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CYLINDERS TANKS


Using the correct scuba diving cylinder is just as important to a diver's success and safety as how they configure their gear. A diver may go to an enormous effort to insure every hose, reel and accessory is exactly right only to 'drop the ball' by making the wrong cylinder choice.

The Scuba Doctor dive shop brings you scuba cylinders from the leading cylinder manufacturers in the world — Faber and Catalina — so you can not only get it done, but can get it done right.

No cylinder is perfect for every diver, or every diving situation. The Scuba Doctor offers the most complete selection of cylinders in the industry, allowing you to choose what is best for your unique needs.

All cylinders from The Scuba Doctor are suitable for nitrox service (i.e. up to 40% oxygen), visually inspected and shipped with a current hydrostatic date (except where indicated).

Australian Standards

In Australia, scuba Tanks must be tested every year (12 months). We always ship cylinders with a current hydro test date. Due to manufacturing and import cycles, the popular sizes of cylinders typically have a factory hydro date less than 12 months old. However less popular sizes of cylinders may have a factory hydro date up to 24 months old as these are manufactured and imported less frequently.

As per the Australian Standards, the cylinders and valves we sell are for Imperial 0.750-14 NPSM (3/4 NPS) neck threads, NOT Metric M25 neck threads, and the valves have overpressure relief devices (burst discs). (Cylinders with Metric M25 neck threads do not comply with Australian Standards.)

The Faber steel cylinders have ISO 9809-1 markings. The Catalina aluminium cylinders have DOT-3AL2957 markings. All of these cyliners comply with Australian Standrads and are suitable for use in Australia. They may, or may not, meet the standards applicable in other coutries.

Choosing Your Scuba Cylinder/Tank

Scuba diving cylinders (USA: tanks, UK: bottles) are awkward and heavy, and if you fall down with one on you'll be lying on your back flailing your arms and legs in the air like a turtle flipped on it's shell.

Without scuba cylinders you can never be like that same turtle 'flying' gracefully through the water, experiencing a world that almost defies explanation.

Like all scuba gear, choosing a scuba diving cylinder/tank/bottle takes more thought and planning than just walking into a dive shop and grabbing the first thing you see.

There are a few different kinds of cylinders, each with their own pros and cons. Plus, not all diving cylinders can be used for all types of diving. The video below may help you to chose which dive cylinder is best for your needs.

Types of Scuba Diving Cylinders

Steel Scuba Cylinders

Steel scuba cylinders have been around since the start of scuba diving, while aluminium diving cylinders came into use in the 1970s. Steel scuba cylinders are typically more expensive than the same capacity aluminium cylinders.

A steel diving cylinder is a lot tougher than an aluminium one, making it less likely to pit or dent. If properly cared for it will last longer than an aluminium cylinder. However, steel rusts with exposure to moisture and thus needs more careful care.

Because steel is stronger it can be handle higher pressures with a thinner wall thickness, making a steel cylinder smaller and lighter than an aluminium one of similar capacity.

Also If you want to use higher pressures (e.g. 300 bar), you will need to use a DIN valve which may make it hard to get refills depending on where you're diving.

Most technical divers use steel scuba cylinders, but they can be a good cylinder for regular recreational scuba diving too. The most common size is a 232 bar, standard 12.2 litre steel cylinder, but many women and those who use less air often prefer a lighter and smaller 10.5 litre cylinder.

Steel cylinders are more negatively buoyant than equivalent aluminium cylinders and only become less negatively buoyant as they are emptied. Thus they are popular in cold/temperate water areas where thick wetsuits and drysuits are used, because a steel cylinder means you can carry less weight on your weight belt.

Aluminium Scuba Cylinders

Aluminium scuba cylinders came into use in the 1970s and are the most common scuba cylinders you'll find in tropical waters for recreational diving. Many dive shop, boat and resort operations use them worldwide.

The most common size used for diving is the aluminium 80 cubic foot (11.1 litre), but they can be smaller or larger depending on what they're meant to be used for.

For example, a bail out or pony bottle is much smaller than a standard size aluminium 80.

Aluminium cylinders being made of a softer, lighter material have thicker walls, making them larger and heavier than steel cylinders of the same capacity. Aluminium cylinders are relatively inexpensive and thus a good choice for most recreational scuba divers.

One downside of the aluminium scuba diving cylinders is that most go from being negatively buoyant to positively buoyant as they empty during the dive, so most divers wear a few extra kilograms (or pounds) of weight to compensate for this. There are a few models of aluminium cylinders that are built specifically to eliminate this problem, but like everything else, the more features it has, the more expensive it is.

