Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] question about general design?

[TeslaTony@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/9/01 6:04:03 PM Pacific Daylight Time, buchner@wcta.net 
writes:

> Okay, so -- what about those of us who are just tinkering around in 
>  the pool, experimenting, with limited means (or limited means that 
>  can be spent on such experiments without threatening domestic 
>  happiness; c'mon I'm still lobbying for a *welder*...)? I haven't 
>  looked into this, but what's involved in getting high-pressure tanks 
>  and getting them refilled and so on? How expensive are they and how 
>  fussy are they going to be about selling one to just some guy who 
>  looks like he's up to no good with it? Not much of that kind of stuff 
>  around here, but I'm guessing it's not something I can just grab off 
>  the shelf and throw in my shopping cart at ScubaMart, right? If I 
>  wasn't breathing it, I've noticed plenty of those CO2 cylinders for 
>  Coke dispensers around...

You probably need a C-card to buy tanks, but so far the only picture I've 
been asked to show when refilling tanks has been one of Lincoln, provided it 
was on some money.

For something putzing around in a swimming pool or lake with nobody in it you 
can do just about whatever you like as far as blowing the ballast goes 
(alka-seltzer, paintball tanks, SCUBA tanks, coke dispenser tanks, propane 
tanks filled from a bicycle pump, etc. etc. etc.), but if you are relying on 
it to get you and your sub out of the water without the help of a crane then 
go with something that will do the job, and SCUBA tanks really are the best 
choice I've seen (although a high-pressure argon/nitrogen/some other welding 
gas tank *might* work, but don't take my word for it).

>  (I know, I know -- SCUBA CERTIFICATION. It's on the list; see "limted 
>  means" and also "not much of that around here" above. Right now I'm 
>  just interested in air to blow things in waist-deep water and see 
>  what they do (for which my portable tire-filler tank is actually 
>  pretty okay).)
>  -- 
>  David
>  buchner@wcta.net - MN, USA
>  
If you can afford a $15,000 sub you can afford the roughly $500 it takes to 
get certified ($200 for the class, $50 for the book, $150 for lodging at the 
dive site that you do your open water dives at and another $100 for gas and 
gear rental-but costs are variable so you should ask someplace that has 
classes and do your own math).

Anthony