Rental cylinders in Los Angeles

tim · October 3rd, 2006, 12:13 AM

Hullo,

I'm hoping there may be divers on this forum from Los Angeles area who may be able to help me out with a question I have.

I'm travelling to L.A. at the end of the week and have a week's diving booked up, a day on the Catalinas, a couple of days at Santa Barbara, and four days at Monterey. I'm really looking forward to it, but have just been informed by the company who I was going to rent cylinders from (Hollywood Divers, no idea if they're any good but recommended by a contact of the trip organiser) that the best they can do would be a steel 72 cu ft cylinder which with a back of the envelope calculation I get to be about a 9l 232 bar tank, not great! I'm not hugely up on my US cylinder capacities; could anyone confirm for me that I've interpreted that correctly?

Hence I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good dive shop who'd be able to rent myself and five buddies sensible sized tanks (single tanks are fine, though if there were twinsets for some of us that would be even better!), ideally something along the lines of a UK-esque 12l steel tank, though an Al100 or even Al80 would I think be better than what we're getting at the moment.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Tim

tim · October 3rd, 2006, 12:49 AM

Quick update on my original post, quizzing Hollywood Divers over the phone (they seem like good guys!) it appears there's a beast known as a low pressure steel tank which only fills to the equivalent of 165 bar, and is very dumpy, and this is what's being hired out, which is even worse than my initial impression! They do sell 3442 PSI tanks but don't hire them. Since they claim to be the DIR shop in the area I'm guessing I may be out of luck on my quest for the elusive tall 12l 232 bar tank.

Tim

limeyx · October 3rd, 2006, 03:01 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by tim)

Quick update on my original post, quizzing Hollywood Divers over the phone (they seem like good guys!) it appears there's a beast known as a low pressure steel tank which only fills to the equivalent of 165 bar, and is very dumpy, and this is what's being hired out, which is even worse than my initial impression! They do sell 3442 PSI tanks but don't hire them. Since they claim to be the DIR shop in the area I'm guessing I may be out of luck on my quest for the elusive tall 12l 232 bar tank.

Tim

Hi, Hollywood divers are actually my local dive store

Bill and Hal are cool, if a little heavy on the CCR's for my liking.

What dates are you going to be in town and what cylinders do you need/prefer and how many of them?

I am out of town this weekend (oct 6) but I can for sure loan you a HP119 (not sure how this translates to metric).

I'm not sure I can give it to you for the weekend of oct 13th though as I have a "beach diving" extravaganza that weekend, but you can have it next week for sure.

I actually have more doubles than singles if you can make any use of those (I wont need those for beach diving!)

I might also be able to call Bill and see if I can talk him into getting you at least an LP95 (same physical size but 2640 PSI which you can pump to 3000 psi). I spend enough $ in there.

Let me know, we'll figure something out.

Oh crap, I just saw the "5 buddies" part. OK, plan B -- let me see what other stores might have some tanks

Ben_Ca · October 3rd, 2006, 03:22 AM

Tim,
What dates will you be in Monterey? I might be able to help you out with some local knowledge ect...

Ben

tim · October 3rd, 2006, 08:41 AM

Thanks, limeyx, replied by PM. We're bringing out a small team hence needing to hire quite a few cylinders! Thanks anyway for the offer of your tank, though I fear in this case commercial rental is our only option given the number we need and the duration we need them for.

Ben, any recommendations you have for the Monterey area would be greatly appreciated! I think we're in Monterey from the 10th to the 14th, and got a deal on a hotel on Cannery Row. I gather this is opposite one of the main diving beaches and next to a couple of shops who can do us gas fills.

Tim

limeyx · October 3rd, 2006, 05:43 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by tim)

Thanks, limeyx, replied by PM. We're bringing out a small team hence needing to hire quite a few cylinders! Thanks anyway for the offer of your tank, though I fear in this case commercial rental is our only option given the number we need and the duration we need them for.

Ben, any recommendations you have for the Monterey area would be greatly appreciated! I think we're in Monterey from the 10th to the 14th, and got a deal on a hotel on Cannery Row. I gather this is opposite one of the main diving beaches and next to a couple of shops who can do us gas fills.

Tim

If it's not too late, and you have the flexibility, I think it's highly recommended that you get (if you dont have already) reservations to dive Point Lobos (if there are any left -- it's in a state park and you have to book)

This is supposed to be one of the best dive sites in the entire area (but will require a drive from cannery row)

tim · October 3rd, 2006, 11:12 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by limeyx)

If it's not too late, and you have the flexibility, I think it's highly recommended that you get (if you dont have already) reservations to dive Point Lobos (if there are any left -- it's in a state park and you have to book)

That one sounded so good that we did indeed put in reservations the day they opened and have a day's diving permit there. It does look great! Will report back on my return.

Tim

limeyx · October 3rd, 2006, 11:25 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by tim)

That one sounded so good that we did indeed put in reservations the day they opened and have a day's diving permit there. It does look great! Will report back on my return.

