Scuba Cylinders 101
Image: Emy Stratton L: Steel 30, 46 and 72s, C: Steel 27s and 112s R: Aluminum 9, 14, 40s, 50s, 63s and 80s By Fred Stratton Instructor & Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Image: Tara McNaylor Aluminum 50, 67 and 80 cubic foot cylinders Most of us take excellent care of our scuba regulators ; they enable us to breathe underwater, thus they are keenly appreciated even by newly certified divers. Cylinders, however, wish they would receive half the love we give our regulators. We give them a quick post-dive rinse (sometimes), fill them for the next dive and otherwise neglect them until our local dive shop professional tells us that they need attention. This is understandable... to a point. Modern cylinders are manufactured to be pressurized to their rated pressure an astounding 100,000 times. Cylinder valves are simple, well-built devices that perform for years under a wide range of conditions and treatment. In short, cylinders are so reliable that we take t