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- I'm a Fish!
My instructor/owner of my LDS told me not to mess with steel tanks. Why do you recommend them? He didn't give me much reason other than they can corrode and rust easier than and AL tank.
let's see.
AL80 weighs about 32lbs empty, and contains 77cf of gas. It requires 4.4lbs to make it neutral, and is 26" long x 7.25" in diameter
Faber FX100 weighs 34lbs empty, contacts about 110cf of gas, is half a pound negative, and is almost exactly the same dimensions.
So you have a tank that is 3lbs lighter on land for a rig weight *2lbs heavier, but 5 less pounds of lead required to make it sink* that holds 40% more gas in the same size package. Much more efficient.
Do they rust? They can if you don't take care of them, but if you fill them properly and rinse them properly they will last much longer than an aluminum cylinder and are overall much better. Diving primarily salt water means you should look for hot dip galvanized tanks if you can and if you get something like say a Worthington 100, it holds a true 100cf, but is 2" shorter than the Faber but is 1lb lighter and is 2lbs more negative so you can take an extra 2lbs off of your weight belt which is quite nice and the total rig weight ends up being 6lbs lighter than an AL80 with 30% more gas. That's not a bad deal especially if you are considering going to doubles just to extend bottom time