Re: Welcome and Design Team

[protek@shreve.net]

    It is my SECOND post in a single day!  Something must be rubbing off on
me.  Maybe I am becoming more social.  Anyway, I could not help but get a
few grins from the propane tank exchange.  When I first thought of building
a sub, I too thought of a propane tank.  I even went so far as to call a
local company and talk to someone who obviously had a bad case of
indigestion to start with.  My conversation was not recorded but went
something like this:

Secretary:  Hello

Me:         Uhh, Can I speak to a salesperson about buying a propane tank?

Secretary:  Sure, Hold on...

Salesman:   Yea...

Me:         Do you sell propane tanks?

Salesman:   Yes, how many gallon capacity?

Me:         What do you have?

Salesman:   Well the largest is 500 gallons. 

Me:         Can you give me the weight?
            (I could use math to back out the wall thickness)

Salesman:   THE WEIGHT!

Me:         Yes, How much does it weigh?

Salesman:   (Irritated)  Hold on!!!!

Me:         OK.

Salesman    (A couple of minutes later)  #### POUNDS!!!  (I can not
remember how heavy it was now.)

Me:         Thanks

Salesman    "Click"  (He hung up on me)

Now a bit of advise for those of you that plan to use a propane tank.  

   (1) It may be heat treated and require special methods for welding
       things together.  The walls are usually thin, too thin for many
designs.

   (2) They smell bad, right Jon?

   (3) They are dangerous to work with before cleaning (explosive).
       I used a propane tank for my ballast tanks for and aft, but
       they do not need to handle much pressure.  I had to fill them 
       with water almost completely full before cutting.

Now some very important advise from much experience:

The FIRST Rule of Psub Construction...

       NEVER BUT NEVER TELL ANYONE YOU ARE DEALING WITH WHAT YOU ARE GOING
       TO USE THE PURCHASE FOR.  (With the exception that they are an expert
       and have knowledge of why and how you can use the purchase.)  But if
       they are non-tech types, just salesmen....  NO!!


P.S.   I did not mean to down your efforts with the Design Team efforts
Jon.  However, I think it was Ray that said that you need a strong leader
and a heck of a lot of good communications.  My point is that if you do not
have these two things and a whole lot more the effort will prove to be
fruitless.  If you are going to do this, I suggest that you adopt a CAD
drawing package that is either freeware or affordable and send drawings
back and forth via Email.  This would allow all to obtain the information
and correspondence as the ideas development.  But it will NOT work if there
is not one person with final authority at the helm.  You also need someone
that can say NO.

Gary Boucher