Steel versus Aluminum... is steel better?

[nereas]

I don't get it - could someone explain what's bad about steel tanks and wetsuits? (I dive a 7 mm hooded fullsuit with a LP104; am I gonna die!? :shocked2
.....

Yes, it would be a very good idea to figure that out.

 

[nereas]

Nothing constructive to add then as usual. And still no sources for ANY of your claims on ANY of the threads.

I am not paid to be your teacher STRING. You could not afford my fee.

 

[vshearer]

I don't get it - could someone explain what's bad about steel tanks and wetsuits? (I dive a 7 mm hooded fullsuit with a LP104; am I gonna die!? :shocked2

Double steel 104's place you about 20-25 lbs negative. Add in a steel plate. Add in the extra lead you use initially to compensate for the wet suit at the surface. At 100' the suit will compress and you will lose most of it's buoyancy.

Do you want to try and swim up that much weight (even dropping the belt) from depth?

Single 104 isn't as much of an issue. For SW diving the consensus seems to be, if you are using doubles, use double 80 AL's and maybe an AL plate.

Note that a cave fill on that tank will give you almost as much as double 80's

http://www.tdl.divebiz.net/pub/tanks.html

EDIT: It IS important, if you select double AL 80's, to select the right ones.

I guess the biggest issue is this. You already have the positive swing going on with the tank(s), now add in the big positive swing that occurs with a 7mm suit diving to depth and then surfacing, on top of that if diving with more than 120 cf. then you may be doing a dive that is not strictly NDL. Now you have an overhead. So having precise control over buoyancy becomes rather important.

This is all way off the OP's question. Me, I like steel, but AL is fine too. Just not as long lived, but I will die of natural causes before that becomes an issue.

 

[petronius]

Double steel 104's place you about 20-25 lbs negative. Add in a steel plate. Add in the extra lead you use initially to compensate for the wet suit at the surface. At 100' the suit will compress and you will lose most of it's buoyancy.

Thanks - so the idea of the 'no steel with wetsuit rule' is that, in the event of a complete BC failure early in the dive, the dry suit will be a redundant source of buoyancy control while the wetsuit will not. However, if the diver is able to swim the weight up without a functioning BC, or discard some other weight, then the steel-tank/wetsuit diver just possibly might survive...

Personally, I don't use a backplate and I have a few pounds of lead off the belt that can be dropped, so I suppose I'll keep the steel cylinder.

 

[vshearer]

Thanks - so the idea of the 'no steel with wetsuit rule' is that, in the event of a complete BC failure early in the dive, the dry suit will be a redundant source of buoyancy control while the wetsuit will not.....

Correct. And I am no expert and asked essentially the same question here.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3800065-post72.html

From someone doing this a hell of a lot longer than me.

EDIT: I dive a steel Faber 108 single all the time, and it is my favorite overall.

 

[El Orans]

I don't get it - could someone explain what's bad about steel tanks and wetsuits? (I dive a 7 mm hooded fullsuit with a LP104; am I gonna die!? :shocked2

Yes, it may take a few decades but eventually you will die of old age...

Almost everybody I know over here dives a single steel tank with a 7mm wetsuit.

 

[Charlie99]

Thanks - so the idea of the 'no steel with wetsuit rule' is that, in the event of a complete BC failure early in the dive, the dry suit will be a redundant source of buoyancy control while the wetsuit will not. However, if the diver is able to swim the weight up without a functioning BC, or discard some other weight, then the steel-tank/wetsuit diver just possibly might survive...

Personally, I don't use a backplate and I have a few pounds of lead off the belt that can be dropped, so I suppose I'll keep the steel cylinder.

Like many simplified rules, the 'no steel with wetsuit' doesn't apply in all cases.

The more fundamental rule is that you must have an acceptable plan to handle complete BC failure, at depth, at the beginning of the dive with full tanks.

 

[frr]

I'm a newbie but on two recent dives, one with an aluminum tank, the other with steel, I noticed that the steel tank seemed to 'roll around' more on my back. Was this simply a matter of me being inexperienced or are steel tanks less stable? If, because of their extra weight, they do have a higher centre of gravity and as a result do tend to roll more, how do experienced divers compensate? Is it simply a matter of developing a better technique or getting used to it or are there other things that can be done?

I dive in a dry suit if it matters.

 

[petronius]

Yes, it may take a few decades but eventually you will die of old age...

Oh noes! I thought I was special (SB is such a buzzkill...)

 

[seanmcfarland]

I'm a newbie but on two recent dives, one with an aluminum tank, the other with steel, I noticed that the steel tank seemed to 'roll around' more on my back. Was this simply a matter of me being inexperienced or are steel tanks less stable? If, because of their extra weight, they do have a higher centre of gravity and as a result do tend to roll more, how do experienced divers compensate? Is it simply a matter of developing a better technique or getting used to it or are there other things that can be done?

For what it is worth, I used to dive a Zeagle Ranger with both Aluminum 80's and Steel 120's. Now, unless diving abroad, I exculsively use my steels. One thing I found was that the BC straps handled the AL fine, but got a little wobbly when carrying the weight of steel tanks (they were of course, physically bigger tanks). I have switched to a BCD that is a bit if a hybrid and takes a backplate. This, along with a single tank adapter, has really firmed up my rig, especially if I throw a 30cf pony bottle in the mix. I don't know what BC you're diving, but make sure it has at least double straps, and any other modifications you can make to get everything firm will make your dives more enjoyable.