Wanted: HP 120's

[f94gator]

If anyone's got some hp120's they're willing to sell, or know of a shop with good prices on them, please let me know. Thanks!

[Stone]

If you or a friend happens to drive through Niceville, FL, before I find some more HP-120s for myself, I'll sell a PST HP-120 (just hydro'd) for $200.

It's one of those things where one HP-120 doesn't do me any good, but if I can find a good deal on another couple of HP-120s, I'd keep them all.

[seastalker]

Liesure Pro has a special for Genisis HP 120's with valve and boot for 244 each.......

[richhermes]

But they want $50 for shipping for that Genesis Tank. WOW

[f94gator]

Good price at first glance, but after shipping it's damn close to what It would cost locally.

[dabulltrouble]

i think there 239$ at divers outlet in orlando

[richhermes]

Just called divers outlet in O-town. They are selling HP 120's for $275.

[dabulltrouble]

hey gator.i just rememberd the local manatee shop i deal with in crystal river has 2 hp 120s for 400$. they are used and have the manifold that conects the 2 tanks together,i guess for cave diving.the phone # is 352-563-2763-birds underwater dive center.the tanks have been sitting there for about 2 months so you might even be able to get them a little cheaper.i probable could get them for about 350$.it will be about another week before i get back home to crystal river.if you want to wait till then i can give you more info

[f94gator]

Thanks for the heads up. I can wait till next week no problem. Definitely wouldn't want the two tanks hooked together though. I've never dealt with a manifold before; I take it that would be pretty easy to take remove and replace with regular DIN valves?

[dabulltrouble]

yes i,m sure it would.i dont know to much about the manifolds either,cave diving never was a turn on for me,i might get home on mon or tues next week if i can get a couple guys together to do some local shootin and i will get more info about the tanks then

[richhermes]

What's the price on a DIN valve??

[f94gator]

Just called them. They don't have the original, individual DIN valves for those tanks, so I'd have to buy those. After that, not sure if it's really a good deal or not.

[johnhermes]

No valves = not a good deal, IMHO

[f94gator]

About $50 each for DIN valves off LP, plus shipping. That puts me at $100 off 2 brand new tanks, and that's if both tanks have a recent hydro and are O2 clean.

[f94gator]

OK, best price in Tampa is Action Aquatics on Gandy. $270 for a Pressed Steel O2 clean 120 with a boot. They only take orders with a deposit as they don't carry them in stock and have to do special orders - but shipping is free. I'm going to go by tonight and put a deposit down on 2.

SO, for anyone in Tampa, I called damn near every shop in the area and, aside from 1 place in New Port Richey, they have the best prices by far.

[MarkD]

Gator, I am looking for HP 100s. Who in New Port Richey quoted you a good price? If anybody has used ones for sale, let me know.

Mark

[Steel Shootin']

I have three PST HP 100s that are less than one year old. I would only be willing to sell them if I sold all three. $200/each. I paid 280/each + $10 stickers = $290/each. They are 02 cleaned, and have nitrox fills in them right now. I dive 120s now, so would use the $$ to get two more HP 120s.

[MarkD]

Scott, I think I will take them. I expect they have DIN valves, guess I will need to convert my first stage. I will send you a PM with my cell number.

Mark

[f94gator]

The name was Scuba West, but it sounds like you're taken care of!

[johnhermes]

I can vouch for Scott's tanks, they look like new.

[Steel Shootin']

Yep, even the 100s. The not only get rinsed after every dive, but I clean them with soap. Mark bought them. We're hooking up tomorrow. He's getting a great deal. I'm getting two more 120s. I officially now will have enough funny gas to do 7 or 8 drops on a trip.

[richhermes]

Originally posted by johnhermes
I can vouch for Scott's tanks, they look like new.

Is this another scuba gear joke?;)

[johnhermes]

No, not at all. The tanks look absolutely like new. My tanks are lucky if the hose gets pointed in their direction when I am rinsing gear, but Scott rinses, AND washes them with soap. DAAAAAMMMNNN

[Capt.Gene]

PST, in their infinite wisdom, has discontinued all the hp "Genesis" tanks in favor of a new 8" diameter slightly lower pressure tank. The new ones will be out in June.
I got a surprise when I ordered my spring inventory last month.
They upped the price 5% upon delivery, with a letter announcing a "Fuel surcharge".
These tanks come O2 clean from the factory. Just lube the O ring w/ the correct lubricant. Add the correct stickers and fill.
I have 8 new PST HP 120 cu. ft. tanks to sell, and some 100's as well.
$309.00 each, filled, stickered, with boot. for the 120's.
$299.00 each for the 100's.
Aquatic Adventures Scuba
Zephyrhills, Fl.
800-741-6476

[f94gator]

