Difference between a XS Scuba and Faber

[Dnaber]

Searching for a steel tank and I'm seeing both XS Scuba and Faber tanks. Can some tell me the difference between the two? Especially after I just noticed that the new XS tanks are made by Faber, but are about $100 more.

Thanks

 

[tstormdiver]

I'm not sure if XS Scuba has found a replacement for the Worthington cylinders they used to sell (Worthingtons are no longer manufactured), they may have a few still in inventory, but most of the more popular sizes are no longer in stock. There are some buoyancy swing differences between the 2 makes, the Fabers being more positively buoyant when near empty than the Worthingtons.

 

[tbone1004]

Xs should have an exclusive distribution agreement with Faber right now under the Blue Steel brand for LP and Sea Pearl for HP. Faber changed their alloys a while ago which is why their new tanks are floaty when empty.

Worthington is bringing scuba production back soon though. I'd just go to CCDS since you're in NFL if you want to buy new tanks, Dive Gear Express is good but a long way from you. Buying used steels is almost never a bad thing though.

TWO Faber HP Steel 133 Scuba Tanks
Faber HP133's for $700 that are basically new

Twin Scuba Tanks
twin LP72's, probably not worth $200, but he seems to think they are. Offer like $100 on that and it's a good deal since you'll need valves and hydro

Three Steel 72 SCUBA Diving Tanks
Some cheap 72's there

The LP72's are great little tanks especially considering how cheap they are. Unless you need stupid amounts of air, they will give you the same amount of air as an AL80 at 2700psi, be lighter on land, and take 5lbs off of your weight belt. Wonderful little tanks. My favorites for lightweight doubles and small sidemount tanks.

 

[victorzamora]

There are some buoyancy swing differences between the 2 makes, the Fabers being more positively buoyant when near empty than the Worthingtons.

There is no way for there to be buoyancy "swing" differences. Buoyancy "swing" (delta) is simply the amount of weight you breathe out of your tank. Worthingtons, which are now out of production but are what the XS Scuba tanks used to be, are typically much more negative than the Faber equivalents.

 

[XS Scuba]

Thank you for your question, though we are not exactly sure what you are asking. Worthington did close their steel cylinder production facility in Canada earlier this year and they are no longer producing any scuba steel cylinders.

We are now supplying the HP steel from Faber and these are made in Italy. They are the same HP steel cylinders as sold under the Blue Steel brand. Please note that we are a distributor of Faber like Blue Steel and we do not purchase our cylinders from Blue Steel but from Faber directly. The Faber cylinders offered by us have some differences from the Blue Steel Faber cylinders. Ours are Gunmetal Gray in color on the exterior. We also offer our premium XS Scuba PRO valve with PVD finish and Safety Handwheel. We also offer ours with a custom self-draining boot made in the US.

We have five sizes of the Faber cylinders in stock and they are shipped from our Sea Pearls facility in MN. You can view more info on them here. We have a full selection of the LP steel cylinders made by Worthington in stock at our XS Scuba facility in CA. All of these cylinders can be ordered for you from any XS Scuba/Sea Pearls dealer.

The main difference between the Faber and Worthington HP steel cylinders is that the Worthingtons were hot dip galvanized on the exterior and the Fabers use a triple coated galvanize/epoxy paint finish. They are both built using the Deep Drawn method which utilized a very uniform wall thickness, offering better buoyancy characteristics.

Let us know if you have further questions regarding any steel cylinders sold by us.

 

[johnmckenzie]

Are the XS Scuba Fabers built inside and out exactly the same as the Blue Steel white tanks except for color? Do you offer the XS Faber tanks with the left and right pro valves or rebreather valves like Blue Steel?

Thank you for your question, though we are not exactly sure what you are asking. Worthington did close their steel cylinder production facility in Canada earlier this year and they are no longer producing any scuba steel cylinders.

We are now supplying the HP steel from Faber and these are made in Italy. They are the same HP steel cylinders as sold under the Blue Steel brand. Please note that we are a distributor of Faber like Blue Steel and we do not purchase our cylinders from Blue Steel but from Faber directly. The Faber cylinders offered by us have some differences from the Blue Steel Faber cylinders. Ours are Gunmetal Gray in color on the exterior. We also offer our premium XS Scuba PRO valve with PVD finish and Safety Handwheel. We also offer ours with a custom self-draining boot made in the US.

We have five sizes of the Faber cylinders in stock and they are shipped from our Sea Pearls facility in MN. You can view more info on them here. We have a full selection of the LP steel cylinders made by Worthington in stock at our XS Scuba facility in CA. All of these cylinders can be ordered for you from any XS Scuba/Sea Pearls dealer.

The main difference between the Faber and Worthington HP steel cylinders is that the Worthingtons were hot dip galvanized on the exterior and the Fabers use a triple coated galvanize/epoxy paint finish. They are both built using the Deep Drawn method which utilized a very uniform wall thickness, offering better buoyancy characteristics.

Let us know if you have further questions regarding any steel cylinders sold by us.

---------- Post added February 12th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ----------

We just heard that Blue Steel is now going to distribute their Faber Tanks through Cramer Decker Industries on the US West Coast (CA, WA, OR, AZ). There is no word on pricing and shipping cost or when they will have them available. Does anyone have more details on this change?

 

[XS Scuba]

As noted in the above quote, the Faber cylinders offered from Sea Pearls / XS Scuba are the exact same steel tanks as the ones from Blue Steel except for outside color. The valves and boots are totally different though.

We do offer Left and Right Modular PRO valves for these cylinders. You can upgrade to either the Thermo or XS Scuba models. The main difference is that the XS Scuba model has the patented Safety Handwheel on the valve.

Since we only offer the full size HP steel cylinders and not the small ones for rebreathers, we do not offer an inline valve for rebreather use.