Typically aluminium cylinders are certified for use at a working pressure of 200 to 210 bar. But some newer ones are available rated to nearly 230 bar. Again, these cylinders are more expensive and heavier.

Things To Consider When Buying Scuba Diving Cylinders

Here are a few other things to consider before buying.

  • Length/height of the cylinder. Is it so long it bumps your butt and the back of your head at the same time?
  • Weight of the cylinder. Is it too heavy for you to handle comfortably?
  • Type of diving. Do you technical dive or not?
  • If it's steel, is it a low pressure (LP) steel cylinder (e.g. 232 bar), or a high pressure (HP) one (e.g. 300 bar)?
  • Does it have a DIN valve, or more common A-clamp/Yoke valve, or a valve that can be converted from DIN to Yoke using an insert?
  • If it's a used cylinder, when was it last visually inspected or hydro tested?

Our Recommendations

When purchasing scuba cylinders, the long-term advantages of steel's excellent buoyancy characteristics and long life make it the best choice for most divers, but especially those in cold and temperate waters. Choose a 232 bar steel tank size that meets your needs when it is under filled, putting an end to short fill concerns. For most divers this will be a 12.2 litre (100 cubic foot) cylinder, but some may prefer the smaller 10.5 litre (85 cubic foot) cylinder.

If your budget is tight, then aluminium cylinders initially costs significantly less. If going with an aluminium cylinder, avoid paints, and choose the brushed finish.

For both steel and aluminium cylinders you should choose a convertible valve having a DIN outlet with K (yoke) insert, often described as a 'DIN/K' valve. (That's why we provide this as our standard offering.).

Remember, the standard 207 bar aluminium 11.1 litre (80 cubic foot) capacity cylinder with a K valve is not a "one-size-fits-all" tank. Making the right cylinder choice can significantly improve your diving enjoyment. Please use this list as a guide when reviewing scuba diving cylinders and you should be able to find the right cylinder/tank to last you for years of diving.

For more help buying the best diving cylinder (Tank / Bottle) for you, please see our Buying a Scuba Cylinder guide.

The Scuba Doctor dive shop is your best source for scuba diving cylinders.



Air and Nitrox Fills

Air & Nitrox Fills from The Scuba Doctor

The air fill panel at The Scuba Doctor
The air, nitrox and oxygen fill panel at
The Scuba Doctor in Rye, Melbourne
You can't dive without something to breathe. Whether you need Air, Nitrox or Oxygen to dive, The Scuba Doctor can usually fill your open circuit or rebreather cylinders while you wait. Not only are we fast, we also provide fills at wallet friendly prices!

We're located south of Melbourne in Rye on the Mornington Peninsula. So if you're heading out for a dive, or coming back from a dive, drop in and try the best fills in Australia. If you need fills out of hours, just let us know in advance and we should be able to help out.

The dive lounge at The Scuba Doctor
The dive lounge
at The Scuba Doctor
The Scuba Doctor is famous for its excellent Dive Facilities. You get to park off-street, really close to the dive shop entrance. Plus, we have a trolley you can borrow to make getting your dive tanks in and out of the dive shop much easier.

All divers get to relax in our Dive Lounge and use the Free Wi-Fi. We have tea, coffee, soft drink and water for sale at reasonable prices. We have a change area with showers for you to refresh after a dive. There is also a wet area with wash up bins for your "after dive" use.

Drop offs: You are welcome to leave your cylinder with us for filling and return at a later time to claim. We are not responsible for cylinders left over 60 days.

You may be asked to produce the relevant diving certification card to obtain Nitrox and Oxygen fills.

Scuba Air Fills

We deliver clean hyper-filtered air to 300 bar.

Prices are correct as of 15 January 2022. All prices are subject to change without notice.

Air Fill Prices
Air Fill Type (Up To 250 Bar) Price
inc GST
Airfills - Single Cylinders
Up to 12.5 litre Cylinders (105cf) $ 10.00
15 litre Cylinders (125cf) $ 12.00
18 litre Cylinders (150cf) $ 14.00
50 litre Cylinders $ 40.00
Note: Unmanifolded twins are charged per cylinder
Airfills - Manifolded Twin Cylinders
Up to Twin 12.5 litre (210cf) $ 15.00
Twin 15 litre (250cf) $ 17.00

 
We can fill scuba cylinders with DIN 300 Bar, DIN 200 Bar and Yoke (K valve, A-Clamp) style valve fittings.

300 Bar Fills

300 bar air fills are double the standard air fill prices.