Capt Gene,

Question for you, what are the advantages of this new design vs the old design? I've heard that the new design will actually allow you to use a yoke on the hp tank; is that true? A definite advantage, but at least for me, I've already got a DIN reg so it doesn't help me out any.
I mean, I'm mainly concerned with the capacity of the tank, the general size of it, and the total cost. All else being equal, assuming the new design and the old design aren't radically different in size, I'll take advantage of the cheaper deal all day long. (note; the ones I ordered are coming with a boot and nitrox fill as well)

[Capt.Gene]

I guess the new 8" diameter tank must have an advantage somewhere. The larger diameter make them more stable while standing upright unattended on the deck of a boat. Because they sure won't fit in your existing tank racks.
PST will probably sell a lot of these to guys with small dicks. They sure will look like big studley tanks.

[richhermes]

Just envision that marketing campaign!

Have a small dick?? Buy our tanks!

[f94gator]

Shit, if they don't fit in existing racks, they are a major pain in the ass. All the more reason to buy the old ones while they're around!!!

[kitefisherman]

The "new" ones are probably LP. I've never seen a "fat" HP steel.

[f94gator]

Lp120's suck. Like carrying a damn water heater.

[kitefisherman]

Yeah, but you get 180 CFT of gas. Better to go with a smaller LP like my 98 that gives you about 150 CFT of air when pumped to 3600 PSI. Weighs the same as my HP 120 when both tanks are full.

[f94gator]

There's a line between more bottom time and an unwieldy, inconvenient setup. I have no use for a tank that's so big it won't fit into a tank rack, is a pain in the ass to put on, that holds so much air that I'll hit my deco limit long before I exhaust the tank.

now the LP98 - that's a good point. But you're also talking about filling it up to the hp limit to get the extra air. If we're overfilling tanks, how much more air can I get out of a hp120 if I talk someone into filling it to 4200?

[Stone]

Originally posted by f94gator
If we're overfilling tanks, how much more air can I get out of a hp120 if I talk someone into filling it to 4200?
I come up with 144 cf (or 20% more gas).

[BobK]

Originally posted by f94gator
There's a line between more bottom time and an unwieldy, inconvenient setup. I have no use for a tank that's so big it won't fit into a tank rack, is a pain in the ass to put on, that holds so much air that I'll hit my deco limit long before I exhaust the tank.

now the LP98 - that's a good point. But you're also talking about filling it up to the hp limit to get the extra air. If we're overfilling tanks, how much more air can I get out of a hp120 if I talk someone into filling it to 4200?

The deal with LP steel tanks is that they are only LP in the states. They are actually certified by the manufacturer to much higher pressures, which is why some shops don't mind "overfilling" them. HP tanks, on the other hand, are already being filled to the manufacturer's limit. You will not find too many shops that will fill them much above 3600, and I wouldn't suggest it even if they would.

If you really want more air than 150 CF or so, just go to doubles.

[kitefisherman]

144 CFT if pumped to 4200. I don't generally pump my HP much beyond the 3850 PSI 10% overfill.

No argument on an LP tank being difficult to store if your racks won't accomodate them. I own and like both - a lot. If I were to get a 3rd steel tank, it would probably be LP.

That said, Spear One and I had an interesting telephone conversation last night that may shed some light on why you West coast guys don't like LPs. He tells me you guys are generally diving + or - 100 FSW on 32% mix. That makes sense over there on the middlegrounds because you are doing so many multiple dives over 36 hours and the bottom may drop off to 130-140 ft so you plan your mix according to a 140 ft contingency depth in case you get hung up battling a fish or something. Over here, I generally dive N-S along a reef that varies from 50 FSW to 100 FSW depending where E-W I am on the reef. I plan my mix for 100 ft and generally dive with 36-39%. Accordingly, I don't run into the problem of having my gas exceed my bottom time. I may dive 4 tanks in a day with up to 5 hours bottom time, but if I do then I generally don't dive the next day or I dive shallower depths because of the 24 hr. O2 exposure buildup. We also don't have to carry more than one day's worth of tanks at a time so space isn't as much of a problem for us as it is for you guys on your multi day trips.

One more thing, if size is so important then you may wish to consider a LP 85. OMS makes one that is 21" tall with a 7" diameter (service life is 4000 PSI for 10,000 cycles). It's the same width yet 5" shorter than an AL80. Pumped to 3600, you get about 128 CFT. It also weighs 7 pounds less than their LP 98 when empty (31# vs. 38#) - thus more than 7 pounds lighter than either an LP 98 or a HP 120 when full. Price may be a factor though as all sizes of OMS LPs sell for $399 at my LDS (although you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere). All OMS tanks have the modular valve that allows you to use the tank with both a DIN and a yoke 1st stage.