Educational Blog
A Brief HISTORY OF SCUBA’S Ubiquitous Aluminum 80 Cylinder
By Mark Gresham and Bill High.
This article represents the views of the author. The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.
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The “80” had a down-side. At 3,000 psig/207 bar, that pressure was a bit high for most compressors in use. Many dive stores could not fill them completely. More importantly, its diameter was slightly greater than the common steel cylinder, so it would not fit into the non-adjustable backpacks.
Alcan (Luxfer) was not the first to make an aluminum scuba cylinder. In the mid-fifties, the US Navy purchased many aluminum cylinders from Pressed Steel Tank Co. which were not Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approved for commercial use. Those cylinders were made by a spinning process that required a plug to close the round bottom. By the 1970s, some of those cylinders found their way into recreational diving; however, they were illegal to fill or transport.
For several years, the Luxfer “80” was the only kid on the block. In 1981, the competitors Walter Kidde Co. and Catalina Tank Co. began making competitive cylinder models using the somewhat different alloy, 6061.
The bright future for the “80” continued into the 1980’s. Adjustable backpacks solved the size issue. Corrosion resistance was evident. Several colors were available. There were two things we did not know. First, in 1982 and 1983, Luxfer produced its cylinders using the 6351 alloy with a somewhat elevated trace lead content. That became an issue later. Catalina and Kidde continued using 6061 alloy. Secondly, a metallurgical issue raised its ugly head.
For the complete GUE article, Please use the link below
A Brief History of Scuba’s Ubiquitous Aluminum 80 Cylinder - InDepth (gue.com)
