Carbon fiber CCR bottles

[jblack]

Does anyone have any experience here with carbon fiber Scuba bottles?
I?ve used before in a racing application, but never for diving.
Not looking for an opinion..... just actual experience. Thanks.

[jlillest]

What's your actual question?

Carbon fiber bottles are pretty great for sump diving, it gives you the option of carrying lead one way. The bottles are expensive, but can be worth it if you take care of them. It's probably not something you're going to buy for diving in Florida, as steels are cheaper and you don't have to carry them far.

There's a lot of misinformation about carbon fiber, check manufacturer info before you trust anyone's opinion on lifespan, what won't pass hydro, etc.

If you just come into some bottles, then it might be worth using them, but be prepared to put 8-12 pounds of lead per bottle to make them neutral.

-Jon

PS If you're not looking for opinions, then you're probably in the wrong place. Be prepared for a whole bunch of semi-related comments and non-sensical inside jokes.

[FW]

PS If you're not looking for opinions, then you're probably in the wrong place. Be prepared for a whole bunch of semi-related comments and non-sensical inside jokes.

[jblack]

The opinion part was the smart ass in me! I surely know better ��

[jblack]

Question is the people that own them. Any issues, problems. Etc. Want to know if the people that have them would recommend them.

[jblack]

My intentions were to use for travel.

[jlillest]

I'd assume any recommendations would be purely situationally-based. I'd highly recomend them for very specific situations. I've done a lot of dives (~50, mostly training but some cave dives) on cf bottles, but have never owned any myself.

One problem you're going to have is that "normal" shops don't know much about them except for the lore, which is mostly bad. You're going to have trouble filling them unless you have a good relationship with your LDS or own your own compressor.

You can mess up a cf bottle, but it'll take some forethought and willful negligence. They're more delicate than steels, but not by much. Firefighters use essentially the same bottles you're probably considering getting, and those bottle get put through their paces.

[jblack]

Yea I have handled them in a racing application.... figure they may be nice to travel with. Light weight wise. I have a business relationship with the manufacturer so cost is a lot less then most would think.

[jlillest]

For the internet divers: Dangly hoses, suicide clips, wellington boots, what other silly things can you spot?

[jblack]

I’m just going to use 2 3L on the ccr.... nothing larger in CF