Steel cylinders
Aluminum cylinders
Best tank I have ever used was a HP100. Getting to remove 6 pounds of lead from the weight belt and having 23CF more air at the same time is great compared to the typical AL80. Too bad the friend that lent it to me wouldn't let me keep it.
HP 100's are nice but you should be using DIN with them, NOT saying that you have to, but I know a few people that the o-ring for the yolk plug slid out. Only one person using it, but quite a few when getting them filled on a yolk fill whip. The LP 95 is pretty much the same height but just fatter, also with a boat fill of around 3k it's WAY over a 100.
I really like steel 72's! I had an alum back in 1975 and it just didn't last. My oldest steels are a set of 38's that were made on 4/1943 and 5/1943 and they just passed hydro! If I went with HP it would have to be steel also. Yes they are costly, but they will last a lifetime. I've heard of welding cylinders that were from the turn of the 20th century still in use. Steel, get you some. Tim
For example: For Doubles, Steel 108's.
For a Single tank, I use LP 95 Steel.
For the OW students, AL 80
I use to own 100's but they were hard to fill to working
pressure 3442.. So I went to LP 95's with a working
pressure of 2400, which is easy to fill to that pressure if
the shop is filling AL80's to 3000... Any pressure over 2400
is a bonus...
Keep track of your SAC equivalent for each dive to help you
determine the amount of gas for the time and depth you like
to dive to determine the amount of gas to carry, hense the
cylinder you require to hold that volume with reserve to spare.
http://www.dive-logs.com/infosac.jsp
http://D*D.com/article/make_the_most_of_every_tank
http://home.flash.net/~table/gasses/sac.htm
Lars
Lars
Explore, understand, protect
"Let's go Diving"
I use steel tanks for back gas and ali tanks for deco/bailout gases. In the UK steel cylinders are cheaper than Ali.
I have a pair of steel 300 bar 12L, they're heavy I need the Ali deco cylinders to combat them
For PSAI/SSI/SDI/TDI Diver Training or RHIB Charter in Cornwall visit - Atlantic Scuba
Here steel tanks are twice the cost of aluminum.
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