Which brand of steel cylinder / tank should I buy?

[Thomas Ivey]

Galvanizing:
PST uses a HDG method (hot dip galvanizing). There is where the tank in submerged in molten zinc. During the process the tanks are acid cleaned and etch. Once the tanks comes in contact with the molten zinc bath the tank and the zinc make a metallurgical bond where they almost become one, and almost impossible to separate the two materials. This is why PST scuba tanks are so durable. HGD was patented in England in 1830 and is considered for marine application to be the best protection to date.

Metallizing:
Faber uses this method. Metallizing is a sprayed application. Metallizing does leave a porous (granular) surface, which must have a sealer (paint) so that the moisture will not soak thru. This is why there have been divers that have had their tanks rust in areas where the Faber tank get scratched and in the boot area where moisture has soaked thru paint.

For more info on this matter, you can contact the American Galvanizers Association.

ti
http://www.pstscuba.com

 

[King_Neptune]

... It's times like this that I think they should have never taken [red]Jiminy Cricket[/red] off of Prime Time...

The concept of carrying a pony ....
... is like carrying a can of gasoline on the frontseat of your car.

Ok, sure, I'll buy that... If you only have a 2 seater and the trunk is full and you'll be driving through Large desolate areas of no-where-mans-land.

As "Jiminy" would say, "Play it Safe", aka Better safe than sorry. Or am I to believe that all those Special Forces units out there are just "foolish" for having any kind of redundancy? I mean, majority of the time they are just using a single tank. Reguardless of whether it's combat or just training or for fun, sounds like a good idea to me.

Idiocy - A foolish or stupid utterance ... Profound Mental Retardation ...

I bet you that a few of those last Diving Related Fatality victims which we've heard about wish they were as so "idiocy" as to carry a pony!

Because I am aware of my air consumption rate and I am aware of my bottom time I will know if the gauge is stuck long before I would get to that point.

I have another word for you to add to your vocabulary:
Arrogance ...

What scares me is not that you have that opinion, what scares me is that if something were to happen unexpectedly, you might be the only one around that could help ...

If you have so little respect for yourself that you feel like your life is worth toying with then that's your prerogative. But PLEASE, don't carry on for 5 pages bad mouthing someone else because they would like that extra cushion of security. It's like when a person goes sky diving and has that reserve pack, "Just in case"!

Sometimes things can happen that are 100% out of your control! For example, try This post here on for size. As soon as you think you're Fool Proof, someone will come by that makes a Bigger Fool than you couldn't have possibly prepared for. Any diver with any real experience will tell you that.

But hey, what do I know ... You just might be one of the lucky ones, that in a bad situation gone worse, you might not really die, maybe you'll just suffer a severe lack of Oxygen causing a Profound Mental Retardation ...


=-)

 

[tgreaves]

Couldnt have said it better my self..

 

[devjr]

Could it be that Faber uses flame spraying or "metallizing" to provide better adhesion for the paint? The use of various paints is probably a branding thing and doesn't appear to cut costs.

 

[bradymsu]

Amen

 

[Thomas Ivey]

Originally posted by devjr
Could it be that Faber uses flame spraying or "metallizing" to provide better adhesion for the paint? The use of various paints is probably a branding thing and doesn't appear to cut costs.

Metallizing is a type of galvanizing. Flame spraying is how it is applied. You can control the type of finish, smooth or rough. A rough finish is better for paint adhesion. The paint (sealer) is a must for this type of galvanizing and metallizing is allot less expensive HDG. PST does not see any advantage to go this route, since our product will be in service up to 30 years.

I hope answered your question.

ti
http://www.pstscuba.com

 

[devjr]

Personally, I prefer HDG. However, I don't use tank boots. They increase drag and trap water next to the tank which forms the primary corrosion seen on galvo. I've seen some pretty rough looking galvo when a boot is removed. Even the self drainers leave the zinc looking powdery. Could it be that the painted finish holds up better under the boot?

BTW. "metallizing" is a verb, as is "spraying". Let's just call it "zinc deposition by plasma jet". (G)

 

[Thomas Ivey]

Originally posted by devjr
Personally, I prefer HDG. However, I don't use tank boots. They increase drag and trap water next to the tank which forms the primary corrosion seen on galvo. I've seen some pretty rough looking galvo when a boot is removed. Even the self drainers leave the zinc looking powdery. Could it be that the painted finish holds up better under the boot?

BTW. "metallizing" is a verb, as is "spraying". Let's just call it "zinc deposition by plasma jet". (G)

According to American Galvanizing Association. There are five ways to apply zinc coatings, HDG, Metallizing, Zinc paint, galvanized sheet and electroplate. These applications could have different trade names.

Most of our product is used without a boot; with or without a tank boot life expectancy for our product is about the same. The zinc is a sacrificial material and the by-product of this exchange is the white powder that you see. Most of Faber problems have been in the area of the tank boot. The issue is, if you have Faber tank and use it without a tank boot and scrap of the paint there is nothing to stop moisture from reaching the substrate material. You have a higher chance of getting external rusting and becomes a warranty issue for me.

PST has HDG products in the field since the early 60's. We see no short or long term advantage or reason to use metallizing in a marine enviroment. Especial in an enviroment as harsh as scuba diving can be.

The point to be made is with the historical data that we have and what we see happening to products in this market that are metallized. That HDG has a far better performance record than any other zinc coating available at this time.

ti

 

[devjr]

Who makes the 3500 psi tanks which look similar to the PST? There are very slight differences in the curvature of the neck and shoulder but otherwise look identical. They are stamped with the same "E9791" use permit. They are hot dipped galvo. Is IA/81 the mfgr?

 

[Mario S Caner]

I do believe we did meet at your booth. Anyways... how is business? You guys do good at Dema?