have a BCD that allows you to keep them from floating up around your ears, you'll know if that is happening when you put your head back and it hits your regulator first stage. Yeah, they are not gonna be as sweetheart tanks as the heavy, even distributed 100's, particularly when doubled up, but they will do the job of transporting breathable air.

[CaptnJack]

I use a block lead belt (simplest, doesn't corrode to dust like shot does). If you put the weight pouch between the blocks on your belt its simple to add and remove 2 or 3lbs. The tails are always what get light anyway so having (extra) lead on your waist is typically in close enough to the right place.