Explain to me why you own your own tank(s)

[Boarderguy]

If I buy tanks, I still have to bring them to the LDS to fill them (and then I need to wait for them to fill them), so I save one trip to the LDS, but then I need to add regular inspections.

Only kinda. I never wait for my tanks to be filled. I bring them in and tell them I'll be back in a few days to get them. I've had tanks sit in their shop for 3+ weeks because I was too busy to dive and the weather was never terrible enough to drive my truck to work. My LDS is 12 minutes from my office so I go during lunch when I drive my truck.

Inspections are once per year @ ~$20 per tank.
The hydro runs $45 and includes a VIP.
Fills are $6.30 when you buy a fill card on sale or $9 regular price.
Rentals are $20 per tank, per day.

If I want to go diving I need to pick up the tanks between 1000 - 1800 which isn't convenient to me. I then have to return them in the same time frame within 24 hours. I also pay a rental even if I don't use one of the tanks I rented.

With my own tanks I pay less per use by ~$15 per tank. I can go when I want to regardless of shop hours. If I don't feel like diving after getting to a site I'm less likely to splash because I don't have $ invested in that specific dive day beyond fuel. I can clean my regs correctly under pressure of a tank.

 

[Still Kicking]

Inspections are once per year @ ~$20 per tank.
The hydro runs $45 and includes a VIP.
Fills are $6.30 when you buy a fill card on sale or $9 regular price.
Rentals are $20 per tank, per day.

Wow those prices are almost twice what my local charges.

 

[scubadada]

I live in Philadelphia and have a townhouse just north of Boynton Beach in Palm Bch County. I have been coming down for week or slightly longer visits for 12 years. I dive in Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and Palm Beach. I often do 4 dives per day and generally dive every day I can during my visit. I have very good gas consumption and can do all of my dives with an AL80.

If I used my own tanks, I would probably need at least 8 and would be schlepping them back and forth to get filled the whole time during my visits. I have better things to do rather than dealing with tanks. I rent AL80s from all my operators and spend my off time relaxing before the next dives.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I don't get why I'd want to own my own tank(s). There has to be a reason, but I'm failing to see it. ... What is your reason?

Because something has to fill up all that space under the new garage scuba shelf.

Fills are free for club members.
VIPs are free (bought stickers online so that's a small cost).
Hydrotests cost $24.
Used bottles can be found online locally between $50-75 if negotiated right.
DGX - brand new pro valves can be found for $25 if you pay attention.
AL S-80s, S-40s, S-30s, S-19s, S-17s (my favorite pony size), S-14, S-13s, S-6s.
I enjoy futzing around with tanks.
Can bounce out to Scuba Ranch any time I find time (Well, Fri-Sun) or Wheeler Branch Park (any time).
Got rid of a couple of shop compressors and just used a couple of bottles instead.

 

[thomschoon]

I find it is easier as I can just load and go and don’t have to rush back to meet a rental deadline. I have HP100’s, HP120’s, and an AL80 for in the pool. After a dive I drop at ofs and pickup when convenient as I have others to use if needed.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

those people who are on the slippery slope toward sacrificing all their free time, garage space and disposable income to the gods of scuba.

We know who we are.

You had to drag me into the argument?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

In addition to what everyone else said, renting vs owning tanks is one of the dividing lines between those people who like to go for a dive on occasion when the opportunity presents itself and those people who are on the slippery slope toward sacrificing all their free time, garage space and disposable income to the gods of scuba.

We know who we are.

In your slippery slope list you forgot divorce rates and associated gear addiction problems.
And no, once gear hoarding starts you can’t quit anytime you want.
That’s fake news.
I thought I was over it and just a few days ago found a steel 72 that needs to be rescued, and I’m fighting the urge with every fiber of my being not to jump on it like a tarantula on a bug.
I also have a BFK (a really old cool one) that someone gave me and it needs to have some TIG welding done on it to replace a threaded end thingy that broke off. I spent hours carefully getting the old broken bolt out of the butt end metal piece, I was successful! So now I need to go locate a special 316 1/4” x 28 bolt to make a new thread-on. What sane person does this!??
What is my gas and time worth?
See, this is where it becomes a problem.
I’ll post pics of the restored BFK when it’s done.

 

[Rilelen]

I dive 3-4 times a week; owning saves at least four trips to the dive shop each week (fills only, instead of pick up and drop off). Plus I can go to the shop when it suits my schedule instead of having to make two trips within a specific 24-hour period to avoid multi-day rental charges.

It’s also logistically simpler - if I want to meet buddies for a dive at 8am, and the dive site is two hours away, I would need to drive to the shop before 6pm the day before to get tanks. If I have my own tanks, I can drop by the self-service fill station at 6:30am on the way to the site.

Finally, I can set up tanks the way I want - stage rigging, sidemount bands, etc. Much easier than having to adjust it all every single time I dive.

I can also reuse half-used tanks, and do so routinely; it’s rare for me to use more than half an AL80 on an hour-long recreational dive. And topping off with nitrox (or O2) by the cf saves a lot of money over full rental + fills, over the long run.

For instance: I recently bought an AL40 for a deco tank. I did the math - ten rentals was the same as purchasing a used AL40. I do at least that many deco dives a month. Easy math.

 

[Bubblesong]

Changeable Weather and conditions drove me to buy five tanks; if I rented, i call and reserve, and i have to hope they have the tanks I want, because on nice days everybody lines up to get tanks. So I have to get the rental then drive to my shore dive and then find out Conditions have changed and I’m blown out. So i either ask if i can pay for more days, or return unused, and the stress of this just took the fun out of it. Now If all conditions are right, i load up and get to the beach, and only dive safe conditions, no temptation to risk bad entry due to sunk cost of rental.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If I have my own tanks, I can drop by the self-service fill station at 6:30am on the way to the site.

“If I have my own tanks, I can drop by the *self-service* fill station at 6:30am on the way to the site.”
What??
Where is this that you have access to fill your own tanks?
Tell me more.