Should I get a steel tank?

Hi everyone

I'm considering getting my own steel tank (currently use the LDS/charter aluminium ones) and was hoping for some advice from those who have their own tanks:
* To what extent does a steel tank improve your air consumption?
* How much lead can I lose with a 12l steel tank compared to a similar aluminium one?
* How much of a pain in the rear are they to schlep around (I generally need to walk a bit), and how do you get around this?
* Should I go DIN and get a DIN adaptor?

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks
M

Don't think my air consumption varies when I switch from AL to steel. I use 6 less pounds with steel. Sold my steel 120--Just too heavy to haul & carry on your back walking, though it was great once in the water (boat dives, etc.). Even I guy 15 years younger than me said that. I like my steel 71.2, and maybe a steel 100 is the best choice?

My quick thoughts:

Meggie66:

I'm considering getting my own steel tank (currently use the LDS/charter aluminium ones) and was hoping for some advice from those who have their own tanks:
* To what extent does a steel tank improve your air consumption? It won't - but you can get a bigger tank size in Steel than a standard Al 80. A 12 litre tank will give you about 85 cu ft of gas.
* How much lead can I lose with a 12l steel tank compared to a similar aluminium one? Probably about 3lbs / 1.5 kiloa.
* How much of a pain in the rear are they to schlep around (I generally need to walk a bit), and how do you get around this? They are heavier, but not that much heavier! But having your own tank rather than relying LDS is always a bit of a hump, however it does give you more flexibility to dive without using an LDS.
* Should I go DIN and get a DIN adaptor? Yes, unquestionably. I don't think people really sell them any other way nowadays.

Any advice appreciated! Steels are much more expensive (about 3x roughly), but they have much better longevity, and as you already noted, they can hold larger gas amounts than standard AL sizes, and they help you drop some lead from your belt. If you have a long term commitment to the sport, steel tanks repay their initial investment.

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Meggie, one thing to consider is, "Can you get an HP (high-pressure) steel tank filled to 3442psi?"

If your local place fills to only 3000, then you might want to look at LP (low-pressure) steel tanks.

Here is a good site that describes the physical characteristics. Scuba Cylinder Specifications from Tech Diving Limited - 928-855-9400

Your breathing rate won't change with steel or aluminum. Good Luck!

I prefer steel simply because depending on size, I no longer need additional weight. The additional gas provided by an HP120, or 130 is also quite nice. As for consumption, that's not going to change. Your gas consumption is your gas consumption. The tank volume will not change your consumption significantly. I suspect you're using Al 80's now and should you decide to purchase a steel cylinder it may be larger (95,100 or even larger) allowing for more back gas but your consumption is not related to cylinder volume. Understand?

They are quite heavy! To me they're worth their weight but they are certainly more to lug around than what you're probably used to. For your lead requirements, I'd say that you're going to have to experiment with that. Cold water/warm water?? Exposure suit?? You will need less for sure and it's possible that you may need none, but that's something you'll determine on your first dive. I predict you'll need quite a bit less.

Meggie66:

* To what extent does a steel tank improve your air consumption?

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It doesn't except as a means of improving your trim. If you tend to be 'bottom-heavy' with your lead somewhere around your waist, distributing some of the weight along your centerline above your lungs will make you more streamlined and less of your energy will be wasted kicking elsewhere but forward. But if your buoyancy/trim is already mostly squared away, I doubt you'll see a significant difference.

* How much lead can I lose with a 12l steel tank compared to a similar aluminium one?

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This chart is not in metric, but is useful.

* How much of a pain in the rear are they to schlep around (I generally need to walk a bit), and how do you get around this?

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As seen in the chart above, a steel cylinder is generally of the same weight, or even lighter, than an aluminum cylinder of the same volume. This is because even though steel is heavier than aluminum, it is also stronger and you need less steel to make walls of the same strength. Steel tanks are also shorter than aluminum tanks of the same volume. A 100 cuf steel tank is generally the same dimensions as an 80 cuf aluminum tank, so is a popular choice for people switching from aluminum to steel, which also makes direct comparisons difficult.

* Should I go DIN and get a DIN adaptor?

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Can't really speak to this but I would make sure that your LDS doesn't have any issues filling DIN. They shouldn't, but you never know...

On a side note, I don't know how warm your local water is, but it is possible to find yourself overweighted if you don't already use a lot of lead. For example, switching from a 'standard' AL80 to a steel 100 may add 13 pounds of negative buoyancy, depending on which brands and models we're talking about. It's worth thinking through potential buoyancy issues, e.g. if you have to swim your rig on the surface in case BC failure during a dive.

Get a pro valve, din or yoke. Weight on hips or back, close to same, same.

If you're doing a lot of shore dives, you may want to go with the HP80 which is 10L tank in metric. For deeper boat diving where you don't have to shelp the tank the 12 L is good. Or you can get one of each. The ballast weighting is roughly the same for both so they're interchangeable. The HP80 will save you about 5.5 lbs over the HP100.

Adam