Doubles air fill fee.

[Mark Vlahos]

My LDS charges $6 to fill any standard pressure AL80 or St72 (I know that's steep, but we are inland and one hour away from any competitors' dive shop).
Now, I have a nice set of steel 38 doubles, 1800 psi (76 cu ft total) on a manifold with a SINGLE YOKE. He charged me $3.50 per tank for a total of $7 for the fill.
I don't understand this, as they hold under 80 cu ft and only occupy one whip at the filling station. Independent doubles would be one thing- But this?! As an aside, I had to leave them for TWO DAYS before he finally got around to filling them as I walked in!
Does this sound right, or am I correct to be concerned?

(BTW I don't need remarks like "they can charge whatever they want". I already know and respect that.)

Sounds to me like you are stuck. One dollar extra, while a bit of a ripoff is probably not enough of a difference to drive elsewhere. I really would rather pay by the cubic foot. I walk in and let the person behind the counter know that I need a fill. I tell them the size of the tanks,the starting pressure, and that the end pressure should be 2640, the resulting fill should be "X" cubic feet. I would not object if the price was a flat hookup fee and then by the cubic foot, but I have never seen that.

A typical AL80 is actually 77.4 cubic feet, so your double 38's are only 1.4 cubic feet smaller than an AL80. This assumes that your 38's are exactly 38 cubic feet each. So asking for the same price as an AL80 is quite reasonable. I don't think you are being taken to the cleaners but heck, a buck is a buck. Talk to the owner and try to work somthing out.

Mark Vlahos

 

[Atticus]

We charge by the tank. If you bring in a set of doubles, that's two tanks. It's quick, simple, and doesn't require any math. It works against you because you have two tiny tanks. It works in favor of the guys that bring in 119cf single tanks.

If we charged by the CF then we'd have to do math every time. ((Service pressure - starting pressure) / service pressure) * service volume * price per cf. Believe it or not this almost doubles the employee time per fill, especially with less talented shop employees

Note: I am in a different region than the original poster and am in no way affiliated with the shop he is using. I'm only sharing what we do at the local shop here.

 

[Hoosier]

Just out of curiosity, what dive shop do you belong to ?

We charge by the tank. If you bring in a set of doubles, that's two tanks. It's quick, simple, and doesn't require any math. It works against you because you have two tiny tanks. It works in favor of the guys that bring in 119cf single tanks.

If we charged by the CF then we'd have to do math every time. ((Service pressure - starting pressure) / service pressure) * service volume * price per cf. Believe it or not this almost doubles the employee time per fill, especially with less talented shop employees

Note: I am in a different region than the original poster and am in no way affiliated with the shop he is using. I'm only sharing what we do at the local shop here.

 

[Web Monkey]

I'd charge you the extra $1 just for making me carry a set of doubles to hold 76 cu Ft of air.

Terry

My LDS charges $6 to fill any standard pressure AL80 or St72 (I know that's steep, but we are inland and one hour away from any competitors' dive shop).
Now, I have a nice set of steel 38 doubles, 1800 psi (76 cu ft total) on a manifold with a SINGLE YOKE. He charged me $3.50 per tank for a total of $7 for the fill.
I don't understand this, as they hold under 80 cu ft and only occupy one whip at the filling station. Independent doubles would be one thing- But this?! As an aside, I had to leave them for TWO DAYS before he finally got around to filling them as I walked in!
Does this sound right, or am I correct to be concerned?

(BTW I don't need remarks like "they can charge whatever they want". I already know and respect that.)

 

[Hyper-limits]

I'd charge you the extra $1 just for making me carry a set of doubles to hold 76 cu Ft of air.

Terry

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

Forget the extra buck that they overcharged you. Paying $6 for an air fill at a shop is insane. That's about double what we pay over here. My problem is that I'd like to buy my own compressor, but the LDS won't let me, because they don't charge enough for air for me to justify it.

-Tiny-B.

