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> For approximately the same volume, the steel cylinder is lighter and neutral > when empty, so I don't need extra weight to be balanced. The steel cylinder > is lighter. You don't want to use the stage bottle as part of your weighting system. you need to be balanced without the stages. Sometimes you plan on taking them off (especially in cave diving). Maintaining buoyancy control while removing and replacing stages underwater is a big part of any training agency's course that involves using them, even in open water. If for some reason you cannot make your ascent with the stage bottles (like you clipped them off when entering a wreck and couldn't get back to them) you certainly don't want to be dependant on their weight to hold your deco stops. The aluminum tanks are used because they swing through neutral buoyancy, having minimal impact on the overall buoyancy when they are removed or replaced or breathed from, and because of the way that they behave in the water. They are buoyant on the ass end, so they're not dragging your waist down and screwing up your trim like steel bottles do. The favorites of OW divers are 30's and 40's because of their shape and balance, or 80's if you need that much gas or are using stages of bottom gas. The short fat aluminum tanks don't work so well. The aluminum tanks are much cheaper, too. You can buy 2 al 40's or even al 80's for what a steel 46 costs. > So, is this just a unique example of the steel cylinder being the better > choice, or am I missing something here? It looks to me like you've missed a thing or 2, and if you want to really know about this there are lots of people here who have been there, done that, and really thought it through. I kind of detect a phrasing that suggests that you're here to slay a giant, so I'll get my coke and popcorn and stand by for the entertainment. Remember guys, coke alert rules are in effect. If you've already bought the steel stages, don't worry. They sell quickly and for very good prices on Ebay. Have a happy and safe holiday. al -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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