al80's: rough coated finish or smooth?

[Leadking]

Our customers say that salt gets behind poor quality VIP stickers and around the boot and causes corrosion on shotblast cylinders-these are charter operators. We recommend brushed-no coat for saltwater and shotblast for freshwater use.

Lee
www.seapearls.com

 

[Spoon]

Our customers say that salt gets behind poor quality VIP stickers and around the boot and causes corrosion on shotblast cylinders-these are charter operators. We recommend brushed-no coat for saltwater and shotblast for freshwater use.

Lee
www.seapearls.com

i wont be putting stickers or boots in mine though. i only dive salt so i have no choice. anyway was wondering if i would still have problems with the shotblast even though i thoroughly rinse and scrub the tanks with freshwater after use? as you can see im set on the shotblast.

 

[dbg40]

To be honest, I think your worring about corrosion for nothing. You need to rinse your stuff as a course of good maintainance anyway, and you have to take them apart once a year for a vip. Personally? I like it when my tanks get a good beating, and look like they have had a war fought on them! I also don't like stickers, just more crap, a vip sticker is plenty. As for blasted, or painted, trust me, it's a tank and as such will not look new for long. Blasted tanks do have a habit of loosing the smaller vip stickers so if your shop uses them be aware. New divers (in particular) seem to be more worried about the finish on their tanks, but after a while, when the "new stuff" sindrome wears off, I bet they look good and seasoned, and that you wont care a bit.

 

[Spoon]

To be honest, I think your worring about corrosion for nothing. You need to rinse your stuff as a course of good maintainance anyway, and you have to take them apart once a year for a vip. Personally? I like it when my tanks get a good beating, and look like they have had a war fought on them! I also don't like stickers, just more crap, a vip sticker is plenty. As for blasted, or painted, trust me, it's a tank and as such will not look new for long. Blasted tanks do have a habit of loosing the smaller vip stickers so if your shop uses them be aware. New divers (in particular) seem to be more worried about the finish on their tanks, but after a while, when the "new stuff" sindrome wears off, I bet they look good and seasoned, and that you wont care a bit.

well said. a tank is a tank and will eventually get beat and will age with time. im worried about the more appropriate tank for the environment. since Leadking mentioned smooth unpainted, uncoated for saltwater and shotblasted for fresh leads me to conclude that the shotblasted would be less suitable for salt water. if both were equal in saltwater and aged the same way then my question is answered.

 

[dbg40]

i wont be putting stickers or boots in mine though. i only dive salt so i have no choice. anyway was wondering if i would still have problems with the shotblast even though i thoroughly rinse and scrub the tanks with freshwater after use? as you can see im set on the shotblast.

If you like the blast tanks, get them. (I like them too, but dive steels) You can bet that the maker has considered that these tanks will be used in every environment, with little care, and has made them with just that in mind!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Rubber strips under bands are intended more to isolate the dissimilar metals of the aluminum tank and stainless bands than to protect the tanks finish. Whether you use a rubber stip to separate the bands and tanks or not, you need to clean any accumulation under the bands annually anyway.

I like the look of a bew bead blasted finish, but it does the leave the surface more porous and leaves the surface a bit "wetter" longer after the tank is out of the water as the water does not run off as completely.

The finish is probably more durable than the clear coat over most natural finish aluminum tanks, but then again when the texture is damaged, it stays that way and uneven wear patterns are more likely to appear than with a smooth tank that seems to get equally scuffed everywhere.

If you really want a tank that will age gracefully, get a galvanized steel tank. I have some that were made in the late 60's and early 70's that still look good. They lose their inital shine, but the surface ages very nicely. And if you are concerned about owning a tank that willl last a long time, steel is the only way to go. We still see 1/2 valve scuba tanks from the '50's that still pass hydro with flying colors as well as welding tanks from 1910-1920 that still pass hydro. A galvanized steel tank will still be going long after you are gone.

You can also get a PST E7-100. It is a couple inches shorter than an AL 80, weighs about the same, but is more negatively bouyant letting you remove about 4 lbs of weight from your weightbelt. Plus it tholds 100 cu ft at 3442 psi rather than the 77 cu ft held by an Aluminum 80. Even if you can only get a 3000 psi fill, you will still have 87 cu ft.

If I were looking for more tanks, it would be the hands down winner.

 

[Spoon]

Rubber strips under bands are intended more to isolate the dissimilar metals of the aluminum tank and stainless bands than to protect the tanks finish. Whether you use a rubber stip to separate the bands and tanks or not, you need to clean any accumulation under the bands annually anyway.

yeah i saw a post about separating the two metals from each other. how necessary is this if even? ya think just cleaning them periodically will warrant the same benefits as those rubber strips?

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=103934&highlight=shotblast

I like the look of a bew bead blasted finish, but it does the leave the surface more porous and leaves the surface a bit "wetter" longer after the tank is out of the water as the water does not run off as completely.

but if you washed it and rinsed down with a hose then that shouldt be a problem right?

If you really want a tank that will age gracefully, get a galvanized steel tank. I have some that were made in the late 60's and early 70's that still look good. They lose their inital shine, but the surface ages very nicely. And if you are concerned about owning a tank that willl last a long time, steel is the only way to go. We still see 1/2 valve scuba tanks from the '50's that still pass hydro with flying colors as well as welding tanks from 1910-1920 that still pass hydro. A galvanized steel tank will still be going long after you are gone.

never tried steel tanks. plus steel tanks in the Philippines are not so popular. i dont even recall of any resort that offered steel tanks. about 90% or more of the diving population use alum tanks here.

 

[dbg40]

I sold a WK steel 72 a while back that had the original man. date of 1964 and STILL plussed out at every hydro! You gotta love that.