Faber is currently the only source for a DOT/CTC compliant steel SCUBA cylinder in North America. Uncoated steel tanks quickly rust in the presence of water, so all steel tanks are coated with zinc. When a steel tank is galvanized, a zinc metal coating is bonded to the surface of the steel. There are two zinc coating processes for steel tanks: dip galvanizing and spray galvanizing. The hot zinc dipped coating comes from the factory as a shiny silver color that rapidly ages to a mottled gray once exposed to sea water. Steel tanks are also available in a hot zinc sprayed coating that is further protected with an epoxy paint. Compared to the better cosmetic appearance of the epoxy paint finish, the hot dipped galvanized finish is "industrial grade" with noticeable cosmetic imperfections. Although the consensus seems to be that hot-dipped galvanization is preferred for its resistance to scrapes and scratches, some experts believe that environmental concerns about the molten zinc dip vat operation itself outweigh the benefits of hot-dipped galvanization.
As of Fall 2024, both of our US distributors for Faber are informing Dive Gear Express there is a possibility that hot dipped galvanized (HDG) finish cylinders may no longer be available in the near future. Faber outsources the HDG finishing process to a third party in Italy, and there are apparently some issues with the continuation of that relationship with the third party. We being told by our US distributors that Faber is exploring alternative sources for HDG, but the future for availability of the HDG finish is uncertain at this time.
The US distributors are currently out of stock for HDG finish on new HP80's, HP100's and LP85's with the retail channel mostly sold through as well, although there is currently limited new inventory of the larger Faber steel cylinder sizes in HDG (i.e. HP117, HP120, HP133). We are told there is also a small quantity of HDG HP100's in transit to the US, although they are all committed to back orders and neither of the US distributors for Faber are accepting new orders for HDG HP100's or LP85's at this time. Regardless, Faber steel SCUBA cylinders in those popular sizes with a paint over hot spray galvanized finish are currently available and will continue to be available since the painted finish is produced entirely within Faber manufacturing. However, there might be brief shortages of painted finish cylinders as inventory levels are adjusted to adapt to the absence of the HDG finish.