Tim

Good for you! I have yet to dive it.

Ben_ca can likely put you in touch with folks who know the site really well -- plenty of DIR divers in the area who will be happy to dive with you I'm sure.

*David Martin* · October 3rd, 2006, 11:31 PM

Tim,

I don't live in the LA area..in fact I'm just up the road from you...but I was in California last year. I hired cylinders from a couple of shops. The better of these was: Anacapa Dive Center <<link

I hired a HP 100 steel / DIN O2 clean cylinder. I think this is somewhere between a 12L and 15L cylinder. I also think that the buoyancy characteristics are not dissimilar from UK cylinders; I had 20lb lead with an AL plate, no canister light (sadly it was too heavy to take) drysuit and 400g undersuit.

Anacapa are based in Santa Barbara. You'll pass through if you're driving from LA to Monterey and it seems reasonable for Santa Barbara! Not sure where the shop is located - they brought the cylinder to the boat for me. They also appear to hire doubles $25 per day. I've just looked on the website - but didn't ask when I was out there because I wasn't going to be diving with buddies on doubles. I don't know what type of doubles they are - you'd need to phone them.

Do you know how many cylinders you need per person? How many dives are you doing per day; a lot of the boats offer more than two. Do the boats have compressors? I seem to recall that cylinder hire was comparatively pricey but fills weren't too bad.

David

tim · October 3rd, 2006, 11:57 PM

Hi David,

The plan as it stands at the moment is to try and get away with a single tank each for our diving, though this will probably require more trips to filling stations. The limiting factor was transport in the end; we have an SUV and a normal sedan between the six of us, and need to pack in camping kit as we're planning some beach diving around Santa Barbara from 'barbecue on the beach' style campsites.

Thanks for the Anacapa link - if the Al80s prove problematic for any reason I guess we might be calling in on them on our way past! I had thought of doubles on the basis I'm used to them at the moment, but it looks like car space will be a limiting factor. Did you get gas from Anacapa at any point, and if so were they accurate and reasonably quick? I think we're still searching for somewhere to get 32% fills whilst diving from Santa Barbara.

I'm planning on taking my canister light and hang the weight, it's too new and shiny at the moment for me to consider diving without it :-)

I gather that Monterey Bay Aquarium have a great white in at the moment too, and it's healthy, eating, and growing! This sounds like a great chance to see one given I suspect we'll be pushing our luck to see one in the water.

Tim

October 3rd, 2006, 12:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
tim (Online) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Rental cylinders in Los Angeles Hullo, I'm hoping there may be divers on this forum from Los Angeles area who may be able to help me out with a question I have. I'm travelling to L.A. at the end of the week and have a week's diving booked up, a day on the Catalinas, a couple of days at Santa Barbara, and four days at Monterey. I'm really looking forward to it, but have just been informed by the company who I was going to rent cylinders from (Hollywood Divers, no idea if they're any good but recommended by a contact of the trip organiser) that the best they can do would be a steel 72 cu ft cylinder which with a back of the envelope calculation I get to be about a 9l 232 bar tank, not great! I'm not hugely up on my US cylinder capacities; could anyone confirm for me that I've interpreted that correctly? Hence I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good dive shop who'd be able to rent myself and five buddies sensible sized tanks (single tanks are fine, though if there were twinsets for some of us that would be even better!), ideally something along the lines of a UK-esque 12l steel tank, though an Al100 or even Al80 would I think be better than what we're getting at the moment. Thanks in advance for any help, Tim

October 3rd, 2006, 03:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 708	Quote: (Originally Posted by tim) Quick update on my original post, quizzing Hollywood Divers over the phone (they seem like good guys!) it appears there's a beast known as a low pressure steel tank which only fills to the equivalent of 165 bar, and is very dumpy, and this is what's being hired out, which is even worse than my initial impression! They do sell 3442 PSI tanks but don't hire them. Since they claim to be the DIR shop in the area I'm guessing I may be out of luck on my quest for the elusive tall 12l 232 bar tank. Tim Hi, Hollywood divers are actually my local dive store Bill and Hal are cool, if a little heavy on the CCR's for my liking. What dates are you going to be in town and what cylinders do you need/prefer and how many of them? I am out of town this weekend (oct 6) but I can for sure loan you a HP119 (not sure how this translates to metric). I'm not sure I can give it to you for the weekend of oct 13th though as I have a "beach diving" extravaganza that weekend, but you can have it next week for sure. I actually have more doubles than singles if you can make any use of those (I wont need those for beach diving!) I might also be able to call Bill and see if I can talk him into getting you at least an LP95 (same physical size but 2640 PSI which you can pump to 3000 psi). I spend enough $ in there. Let me know, we'll figure something out. Oh crap, I just saw the "5 buddies" part. OK, plan B -- let me see what other stores might have some tanks __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

