newbie...tanks tanks tanks

[cold kiwi]

=-) hey guys......gals just wondering steel tanks and rust i know if you bleed the tank dry it will start to corrode but what if you get your yearly inspection and hydos every two years ....whats the life expectancy you cant trust salesmen these daqys and all my dive buddies(including instructors) only use alloys they just started selling them at my local dive shop for cheap and I WANT ONE.....OR.......TWO so whats the deal ??? any help will be great

 

[The Chairman]

my 72s were made in 71 and 73 and they are still serviceable. My PST HP 120s are about three years old... and they are still pristine. Go figure. If you take care of your gear, it will take care of you.

 

[Padipro]

I've been diving a set of HP Steel 100's for about 4 years now and aside for the usual scuffs and scratches they are still in great shape.

I had several friends that were diving steels while I was still using the standard AL tanks and the one thing they kept telling me was how great it was to drop some of the lead from your weight belt when upgrading to steel tanks. I was diving about 8 to 10 pounds of lead before where now I use none. The tanks weigh enough that I don't require any extra weight on deep dives and only some ankle weights for the shallow dives when I'm hunting lobster.

IMHO steel tanks are the way to go wether they are high or low pressure. And as NetDoc said, "If you take care of your gear, it will take care of you."

Scott

 

[Mverick]

And in the long run. Steels pay for themselves.

If you have to get a VIS + inspection on your AL. It's another $7-15. Depending on what the shop charges. On a Steel you just need a standard VIS.

VIS + machine cost's around $800. You can take the VIS class and do your own tanks for $180-250. As long as they are Steel. AL's require the VIS + for most shops to fill them.

I've gotten around 20 tanks. Mostly steel. But I don't BUY any AL any more. 13 tanks a year that are Steel save me around $130 in VIS + inspections. Add in the other $10-15 for taking the VIS class and each year on VIS alone I save $200 minimum by doing my own VIS inspections. Payed for my class the first year.

Made an oops... Fixed it...

 

[FredT]

Steel is a long term tank. My oldest working steel Scuba tank has a first hydro date of '53. They do require a bit of maintenance but almost any steel tank will be good for 30 years service or more, and almost all problems can be effectivly handled during the annual inspection/maintenance period. New steels cost a bit more in the US than aluminum tanks, but used steel 72's can often be had for less than $50 including the hydro and vis if you watch garage and estate sales.

Aluminim tanks are cheap, and they don't cost much either. Once corrosion starts on the inside of an AL tank the tank is scrap within a very few years. The pitting corrosion cannot be stopped in an aluminum tank. Buoyancy and handling characteristics make them good for stage and deco bottles if diving multiple gas mixes. They also are great for running pneumatic tools at remote locations. Diving with them in salt water leaves something to be desired.

I have about 30 tanks, all but 6 are Steel, and the AL bottles I got as gifts. The Al bottles sure make engine maintenance easier.

FT

 

[HarleyDiver]

You can Pay now, or pay later.
Steel will cost more up front, but will be cheaper & safer if you plan to dive for more than just a couple of years.

 

[ColdH20diving]

I own steel LP tanks, if you take proper care of them they should last a long time.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I would personally love to dive steel tank(s) but can't because I am too skinny. By my numbers, I would be ~22# heavy (wetsuit) at the beginning of a dive at the bottom w/ an PST e7-120 AFTER ditching. If I am at 100', this is not good news. Typically if you are forced to drop weight, it is something really bad causing it.

At the surface, I would be ~5# heavy still at the end of the dive. I don't want to have to fight to stay afloat.

You have a BC you say? Do you want to be REQUIRED to trust this when it hits the fan? With a drysuit, you have redundant buoyancy so you can get away with being heavy.

I was so close to buying a couple PST steels! After hearing the DIR bantor, I decided to actually crunch the numbers to see if I could still pull it off with just a wetsuit. The answer was no. If I weighed 50# more, I might have been fine.

I am now after a couple Al100s. Not because they are better tanks, but because they are better FOR ME.

If you are a newbie, please look into your weighting when you decide about a tank! You get the chance now, don't find out the hard way. If you need a hand with this, just ask. I'm sure everyone here would be willing to lend a hand.

 

[Mverick]

You might not be built for PST's E7-130's.

But the bouyancy of the old 72 is about the same as an AL80. So you could still use Steel if you wanted.

And have you ever grabbed an AL100... Man are they heavy... 40lbs for a LUX and 46 for a Cat. Per the specs.
Lux at half full is around neutral and full is around 3.5lb neg.

72 is 6.5lbs neg full.

How much weight do you wear with a AL80. If it's over 3 lbs. You should be fine....

In a 3mm with an AL80 and a AL backplate in Salt water I wear 14lbs.

In my 3mm with a Faber HP100, heavy around 14lbs negative, and AL backplate in fresh water I don't wear any weight. Kinda nice but not for everyone.

What you weigh doesn't matter. How bouyant you are in water does. Body fat content. Not weight.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I dove steel 72s for a long time. I like them until my buddies start *****ing about me always running out o' air first. 72s would be a good choice for your basic diving needs.

Being a scrawny motha, I am heavy (not very buoyant) in the water. This screws me up. With my 5mil and an Al80 I need 12#. ~4# of that is simply for the tank buoyancy. This leaves ~8# that I need to carry at minimum with that wetsuit. Of course, after 20' I only need a couple pounds due to wesuit compression.

If you need 10# to keep you down after wetsuit compression, odds are you would be fine with a steel. Just keep some (most) of that weight on a weightbelt.

The main trick here is Ditchable weight! If you are 14# heavy in fresh water, then you have to be heavier in salt water. Could you (or do you want to) swim that weight back to the surface in a hurry? Although it is nicer to dive without a weightbelt, weightbelts exist for a reason.

Al100's topside do suck, but they match my buoyancy/gas requirements best. I would love to buy a drysuit instead, but I can only afford so much at one time.

Good Day.