Good review just giving people the information to make their own choices. Aluminum tanks do last a long time, just have to watch for the bad alloy years and manufacturers. It’s mostly ignorance in the diving industry saying old (outside the bad alloy) are not still good. For cold water I prefer steel to remove weight. Donate for a Dream
Curious that you said steel tanks are heavier. I'm interested to hear what this is based on, because apples-to-apples capacity-wise, steel is lighter out of the water. The link in your video doesn't work and I couldn't find anything on your website about different tanks, so here's some info from Faber and Thunderbird: Al80 - 31.9 lbs LP85 - 31.2 lbs HP80 - 28.3 lbs
im going to choose 12Liter Steel cylinders with max 200 bar, they are lighter than the 230 bar cylinders and nearly balanced when they are empty. On land less heavy than aluminum cylinders and under water also good to handle if it comes to sidemount. Will use them in fresh water with a drysuit.
Aluminum tanks are more heavy than comparable steel on land but lighter in the water when empty. So you need more lead with aluminum that you have to carry in addition to the heavier aluminum tanks. Except for stage tanks where aluminum is mandatory i can not think of any situation where aluminum is the prefferable choice. The medium 12 liter steel at 232 bar at around 13 kg empty is a real nice setup with more air to breathe and less weight to carry than your 80 cft aluminium. It has much less impact on the trim.
Do you prefer Aluminum or steel tanks? Let us know below!
Good review just giving people the information to make their own choices. Aluminum tanks do last a long time, just have to watch for the bad alloy years and manufacturers. It’s mostly ignorance in the diving industry saying old (outside the bad alloy) are not still good. For cold water I prefer steel to remove weight.
Donate for a Dream
Awesome review on scuba cylinders thanks Jose😊
Curious that you said steel tanks are heavier. I'm interested to hear what this is based on, because apples-to-apples capacity-wise, steel is lighter out of the water. The link in your video doesn't work and I couldn't find anything on your website about different tanks, so here's some info from Faber and Thunderbird:
Al80 - 31.9 lbs
LP85 - 31.2 lbs
HP80 - 28.3 lbs
im going to choose 12Liter Steel cylinders with max 200 bar, they are lighter than the 230 bar cylinders and nearly balanced when they are empty. On land less heavy than aluminum cylinders and under water also good to handle if it comes to sidemount. Will use them in fresh water with a drysuit.
Aluminum tanks are more heavy than comparable steel on land but lighter in the water when empty. So you need more lead with aluminum that you have to carry in addition to the heavier aluminum tanks. Except for stage tanks where aluminum is mandatory i can not think of any situation where aluminum is the prefferable choice. The medium 12 liter steel at 232 bar at around 13 kg empty is a real nice setup with more air to breathe and less weight to carry than your 80 cft aluminium. It has much less impact on the trim.
It continues to amaze me how pervasive the "steel tanks are heavier than equivalent aluminum tanks" myth is.