[castaway]

I realise that oxy tanks have been the shape they are for a long time, the two main reasons I can see for this shape ( and there may be more) is strength and ease of manufacture, (the cylinder is still not as strong as a sphere) the shape of the bottles gives them a very high centre of gravity and this makes them difficult to handle, you only need to get them a few degrees off vertical and they will topple, most men can of course handle this but most women can not, imagine a cylinder half the height and twice the width, the centre of gravity is now so low in the cylinder that it becomes difficult to tip it over making it much safer to handle, thus making it much safer for home use and especially where women are concerned, I think your statement "if handled right" is very interesting and in itself suggests potential problems. Perhaps a spherical bottle would raise the cost of manufacturing but a short wide bottle would not, I would imagine the cost and strength would be similar but the safety for handlers would be very much improved. I teach many workshops in other peoples studios and with a class of perhaps 12, all being women, I am the only person able to handle the standard G size bottle safely and I'm in my 70s, the women in the workshops are terrified of the big tall bottles because they do not have the strength to hold them if they tip.
cheers, Bernard