| Author |
Message |
Lsdeep |
|
Post subject: About SCUBA Tanks
 Posted: Sep 22, 2006 - 04:30 PM
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 125
Status: Offline
|
|
A scuba tank, also called a scuba cylinder, is constructed out of either steel or aluminum. Aluminum tanks are more common and less expensive, but more prone to denting and wear. Most dive gear shops will only have aluminum tanks for rent, so it is good to become used to their size, weight, shape and buoyancy. Steel scuba tanks are a little more expensive, but they are far more durable. It is said that a properly maintained steel tank will last longer than the diver who wears it. The caveat with a steel scuba tank is that it will rust and a steel tank user needs to periodically inspect their tank for rust, but rusting can be somewhat avoided with proper care. The capacity of your tank is measured in pressurized cubic feet; in other words how many cubic feet (or liters) of air can be stored in the tank at 3000psi. An average tank holds about 80 cubic feet of air, though tanks range in size from 65 to 100 cubic feet. Extra-large and extra-small scuba tanks are available in size from 120 cubic feet down to the tiny 6 cubic foot "pony tanks" often used in decompression stops or as "bailout bottles".
The size of scuba tank you need is decided by the amount of air you will need; the amount of air you need is determined by your size, the size of your lungs, your fitness level and other factors. If you are a teen or a petite woman you will be fine with a smaller tank. An average adult will take an average (80 cu.ft.) tank. Large men who breathe deeply might want the largest tank available. An 80 cu.ft. cylinder at 3000 psi contains 80 cu. ft. of air, which is about the size of a small telephone booth. The air in a telephone booth at 14.7 psi (or 1 ATA, which is sea-level air pressure) weighs about 6.5lbs. The air is compressed 204.08 times smaller to fit into the scuba cylinder. The air in the tank still weighs 6.5lbs, which is why you can feel the weight difference between an empty tank and a full one. You would feel the same difference lifting the telephone booth full of air, compared with the same booth containing a vacuum, or no air at all. One kind of scuba cylinder becoming increasingly popular is the pony tank. A pony tank is a little extra tank which straps to your gear, which has separate staged regulators and gauges. In case your equipment malfunctions or you misjudge your air consumption the pony contains enough air to do a proper slow ascent to the surface. A pony tank is usually carried as an emergency backup air supply, not as a means of extending a dive. |
_________________
Idealism is what precedes experience - cynicism is what follows.
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
knotical1 |
|
|
Post subject: Re: About SCUBA Tanks
Posted: Sep 23, 2006 - 12:08 PM
|
|
Guppy
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 9
Status: Offline
|
|
|
Lsdeep wrote:
The capacity of your tank is measured in pressurized cubic feet; in other words how many cubic feet (or liters) of air can be stored in the tank at 3000psi.
But to compound the issue: When someone refers to a cylinder in liters, they are usually not talking about how many pressurized liters a cylinder holds. Instead, they are stating its empty volume (or “water capacity”). To more fully describe the cylinder they give both its un-pressurized capacity and its charging pressure. e.g. “a 10 liter, 200 bar bottle”. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Post subject: Re: About SCUBA Tanks
Posted: Sep 24, 2006 - 04:13 PM
|
|
|
|
|
knotical wrote:
Lsdeep wrote:
The capacity of your tank is measured in pressurized cubic feet; in other words how many cubic feet (or liters) of air can be stored in the tank at 3000psi.
But to compound the issue: When someone refers to a cylinder in liters, they are usually not talking about how many pressurized liters a cylinder holds. Instead, they are stating its empty volume (or “water capacity”). To more fully describe the cylinder they give both its un-pressurized capacity and its charging pressure. e.g. “a 10 liter, 200 bar bottle”.
The statement from LSDeep is correct " The capacity of your tank is measured in..............." BUT so is yours . I gues it just depends if you want to say it one way or another no one of these statements is wrong........ Perhaps in the States (Where everything gets shortened ......except in Texas-but thats a different story) the norm is to say 10 ltr 200 bar tank. I have heard a lot of times in Europe especially in the German spoken countries (where they tend to have a rather different approach to everything - Alles muss sein ordnung haben - ) the terms used by LSDeep so I guess it just pretty much depends where your from......... Me, I say my tank is either empty or full !!  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Sharki1 |
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Sep 24, 2006 - 05:44 PM
|
|
Goby
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 38
Status: Offline
|
|
| Here in Europe we referr always to the watervolume of a tank. Common sizes are 10, 12 and 15 litres. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
pir81 |
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Sep 24, 2006 - 11:39 PM
|
|
Puffer
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 73
Status: Offline
|
|
| If I am in Europe I will refer to it in liters, If in the states or the carribean ft3 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