Higher pressure fills, to 300 bar, are available. These types of fills can sometimes be carried out straight away, although customers should allow at least 45 minutes during busy periods.

As high pressure air produces a small amount of heat it is advisable to give us a longer filling period to ensure the cylinder after the initial fill can be left to cool down and then be 'topped up' to ensure a good fill. The normal period for cooling a filled cylinder allowing it to return to ambient is 1 hour, therefore if you wish to have a "good fill" then you should allow more time, or the cool down when your cylinder goes into the sea will reduce the air pressure. (Rule of thumb — 0.6 of a bar for every degree Celsius.)

Things to Know About Air Fills

  • Safety is the first priority in our fill station.
  • Before filling any cylinder, we perform a cursory inspection or a mini visual inspection. This includes: checking the remaining cylinder pressure, an inspection for external damages and ensuring both the visual inspection sticker and current hydrostatic stamp are still in date and valid.
  • For air, we fill at a recommended fill rate of 20 to 40 bar per minute (based on a standard S80, 11.1 litre, aluminium cylinder, or a 12.2 litre steel cylinder).
  • Our large air bank also enables a quick turnaround for all your cylinder fills.
  • We recognise the importance of clean air and will go extra miles to ensure that the air we deliver to our customers meets EN12021 at all times.
  • Quarterly air analysis is performed.

"Top up" fills are charged at the standard air fill prices.

Oxygen Clean Cylinders
If your cylinder is Oxygen Clean, then please let the dive shop staff know this. They will then fill your tanks from the O2 Clean fill whips on our panel.

Is It O2 Clean?
Our dive shop staff may ask you this. Cylinders get presented to us with all sorts of Nitrox, Trimix and O2 Test stickers that are often out of date. The cylinders are no longer being used as if they were O2 Clean, but still have markings that imply they might be. So our staff may ask, just to make sure.

Nitrox Fills

Enriched Air Nitrox fills can be arranged through The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop. We have a first-class Nitrox blending panel and booster pump. Our qualified nitrox gas blenders can accurately partial pressure blend your choice of Nitrox mixes up to and including 100% oxygen, often "while you wait".

Nitrox Fill Prices: (inc GST)
Oxygen: 5.0 cents per litre
Air: $ 8.50 per fill for O2 less than 100%
Blending: $ 10.00 per fill

You can use our Nitrox Calculator - Requested Mix or Nitrox Calculator - Top Up Mix to calculate the total price of your Nitrox fill.

Maximum pressure for Nitrox fills up to 70% Oxygen is 240 bar.
Maximum pressure for Nitrox fills above 70% Oxygen fills is 200 bar.

What You Need To Know About Nitrox Fills

Bring Your Certification Cards
You may be asked to provide appropriate certification for the blend you are purchasing.

Oxygen Clean
Because we use partial pressure blending to do Nitrox fills, your cylinder and valve must be "Oxygen Clean". During the fill process 100% pure Oxygen will be used.

Normal EAN Fill Times
Please allow a minimum of 45 minutes for blending especially during busy periods. An indication of the completion time should be received from the dive shop staff at the time of arrival. The process of partial pressure filling the cylinders is based on a manual system and on staff priorities serving other customers. The more time you can give us the better and it is appreciated.

Urgent EAN Fills
If you have an urgent requirement and require an instant fill or solution, we will try to assist provided you arrange this with the dive shop and subject to the availability of a suitably qualified blending technician we can often oblige.

Good Fills
The normal period for cooling a filled cylinder allowing it to return to ambient is 1 hour, therefore if you wish to have a "good fill" then you should allow more time, or the cool down when your tank goes into the sea will reduce the air pressure. (Rule of thumb — 0.6 of a bar for every degree Celsius.)

100% Oxygen Fills

Maximum pressure for 100% Oxygen fills is 200 Bar. To achieve a 200 bar O2 fill, we need to use our booster pump.

Rebreather divers, please note that we are unable to booster pump Oxygen into 3 litre or less sized cylinders. (Our booster is too big and generates too much heat when filling small cylinders for it to be done safely.) We will only be able to fill these small cylinders to the highest pressure available in our O2 banks. If we have a full O2 cylinder, the pressure achievable is typically around 170 bar.

We can fill scuba cylinders with DIN 300 Bar, DIN 200 Bar and Yoke (K valve, A-Clamp) style valve fittings. We can also fill medical grade Oxygen cylinders with Pin Index valve fittings.

