Good SCUBA eq package deal in USA?

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Not interested in a Hookah.

That's the right attitude. I'm sure your personality and Aussie charm will help you meet plenty of normal NYC women.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by guyfromiowa

Be aware that Australian and USA rules are different for SCUBA tanks. You won't be getting a USA tank filled in Australia very easily.

What's the issue?

I have an EU purchased scuba tank onboard which will be coming to Australia on my boat. I hope it's not going to be junk

[Lodesman]

Check out Divers Supply: http://www.divers-supply.com/specials/packages.html

[Pete7]

Mark, after 25 years I now like you just use the kit occasionally. So gone are the high end Mare's regulators with the Ruby, the Apex Nitrox regulators and I am down to a simple Scubapro basic regulators, they are the AK47 of the regulator world and have been for 40 years used extensively by dive schools for a reason. The same second stage octopus regulator.

A simple stab jacket actually Posideon but again bacis model simple stuff etc. The UK buddy stuff is great but the double bag construction takes too long to dry. A single bag nylon one much quicker to dry.

Good quality mask and fins are worth paying the extra. The difference between cheap fins and expensive are huge and if you try them both side by side you will always choose the more expensive ones.

Pete

[Blue Crab]

Lotsa very good advice here Mark. I'd like to second the comment about buying HP steel tanks over AL. While ScubaPro is good gear, it's also higher dollar than you need. I'd shop Craig's for used gear, and there's plenty of stuff listed in NYC but it wouldn't hurt to buy a new reg/BCD as it's easy to buy old crap.

While there are many high-end systems, Sherwood/Genesis gear is simple, reliable, and inexpensive, and used worldwide. Sherwood Avid Brut Package would do what you want to do and more. OK, you don't need the computer but you might have some fun with it. Or shop for the same system without the computer. You want a balanced regulator; that's the buzzword, the rest is all about sales and convenience.

Keep having fun!

[a64pilot]

These guys too, up the road in Macon GA, but they are a huge mail order business, look for clearance items, as the depths your talking about any reg is as good as any other, you don't need a Scuba Pro Mark 25 to swim around and look at the pretty fish

http://www.divers-supply.com/

You know BC's are nice, I wouldn't have one myself, I want a wing, but I dove for years with just a tank with short pants and a T-shirt, shallow water you really don't need a BC.
Mae West vest of course was the first BC, and Cave divers were among the first to use buoyancy control devices, but open water just swimming around the boat, you don't need it, start out a little heavy so as you burn off the air you end up a little positive.

And I'll get myself in a little trouble here cause it's heresey, but you don't need a computer or depth gauge either, in fact first dive of the day it's almost impossible to get yourself in trouble with a single aluminum 80, you just can't go deep enough and stay long enough to get a Deco obligation, not enough gas. Now with a short surface interval, you can on a second dive.

I grew up on steel 72's and that was the standard back then, now it's Aluminum 80's, that are I believe really 78 cu ft. If your going to get your own tanks, go for steels, a steel 80 is really about half the size of an aluminum 80, and lighter, yet due to its size and that is displaces less water, it is negative, most don't have to carry any lead if they dive steels, a steel 100 is about the same size, maybe just a little smaller than an aluminum 80.

Now you can get yourself into a deco obligation on the first dive with a steel 100.

[a64pilot]

Another thing, dive gear express has some really good little short articles on the site, really good one. More of a tech oriented place with higher prices as the gear is better so maybe don't buy there, but the short articles are informative and you will learn a lot there.
https://www.divegearexpress.com/?gcl...FUQbgQodlJ0BmQ

[poiu]

Just so you have the full set of info on the cost of ownership. Servicing costs can horrid as I found out recently: Today I collected my two regulator sets from the dive shop. They had just been serviced at a cost of $243. I brought them back in my luggage as the cost in St Maarten was almost exactly double.

Parts are available from Germany to do your own service at a cost in parts only of $120 for 2 sets, so that is a viable option.

They recommend an annual service, but I stretched that a bit. A few months ago my two dive tanks had their 5 year hydro check. Another $160. I need to service the BC vest, so a further $150 to be spent soon.

Total cost after 5 years with a 2.5 year service schedule in expensive St Maarten would come to $1432. Then add say $300 depreciation - $1,742 in 5 years or $348 a year.

If you use it a lot, the service cost doesn't matter much, but if you don't use them much then renting off the dive shop will probably be financially better. If you don't have a compressor, you will be in and out of the dive shop regularly anyway, so there is also no particular advantage in convenience to owning your own kit.

