Aluminum or Steel Tanks?

[Schlafmanko]

I dive a steel 119 -- my husband talked me into it by volunteering to do most of the carrying and then cleverly buying a small cart. Once it's on my back I haven't had a problem with the weight, though I admit I'd be reluctant to hop down some of the boulder "stairs" I could manage with an AL 80. In the water the steel is nice for the reasons everyone else has mentioned, plus when we're shore diving we can stay under for 1.5-2 hours. It's like making two dives on one surface swim! In terms of size, it's 2" shorter than most AL 80s and about 1" wider. My height is just under 5'4", so AL 80's are borderline too long for me, but the Steel 119 works fine. Getting a cylinder this size would be pretty silly, though, unless whoever you're diving with has a similar tank and air consumption rate. BTW, if you're interested in comparing tank dimensions, there's a pretty comprehensive chart at huronscuba.com.

 

[Teddyc911]

:dazzler1: I love my compact steel 64. I'm 5 ft tall and it doesn't hit my butt or head when I move and I'm not having bouyancy problems at the end of my dives. I have an aluminum and I always had to add more weight to avoid the end of the dive out of control cork scenerio, then I'd be overweighted for the first part of the dive. Yeah it's heavier, but I have a very helpful hubby dive buddy who does the heavy lifting for me since I have back problems.

 

[scbababe]

I don't have a fancy techy response, just a pragmatic one on which I based my decision to dive with steel tanks: I'm short (5'1"), so I appreciate the shorter length of the steel 72 I dive with versus the AL80. Plus, steel tank takes something like 5 lbs off my weight belt, which is great.

Some smaller folks don't like the steels because they find that steel tanks roll them and they don't like that. I don't find that it rolls too much and when it does, it doesn't bother me too much. You have to dive with them to see if you like them.

I second the above quote I'm 5'2 with heels, underwater I'm a whopping (let's not go there) but yes, I too prefer steel!

 

[Diver Lori]

I dive single and double Faber 95's. (cromally steel for short)

 

[Aquacatfighter]

For myself I perfer to use compact twin steel 40s tanks The tanks are from the 60s and still in great shape, just goes to show you how rugged and durable they can be.



DEB

 

[TX101]

Steel tanks are about twice as expensive as AL.

Here in the UK, AL tanks are almost twice as expensive as steel ... about the only AL tanks people buy are stage cylinders (and most people still use steel for stages too)

You can buy a 12L steel for around £100 if you know where to shop. My 7L AL cost £170. Steel 7L's are around £70-80.