PST e-series tanks

[JoelW]

A couple of weeks ago I took my LP95 tanks in to get them inspected. Somewhere between last year and this year I picked up a wet load of air and as a result both tanks failed due to rust. On a side note, the tanks were never left competely empty and they were filled by a total of four places.

As a result I went looking for a new pair of steel tanks. The 95s are great singles in my opinion but I was looking to get something that I could double up if I get a wild hair. I looked at the Faber 108 and then at the PST E8-130s. Size wise they are pretty close to each other. The PSTs have the benefit of being rated for 3442 psi. At that fill they hold 130 cubic feet. At a low pressure fill they hold 106 cubic feet. Since I was looking for single first and making doubles later I went with the PSTs.

They came in to Scuba Dive and Travel late last week. I went in early this week to look them over. The one concern that I had was the slight reddish discoloration on a few small patches inside the tanks. PST has a disclaimer on their instructions that says this is possible and acceptable due to their manufacturing process. A call to PST confirmed this.

I took one out to Square last night to see how it would be compared to the LP95s that I had been using. Empty the tank is about 3# heavier underwater. Full it is a lot heavier. The tank is approximately the length of an Al80, but has a 8" diameter as opposed to 7.25". All in all it felt good. The one thing I really like about steels is that they spread the weight across a longer area, which I think makes maintaining decent trim a lot easier. It was easier to maintain trim with the 130 than with the 95s. There was no real side to side roll that I could tell when I turned to look up at things.

So, I'm happy with the purchase. One nice thing is that I didn't have to swap out tanks. A full 130 could probably do 3-4 dives at Square.

JoelW