How Long do Those Tanks Last

Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?

Thanks in advance.

Albert von Hauer wrote:
> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
>
> Thanks in advance.

Well, first off, they are not oxygen tanks. Most contain air, just like
you breath on the surface. There are some that have a higher Oxygen
content than normal surface air and others have a helium mixture but I
am straying away from your question.

There are lots of factors that affect how long a tank will last. Depth,
the size of the tank, and the diver him/herself.

The deeper a diver goes, the less time he/she has. Tanks come in
various capacities so obviously an 80 cf tank at 100 ft is not going to
last as long as a 120 cf tank.

Finally, the diver. Different people have different rates of breathing.
Last month, I was diving off the coast of NC. I had a 100 cf tank.
My buddy had a 95 cf tank. When he signalled to go up, I still had over
half my air left. We had a maximum depth of 72 ft and the entire dive
was for 30 minutes.

BTW, I havn't seen the movie but I havn't heard ONE good review from the
divers on rec.scuba. You being a non-diver, I am curious what your
impression was???

"Albert von Hauer" wrote ...
> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?

Actually, they are usually just filled with air instead of O2...

I have some from around 1970 and they're still good...

"Lee Bell" <leebell@ix.remove.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:v%QYc.6106$JT3.3602@newsread3.news.atl.earthl ink.net...
> In general, a standard tank will last the average diver, something more
than
> one hour and less than two at about 33 feet. It lasts only half as long
at
> 99 feet as it does at 33.



Is that a 3000psi or 4000 psi tank?

"Albert von Hauer" wrote

> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
> Thanks in advance.

First, what you normally see are not oxygen tanks. Most contain compressed
air.

How long they last depends on the size of the tank (they come in a wide
range of sizes), the pressure of the gas in the tank (there are several
common working pressures), the depth at which the tanks is being used (the
deeper you go, the more the gas you breathe is compressed and the more you
use) and the diver's respiration rate (some use gas faster than others).

In general, a standard tank will last the average diver, something more than
one hour and less than two at about 33 feet. It lasts only half as long at
99 feet as it does at 33.

Lee

Albert von Hauer wrote:

> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
>
> Thanks in advance.

There not oxygen but hpeofully they last as long as your dive.

I have had an aluminum one for 13 - 14 years

In article <4d0e6697.0408301610.628ea1f1@posting.google.com >, Albert
von Hauer <albertvonhauer@yahoo.com> wrote:

€ Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
€ something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
€
€ Thanks in advance.


About an hour (+/- four sigma).

Albert von Hauer wrote:
> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
>
> Thanks in advance.

Lee Bell nailed it.

Here's the info you need:

A typical tank contains 80 cubic feet of air compressed to 3000 psi, so
they're not oxygen tanks.

That will typically last a diver between 30 and 60 minutes of good dive
time before you have to surface - and you never breathe all the air in
the tank, instead keeping some for an emergency underwater.

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 02:15:33 GMT, "Von Fourche"
<monaco8292@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>"Lee Bell" <leebell@ix.remove.netcom.com> wrote in message
>news:v%QYc.6106$JT3.3602@newsread3.news.atl.earth link.net...
>> In general, a standard tank will last the average diver, something more
>than
>> one hour and less than two at about 33 feet. It lasts only half as long
>at
>> 99 feet as it does at 33.
>
>
>
> Is that a 3000psi or 4000 psi tank?
>
It's more a question of volume. A spare air is at 3000 psi. But a
steel 72 filled at 2500 psi is still good for longer.

--
dillon

When I was a kid, I thought the angel's name was Hark
and the horse's name was Bob.

"Albert von Hauer" <albertvonhauer@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4d0e6697.0408301610.628ea1f1@posting.google.c om...
> Hello. I don't dive, but I just saw Open Water and was curious about
> something. How long do those oxygen tanks you wear last underwater?
>
> Thanks in advance.

a steel tank will last several hundred years - at least. an aluminum tank
will corrode away in less time, but still last at least a hundred years.