Scuba Diving Steel Tanks what are the advantages?

Your decision as to whether you choose a steel or aluminiun tank is a personal one. There are obvious differences between the two, those differences are good and bad and indifferent.

Here are the facts for scuba diving steel tanks, you make up your mind.

Is rust a big problem with scuba diving steel tanks?

Yes and no.

Yes rust, iron oxide, is a problem for steel scuba tanks if you do not property maintain them. A simple wash in freshwater after every dive will keep the outside of the steel tank rust free. Ensuring no moisture enters your steel tank will keep the rust out from the inside of the steel scuba tank.

Moisture can enter the steel tank in a number of ways, but the most common is when the tank is being filled. So make sure you go to a reputable dive shop for your air fills. Always make sure your steel tank is never completely emptied if it is breathed dry, close the tank off so no water or moisture can enter. It is the moisture that will cause the damage to your steel scuba tank.

Buoyancy and Steel Scuba Tanks

Steel scuba tanks are negatively buoyant when full and when empty.

This to many is fantastic as you can drop weight from your weight belt, I for one love using steel tanks for this very reason, the less weight I have to carry the better.

Just ensure if you do drop weight that you adjust the remaining weight to help trim your neutral buoyancy. You have to remember the steel tank is on your back not round your waist and if you get your weight configuration wrong you may have trouble staying in a horizontal position. Just play around with your remaining weight until you get it right.

Scuba Diving Steel Tanks - Advantages

Here are some advantages of using a steel scuba cylinder:

Negatively Buoyant
Steel scuba tanks are negatively buoyant and as such you will be able to remove some weight.

Size
Scuba diving steel tanks are usually smaller than there aluminium counterparts making them easier to maneuver in and out of the water.

Low Pressure Air Fills
You are guaranteed of getting the correct fill as steel tanks are larger than aluminium tanks for the same size, the pressure needed to fill them is not as great. When filling aluminium tanks you will sometimes get a situation where they are filled hot, which is normal as heat is generated during the filling of any scuba tank, but if they are not allowed to cool to ambient pressure and topped up you could find yourself with a lot less air than you first thought or paid for.

Scuba Diving Steel Tanks - Disadvantages

Now the disadvantages of steel scuba tanks:

Price
Tend to be more expensive than aluminium tanks. If you are doing lot's of diving and need your own tank then maybe the expense is not that great, but if you travel a lot to exotic locations then a tank is not a consideration at all.

Rusting
This is only a major issue if you do not properly maintain them.

There are other advantages and disadvantages, but to me these are the most important.

If you would like information on aluminium scuba tanks, have a look here.

If you are interested to know more about Scuba Tanks then click here this will tell you all you need to know.

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