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Scuba Tank

A scuba tank is a pressurized metal cylinder that can be filled with compressed air and then breathed underwater with the help of a regulator. Once a tank is filled, it can be used for about a week before it needs to have the air either changed or refilled. A tank is necessary for any diver that would like to dive on their own schedule, and they are easy to maintain.

An aluminum scuba tank is lighter than a steel one, but steel will last longer, and take more of a beating. They usually hold between 3 and 18 liters, this is expressed with water because much more gas, which can be pressurized more than water, can fit inside the cylinder. A 3 liter container can hold 696 liters of gas at 232 bar. Bar is a unit of pressure measurement, atmospheric pressure at sea level is roughly one bar.

‘Scuba tank’ is the colloquial and non-professional term for a diving cylinder, which is what they are called by gas equipment engineers, manufacturers, support professionals and divers. Sometimes the mistake is made in calling them oxygen tanks, when it is actually a mixture of gases that they are filled with, usually very similar to atmospheric air, which is only about 15% oxygen and 70% nitrogen. Some other mixtures with higher oxygen, lower nitrogen, or even added helium are used as well to help with decompression and nitrogen narcosis which is common at lower depths.

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