October 3rd, 2006, 05:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 708	Quote: (Originally Posted by tim) Thanks, limeyx, replied by PM. We're bringing out a small team hence needing to hire quite a few cylinders! Thanks anyway for the offer of your tank, though I fear in this case commercial rental is our only option given the number we need and the duration we need them for. Ben, any recommendations you have for the Monterey area would be greatly appreciated! I think we're in Monterey from the 10th to the 14th, and got a deal on a hotel on Cannery Row. I gather this is opposite one of the main diving beaches and next to a couple of shops who can do us gas fills. Tim If it's not too late, and you have the flexibility, I think it's highly recommended that you get (if you dont have already) reservations to dive Point Lobos (if there are any left -- it's in a state park and you have to book) This is supposed to be one of the best dive sites in the entire area (but will require a drive from cannery row) __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

October 3rd, 2006, 11:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 708	Quote: (Originally Posted by tim) That one sounded so good that we did indeed put in reservations the day they opened and have a day's diving permit there. It does look great! Will report back on my return. Tim Good for you! I have yet to dive it. Ben_ca can likely put you in touch with folks who know the site really well -- plenty of DIR divers in the area who will be happy to dive with you I'm sure. __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

October 3rd, 2006, 11:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
David Martin(Offline) Instructor candidate Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, E11 Posts: 419	Tim, I don't live in the LA area..in fact I'm just up the road from you...but I was in California last year. I hired cylinders from a couple of shops. The better of these was: Anacapa Dive Center <<link I hired a HP 100 steel / DIN O2 clean cylinder. I think this is somewhere between a 12L and 15L cylinder. I also think that the buoyancy characteristics are not dissimilar from UK cylinders; I had 20lb lead with an AL plate, no canister light (sadly it was too heavy to take) drysuit and 400g undersuit. Anacapa are based in Santa Barbara. You'll pass through if you're driving from LA to Monterey and it seems reasonable for Santa Barbara! Not sure where the shop is located - they brought the cylinder to the boat for me. They also appear to hire doubles $25 per day. I've just looked on the website - but didn't ask when I was out there because I wasn't going to be diving with buddies on doubles. I don't know what type of doubles they are - you'd need to phone them. Do you know how many cylinders you need per person? How many dives are you doing per day; a lot of the boats offer more than two. Do the boats have compressors? I seem to recall that cylinder hire was comparatively pricey but fills weren't too bad. David Last edited by David Martin; October 3rd, 2006 at 11:33 PM. Reason: Added details re doubles

October 3rd, 2006, 12:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
tim (Online) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Quick update on my original post, quizzing Hollywood Divers over the phone (they seem like good guys!) it appears there's a beast known as a low pressure steel tank which only fills to the equivalent of 165 bar, and is very dumpy, and this is what's being hired out, which is even worse than my initial impression! They do sell 3442 PSI tanks but don't hire them. Since they claim to be the DIR shop in the area I'm guessing I may be out of luck on my quest for the elusive tall 12l 232 bar tank. Tim

October 3rd, 2006, 03:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ben_Ca(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SF Bay, CA USA Posts: 50	Tim, What dates will you be in Monterey? I might be able to help you out with some local knowledge ect... Ben

October 3rd, 2006, 08:41 AM	#5 (permalink)
tim (Online) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Thanks, limeyx, replied by PM. We're bringing out a small team hence needing to hire quite a few cylinders! Thanks anyway for the offer of your tank, though I fear in this case commercial rental is our only option given the number we need and the duration we need them for. Ben, any recommendations you have for the Monterey area would be greatly appreciated! I think we're in Monterey from the 10th to the 14th, and got a deal on a hotel on Cannery Row. I gather this is opposite one of the main diving beaches and next to a couple of shops who can do us gas fills. Tim

October 3rd, 2006, 11:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
tim (Online) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Quote: (Originally Posted by limeyx) If it's not too late, and you have the flexibility, I think it's highly recommended that you get (if you dont have already) reservations to dive Point Lobos (if there are any left -- it's in a state park and you have to book) That one sounded so good that we did indeed put in reservations the day they opened and have a day's diving permit there. It does look great! Will report back on my return. Tim

October 3rd, 2006, 11:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
tim (Online) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Hi David, The plan as it stands at the moment is to try and get away with a single tank each for our diving, though this will probably require more trips to filling stations. The limiting factor was transport in the end; we have an SUV and a normal sedan between the six of us, and need to pack in camping kit as we're planning some beach diving around Santa Barbara from 'barbecue on the beach' style campsites. Thanks for the Anacapa link - if the Al80s prove problematic for any reason I guess we might be calling in on them on our way past! I had thought of doubles on the basis I'm used to them at the moment, but it looks like car space will be a limiting factor. Did you get gas from Anacapa at any point, and if so were they accurate and reasonably quick? I think we're still searching for somewhere to get 32% fills whilst diving from Santa Barbara. I'm planning on taking my canister light and hang the weight, it's too new and shiny at the moment for me to consider diving without it :-) I gather that Monterey Bay Aquarium have a great white in at the moment too, and it's healthy, eating, and growing! This sounds like a great chance to see one given I suspect we'll be pushing our luck to see one in the water. Tim