 

[Diesel298]

Im just gonna take a moment to chime in.
most of what im about to say has already been said.
The idea of charging by the cubic foot, its a nice theory, but is very inpractical,
the time it takes to figure it out alone isnt worth it. then ya get people who wanat a tank toped off and end up paying .60 for a fill.
the time alone it takes for a fill is the same ya still gotta go thru all the same steps,
the cubic foot thing really is only woth it when making mix. because the o2 and He cost money, and ontop of that they need to fill them with air. but more ofteen those prices are rounded off
Dive shops dont make anything on air fills.. as somone mentioned. between service filters, testing, plumbing.. if there making mix ya have alll that o2 cleaning.. banks that need hydro.. want a cheap fill then the owners probally cutting corners on the above mentioned.. u wanna breath that air.?
around here the average fill is 5 bucks some shops sell air cards.. making it about 4 bucks a fill 6 bucks a fill is not unherd of but like i said 5 bucks is average.
all the divers that are all upset about the cost of fills... the LDS owners have complaints too. there not making any money on it....if ya wanna count labor then you could figure there loosing money...
im sure if ya kindly ask about the fill they might knock that buck off the fee.
but also as somone mentiond they might figure there cuttin ya abreak already. a single tank is a single.. doubles are doubles.......some are smaller. somer bigger

some make out some get screwed,
but i can tell ya. that dive shops not talkin about how much money there makin on air fills......

 

[mikswi]

My LDS charges $6 to fill any standard pressure AL80 or St72 (I know that's steep, but we are inland and one hour away from any competitors' dive shop).
Now, I have a nice set of steel 38 doubles, 1800 psi (76 cu ft total) on a manifold with a SINGLE YOKE. He charged me $3.50 per tank for a total of $7 for the fill.
I don't understand this, as they hold under 80 cu ft and only occupy one whip at the filling station. Independent doubles would be one thing- But this?! As an aside, I had to leave them for TWO DAYS before he finally got around to filling them as I walked in!
Does this sound right, or am I correct to be concerned?

(BTW I don't need remarks like "they can charge whatever they want". I already know and respect that.)

"He charged me $3.50 per tank for a total of $7 for the fill." OMG! Are you serious? Given the big picture and whats involved here, are you really crying over $7.00? For Doubles?!! WHAT other sport or hobby can you kill an afternoon for $7.00?!! I really think you need to reconsider your position here and stop micro-managing the expenses. If $7.00 is the difference between your making the mortgage or not, then your in the wrong spot/hobby.

 

[rab]

Im just gonna take a moment to chime in.
most of what im about to say has already been said.
The idea of charging by the cubic foot, its a nice theory, but is very inpractical,
the time it takes to figure it out alone isnt worth it. then ya get people who wanat a tank toped off and end up paying .60 for a fill.
the time alone it takes for a fill is the same ya still gotta go thru all the same steps,
the cubic foot thing really is only woth it when making mix. because the o2 and He cost money, and ontop of that they need to fill them with air. but more ofteen those prices are rounded off
Dive shops dont make anything on air fills.. as somone mentioned. between service filters, testing, plumbing.. if there making mix ya have alll that o2 cleaning.. banks that need hydro.. want a cheap fill then the owners probally cutting corners on the above mentioned.. u wanna breath that air.?
around here the average fill is 5 bucks some shops sell air cards.. making it about 4 bucks a fill 6 bucks a fill is not unherd of but like i said 5 bucks is average.
all the divers that are all upset about the cost of fills... the LDS owners have complaints too. there not making any money on it....if ya wanna count labor then you could figure there loosing money...
im sure if ya kindly ask about the fill they might knock that buck off the fee.
but also as somone mentiond they might figure there cuttin ya abreak already. a single tank is a single.. doubles are doubles.......some are smaller. somer bigger

some make out some get screwed,
but i can tell ya. that dive shops not talkin about how much money there makin on air fills......

Well, I guess you've never been down to Florida to see Fill Express. Most of thier business is from fills and all by the cubic feet (there is a minimum charge, but a top-off of less than some amount is FREE). AND they analyze every fill for its O2 content even if you're just getting air. (and they bank, Air, EAN32, EAN36, EAN40, and a couple of TriMix blends)

-Rob

 

[Atticus]

Just out of curiosity, what dive shop do you belong to ?

I teach for Adventure Scuba in Reno, Nevada. IIRC they charge $3 for an air fill in a single and $6 for an air fill in doubles.