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From: ScottBonis@ao*.co*
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 16:31:16 EST
Subject: Re: neutral AL 80's
To: leebell@ix*.ne*.co*, techdiver@aquanaut.com
Hi Lee,

You say << The neutral buoyancy when empty means I take 4 lbs off my
weight 
belt without adding anything anywhere else.  This is the primary reason most 
people like the tanks and particularly important to me.  That 4 lbs just

happens to make me perfectly weighted with my stainless plate.  I don't have

to wear any lead, anywhere when diving warm water, which is what I do almost

exclusively. ??

Am I reading you correctly that you are diving warm water (wetsuit I presume) 
with no ditchable weight?  Does this seem to make a lot of sense?

Take care and dive safe,        Scott

Some weeks it's just not worth the effort to gnaw through the restraints and 
scramble up out of the pit.



In a message dated 1/5/02 9:39:10 AM, leebell@ix*.ne*.co* writes:

<< Susan wrote:

> Does anyone have any experiences or comments on the Luxfer "neutral" 80 
>cubic foot AL tanks?


Luxfer is not on my list of favorite companies.  Their handling of bad alloy

tanks they previously made and the cost of the Visual Plus device they

developed to address their problem at my expense left a very bad taste in my

mouth.  I own only one Luxfer (not a neutral buoyant tank) but have 6

Catalina Compact 80 tanks which are also neutral (and have been around

longer than Luxfer's offering).


I like three things about my Compact 80s:

1. They are just a bit shorter than a standard 80.  At my height (5'8") the

slight difference in height means I can carry them with straight arms versus

the bent arm required for standard 80s.  The Luxfers are not shorter.

2. The neutral buoyancy when empty means I take 4 lbs off my weight belt

without adding anything anywhere else.  This is the primary reason most

people like the tanks and particularly important to me.  That 4 lbs just

happens to make me perfectly weighted with my stainless plate.  I don't have

to wear any lead, anywhere when diving warm water, which is what I do almost

exclusively.

3. The trim on the Catalinas is good.  They're nicely balanced from top to

bottom.  I believe the Luxfers are a bit bottom heavy, but don't take my

word for it.


|> I was wondering if these would make good stage bottles and/or double tank

> sets for the ocean. Does anyone know what the working pressure is on these

> cylinders?


I'm not sure these tanks are the best choice for everyone.  If you dive wet,

I don't think they are any better than some steel tanks.  Presumably, your

tanks will never be comletely empty and, therefore, will always be at least

partly negative.  When you twin them up and,. even worse, add stages, you're

accepting a lot of non ditchable negative buoyancy.  If you are scootering,

they're not going to tow as nicely as the less negative standartd 80s do.

For most, I don't think it's a real good idea.


While I recommend people diving single tanks at least try out the neutral

buoyant models, I think buoyant tanks would be a better choice for mutli

tank diving, particularly for open water stages.  They represent less

negative buoyancy and, in a pinch, could actually be a source of positive

buoyancy.  While it's not a primary issue, it's also nice to know that if I

ever had to ditch one, I don't necessarily have to lose it.  Open the valve

and drop the tank and, sooner or later, it will return to the surface on its

own.  If you do this, however, please recover your tank from the surface.

I'm not at all fond of the idea of hitting a floating tank with my boat.


Lee >>
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