Info Diving Tanks ?

[Snapscuba]

I'm from the UK, I used to live near Seattle, late 60's early 70's. Everybody dived with steel tanks then, never saw any aluminium tanks.
I've visited the States every few years, & now it all seems aluminium.
Does anybody know the statistics on the % of steel to aluminium tanks, in the USA & Canada ?
In my diving travelling there seems to be more steel in the UK & Europe, than aluminium, & that has been the state since I first starting diving.
Steel seems to be better, smaller, higher pressure, more volume, than aluminium.
Why ?

 

[Robert H. Diver]

I'm from the UK, I used to live near Seattle, late 60's early 70's. Everybody dived with steel tanks then, never saw any aluminium tanks.
I've visited the States every few years, & now it all seems aluminium.
Does anybody know the statistics on the % of steel to aluminium tanks, in the USA & Canada ?
In my diving travelling there seems to be more steel in the UK & Europe, than aluminium, & that has been the state since I first starting diving.
Steel seems to be better, smaller, higher pressure, more volume, than aluminium.
Why ?

Aluminums are cheaper so the casual diver is more likely to buy them…same with dive shop and charters..I prefer steels for their buoyancy characteristics and capacity.

 

[James79]

Why ?

I can't speak to the percentages of steel vs. aluminum, but for rentals shops like aluminum because they are cheap and more forgiving of poor maintenance (lack of rinsing after a saltwater dive).

Another difference for individual divers is buoyancy characteristics. Aluminums start neutral and end positive, where steels typically start negative and end less negative to neutral. For some people in warm areas, steels may make them over-weighted even with no lead when wearing swimsuit/rashguard (no wetsuit). I actually ran into this on a warm freshwater dive with an old school steel 72.... ended up wearing my shorty wetsuit for buoyancy, even though it was swimsuit conditions.

Respectfully,

James

 

[Nemrod]

Warm water, minimal exposure gear and (typically negative) steel tanks just do not work well.

 

[formernuke]

My US experience is it is regional.

Shops in general rent AL for the above mentioned reasons. Here in the NE those of us who own tanks usually own steel because of the cold water we dive.

 

[azstinger11]

Here in Southern California steel tanks are still more numerous.

 

[Tracerbullet]

I dive steel, and most of the people I dive with are the same

 

[broncobowsher]

Very regional.
Typically the colder the water, the more they are steel.
The warmer and more cattle drive, the more you will find aluminum.