glad they are being made
Faber (XS Scuba) has released their Hot-Dipped Galvanized steel tank series!
- Thread starter scubafanatic
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victorzamora
Contributor
Me, too. Eventually, I'll be able to find one on the used market 
Why so much more expensive than the painted or "stealth" tanks? Is it really that much better?
I treat my stealth pretty gently and I can see how the finish might get destroyed in a rental environment but would it make a difference for personal tanks? Would the difference be worth more than $100?
I treat my stealth pretty gently and I can see how the finish might get destroyed in a rental environment but would it make a difference for personal tanks? Would the difference be worth more than $100?
OP
scubafanatic
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'Worth' is in the eye of the beholder. To me, it is worth it. I'll spend extra $ on high quality items for the long haul.
By "stealth," are you referring to the "gunmetal gray" painted-finish Fabers distributed by XS Scuba? I noticed that XS Scuba is (or was) using the term "gunmetal gray." More recently, I have seen Dive Gear Express offering HP Faber tanks in what their website refers to as Triple Protection Galvanized ("hot-zinc spray coating that is protected with epoxy paint and further protected with a polyurethane top coat to offer a triple protection finish") as well as LP Faber tanks in what their website refers to as a "Silver Anniversay Edition" color, which appear (there's a sticker on them) to be distributed by Blue Steel. I haven't seen the term "stealth." These colors/finishes are confusing to me.
Yes, that is what DRIS is calling them.
WOW. Great news. Just in time for the upcoming Christmas season.
Here was Faber's position on Hot Dip Galvenizing tanks. Since the page may go away soon here is a quote from the page:
"In the case of HDG, (Hot Dip Galvanizing) taking into account the large number of cylinders manufactured by Faber, would imply a considerable negative impact on the environment. In addition, the temperature at which the HDG is undertaken is quite high (around 450°C) and could affect the final properties of the steel cylinders (it is worth noting that most periodic inspection and test documents limit temperature of steel cylinders to around 350°C during all parts of the retest cycle).
HDG has also been known to cause an embrittlement of the steel material, due to the evolution of hydrogen during the initial pickling stage of the overall HDG process with the hydrogen getting absorbed into the steel.
On a separate note, when it comes to surface finish, our studies have shown that the performance of the top coat is not acceptable when applied on HDG treated cylinders. This is often related to the criticality of surface preparation when a top coat paint is applied.
Thus after careful deliberation of other available coating processes, Faber has decided not to adopt the HDG process and has instead optimized its production cycle involving hot zinc spraying coupled with a primer + top coat of paint, which gives the best trade-off between corrosion resistance and an attractive appearance.
Our clients appreciate and are accustomed to the winning look of Faber cylinders, not to mention the beneficial effects that our approach has towards the environment." Source: Faber.
Here was Faber's position on Hot Dip Galvenizing tanks. Since the page may go away soon here is a quote from the page:
"In the case of HDG, (Hot Dip Galvanizing) taking into account the large number of cylinders manufactured by Faber, would imply a considerable negative impact on the environment. In addition, the temperature at which the HDG is undertaken is quite high (around 450°C) and could affect the final properties of the steel cylinders (it is worth noting that most periodic inspection and test documents limit temperature of steel cylinders to around 350°C during all parts of the retest cycle).
HDG has also been known to cause an embrittlement of the steel material, due to the evolution of hydrogen during the initial pickling stage of the overall HDG process with the hydrogen getting absorbed into the steel.
On a separate note, when it comes to surface finish, our studies have shown that the performance of the top coat is not acceptable when applied on HDG treated cylinders. This is often related to the criticality of surface preparation when a top coat paint is applied.
Thus after careful deliberation of other available coating processes, Faber has decided not to adopt the HDG process and has instead optimized its production cycle involving hot zinc spraying coupled with a primer + top coat of paint, which gives the best trade-off between corrosion resistance and an attractive appearance.
Our clients appreciate and are accustomed to the winning look of Faber cylinders, not to mention the beneficial effects that our approach has towards the environment." Source: Faber.
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Link to these tanks on DRIS.
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victorzamora
Contributor
Yup.
cool_hardware52
Contributor
This is marketing directed at the ignorant.
Hydrogen embrittlement is easily dealt with by baking at relatively low temps for long periods. This is a well understood phenomena and avoiding it is easy.
Sonic Plating Co. Inc. - Production Plating -
Regarding the temps of hot dipped baths:
Steel is hardened by heating to above it's critical temperature (4130 Cromo ~ 1600F) and then cooling quickly (quenching) This results in the hardest possible steel, hard but brittle.
Tempering or "Drawing back" is a process where quenched steel is reheated to a temperature *below* the critical temp and cooled slowly. The higher the tempering temp, the lower the resulting hardness.
The typical tempering range for 4130 is ~750 F to 1050 F. The higher the tempering temp the lower the final hardness, and greater the toughness. If a piece of 4130 has been heat treated and tempered at 850F and is later heated to 850F or less the temper is uneffected. It is desirable for scuba tanks to be on the tough and not brittle range of tempers.
I would guess that 4130 steel tanks are tempered at or above 850 F. That means hot dipping has *zero* effect on the temper.
Again claiming that hot dipping causes damage to 4130 steel is marketing, not reality.
Tobin
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