PCP Air Rifle, Air Gun and Paintball Gun Fills

We can refill the majority of air guns, air rifles, pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) rifles and paintball cylinders/tanks/bottles, provided you have the correct scuba cylinder adaptors.

Maybe you'd like to consider buying a scuba cylinder so that you can fill your guns yourself. See Air Gun and Paintball Cylinders.

Quality Assured Clean Diving Air

The Scuba Doctor has an effective compressor, air filtration and blending system which allows us to provide clean, dry, breathing quality air up to 300 bar, plus Oxygen and Nitrox fills.

Our gas delivery system uses multiple filters to hyper-filter all of the compressed air for our Air, and Nitrox fills. We provide you with safe and moisture free air with a breathing gas quality that is 50 times cleaner than conventional scuba compressed air. Never taste oil vapors in your fills again.

We constantly measure the dryness of the air we produce. This is essential to provide you, the customer, with clean, dry air. We test our air every 3 months to continue providing you these high standards. Please feel free to take a look at one of our Gas Purity Test Reports.

All Scuba Cylinders Must Be In Test

We will not fill dive cylinders/tanks that are out of test.

Aluminium 6351-T6 alloy cylinders will not be filled. We consider them to be unsafe. For an explanation as to why, please see SafeWork NSW, Safety Alert, Gas Cylinders Manufactured From Aluminium Alloy 6351-T6, 25/10/2016.

Refusal of Service: The Scuba Doctor reserves the right to refuse to fill cylinders that it deems unsafe.

For more details on why we insist all cylinders we fill are in test and safe, please read the section on Annual Inspection and Testing on our Scuba Cylinder Testing web page. It will also tell you about the cylinder testing services available from Scuba Doctor Service and Repairs.

The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop Cylinder Fill Setup

Clean, pure, accurate gas fills are the heart of our business. The key to what we do is not just an obsession with preventive maintenance and accuracy, but also the tools we have at our disposal. Our scuba diving cylinder/tank fill station was built from the ground up with Safety and Convenience in mind.

The Dive Compressors

We have two older model, super reliable, proven performance dive compressors online:

15 CFM Ingersoll Rand Air compressor at The Scuba Doctor
Ingersoll Rand Air compressor at
The Scuba Doctor in Rye, Melbourne
Compressor One:
15 CFM Ingersoll Rand Air Compressor
7 HP, 7.5 KW, 3 phase 415 Volt
This is a version of the world renowned 4R15 Ingersoll Rand HP Model compressor. The compressor features a direct drive electric motor with a 33-inch, repackable, air filter tower, inter-stage pressure gauges, low oil shutdown switch, low air startup switch, high air shutdown switch and automatic drain valves.

Air Storage Banks

We have three air storage banks connected to the compressors and fill panel:
Bank 1: Two 252 litre, 350 bar storage cylinders (ex submarine).
Bank 2: Four 47 litre, 300 bar storage cylinders.
Bank 3: Two 47 litre, 300 bar storage cylinders.

The air storage banks are filled to 305 bar.

Oxygen Supply Cylinders

We always have three 50 litre (size G) Oxygen supply cylinders in store. They are connected to the fill panel at all times. These come filled to 179 bar, which gives 8900 litres of O2 per cylinder.

Fill Panel

We have an awesome custom built fill panel. Features include:

  • Three DIN/Yoke air fill whips
  • Two DIN/Yoke air/nitrox/trimix/oxygen fill whips
  • One 19-inch, repackable, air filter tower
  • One Crystal Engineering Corp Digital Test Gauge XP2i 5000 psi
  • One Floyd Australia 150 mm (6-inch) Oxygen compatible main gauge
  • One Aqua Environment Model 415-5000 Standard Flow Reducing Regulator
  • Control valves for the three storage banks
  • Three Stauff SPG-063-00400-01-P-N04 Stainless Steel Pressure Gauges for the storage banks
  • Control valves and gauges for the three O2 cylinders
  • Control valves and gauges for the two Helium cylinders
  • Control valves for the gas booster pump

The three DIN/Yoke air fill whips are only used to put air into non O2 clean cylinders.

The two DIN/Yoke air/nitrox/trimix/oxygen fill whips are used to put any gas into an O2 clean cylinder.

Gas Analysers

We have a Divesoft Analyser He/O2 for measuring oxygen, nitrogen and helium concentration in Nitrox and Trimix diving breathing mixtures.

We also have an Analox O2 EII oxygen analyser for measuring the oxygen concentration in Nitrox diving breathing mixtures.

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tel. +61 3 5985 1700 :: email. diveshop@scubadoctor.com.au :: Web site by it'sTechnical 2022