Yes, and as to steel, its the way to go. 95% of UK divers use steel. A further advantage is you can fill to 300bar, which gives you nearly 50% more bottom time compared to alu. (I wish I had done that). You'll need your own compressor to reliably fill at high pressure as most dive shops, certainly in the Caribbean don't go that high. I think you may need a DIN regulator too. Check up on it if you need to.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Yes, i refuse to deal with divers who go under.




Mark

I always like your quick whit. Or is it divers that go down?

[Compactorguy]

Scuba.com and Leisure Pro.com have good prices.
I'm an instructor and use scuba pro regulator and fins, a custom back horse shoe style BCD from SSA here in California, Mares mask, Suunto computer, steel 100 HP tanks, plus wet and dry suit which you won't need
Remember just about everything needs to be serviced but regulator is most important. I've had mine since 2000 an MK20 with G250.
If I were to buy gear in order assuming you have mask and fins
1-regulator
2-Computer (other than Suunto, too conservative)
3-BCD
4-Steel Tank 80 or 100
Buying old rental gear from a local shop works for many plus you get to meet other divers in the area.
Now to find room on the boat for all your gear!



Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by guyfromiowa

Be aware that Australian and USA rules are different for SCUBA tanks. You won't be getting a USA tank filled in Australia very easily. Here's an idea- go to scubaboard.com, register and ask the same question. You may very well find a scubaboard member willing to sell you just what you need. You might also buy a used tank to use in the USA and sell it off before getting back to Oz. I can also recommend divegearexpress.com

Guy

OK, I'll bite (not byte), what are the differences and the reasons for the difficulty in filling US tanks in Australia?

[CarinaPDX]

Most nations have laws requiring pressure tanks to meet certain standards. In the EU it is a "CE" approval that is required, and in the US it is "DOT" (Dept of Transportation). In Canada it is "TC" (Transport Canada). And Australia has Australia Design Approval IIUC. The problem arises when the tank you are trying to fill, and especially to hydro, does not have the markings for the current location.

In my case I purchased a tank with a worldwide brand, manufactured at one of the largest suppliers of pressure tanks, in Gibraltar. It has a "CE" approval stamped on the tank. Despite extensive searching I cannot find anyone in the US who will hydro this tank because it does not have "DOT" stamped on it. I have also tried in Canada, but less extensively. It is a nice steel 10 liter 3500# tank - about the same volume as an AL 80 but much more compact. But no one will fill it as it is out of hydro, and no one will hydro it. So it is basically worthless. Buyer beware.

I have heard that sometimes it is possible to find tanks that have multiple approvals but I suspect they would be expensive and hard to find. Just buy a tank locally - they are a small part of scuba equipment costs.

AL tanks (scuba and propane) may not be refillable in the EU as their standards do not authorize them. This may be out of date but was once the case. Anyway AL tanks are not desirable.

Greg

[MarkJ]

Thanks for everyones great advice!


One of the reasons to buy and not rent is once you have it you use it.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Thanks for everyones great advice!


One of the reasons to buy and not rent is once you have it you use it.

Not really.....

I only used my scuba gear once since putting on board and that was not by plan or desire, just the necessity of recovering my propeller

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

Most nations have laws requiring pressure tanks to meet certain standards. In the EU it is a "CE" approval that is required, and in the US it is "DOT" (Dept of Transportation). In Canada it is "TC" (Transport Canada). And Australia has Australia Design Approval IIUC. The problem arises when the tank you are trying to fill, and especially to hydro, does not have the markings for the current location.

In my case I purchased a tank with a worldwide brand, manufactured at one of the largest suppliers of pressure tanks, in Gibraltar. It has a "CE" approval stamped on the tank. Despite extensive searching I cannot find anyone in the US who will hydro this tank because it does not have "DOT" stamped on it. I have also tried in Canada, but less extensively. It is a nice steel 10 liter 3500# tank - about the same volume as an AL 80 but much more compact. But no one will fill it as it is out of hydro, and no one will hydro it. So it is basically worthless. Buyer beware.

I have heard that sometimes it is possible to find tanks that have multiple approvals but I suspect they would be expensive and hard to find. Just buy a tank locally - they are a small part of scuba equipment costs.

AL tanks (scuba and propane) may not be refillable in the EU as their standards do not authorize them. This may be out of date but was once the case. Anyway AL tanks are not desirable.

Greg

If its a 3500 PSI tank, then it is a "true" high pressure tank and those are rare, most "HP" tanks are really 3442 pressure and are known as exemption tanks. Common to fill them to 3600 anyway, never, ever heard of a single failure
A true HP tank also I believe the valve is pipe thread and not machine thread like all others, not sure but there is a thread difference