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

[rx7diver]

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. ... I must be missing reasons that you all prefer to own your own tanks -- so fill me in! Is it because you really want a very specific tank material, size etc. and can't usually get them at the shop? ...

For me, owning is for the convenience (for impromptu local diving) and for specific tank characteristics. I can't rent an old-school 72 with a Y-valve attached. Or an OMS/Faber LP66 to use with my DH reg. Or manifolded OMS/Faber LP46 doubles to use with my DH reg when I need the additional gas. Or Faber LP50 baby doubles when I need the redundancy for deeper rec dives.

rx7diver

 

[Boarderguy]

“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.

Cave country

 

[AeroSpartacus]

“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.

Amigos in cave country is 24/7 self-service fills of EAN32, air, O2, and helium

 

[Jaan]

Because we can . lol.

Most places will rent an AL80 filled to 3,000

We have 3 sets of tanks now, less than many here. It took us a while to finally pull the trigger on getting our own but no regrets.

We love our steel tanks, as we carry much less weight and my wife and I now have different sizes to balance our consumption. We can also leave them to get them topped up to 3500 or so. And as others have said, we take good care of them (like our life depends on it).

In the same vein, we can barely justify having a car since Uber would probably cost less overall but it sure is a convenient luxury …

Wow .. self fill, I love it. Wish we had one close by.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Wow .. self fill, I love it. Wish we had one close by.

used to be a shop off Sample Rd and 95 called Fill Express. Banked 21, 32,36,40%, and charged by the PSI not per tank. Great for air sippers like me who might only use a half tank with my buddies almost sucking it dry.. Sadly they are long gone.

I LOVE my steel 80s. Perfect for a shorty like me. The AL80s are too long, I carry an additional 6lbs. Hard to rent steel.
I can dive whenever I want. Just load up the car and go. No waiting around for the LDS.
I dive a lot (but not as much as some folks who have posted in this thread!), and the cost of ownership is far lower than the cost of renting. And really, they don't take up much space. But if stored too close together they breed, and next thing ya know you have a tank farm!

 

[rx7diver]

For me, owning is ...

Adding to my earlier post, but different enough to warrant its own post, I think: I recently decided to repurpose one of my old, neglected Luxfer Al 40 Nitrox deco cylinders as a 100% oxygen cylinder for dive emergencies. Purchased an oxygen service scuba valve and a scuba-to-CGA570 adapter (for medical oxygen regulators) from DGX, And, last week drove two hours (!!) to St Louis to have the cylinder VIP'd, oxygen cleaned, stickered, and filled.

My calculations show that a full Al 40 will provide enough emergency oxygen, at a 15 lpm continuous flow rate, to last ~1.25 hours for a single "patient" or ~35 min for two "patients"--much longer than the small medical oxygen bottle that ships with a DAN scuba emergency oxygen kit.

The cylinder and adapter will travel with me to local dives and will remain unused (I hope) for a long time. Shouldn't have to have the cylinder serviced/filled for another few years (when its current hydro expires).

One more reason to own your own cylinders.

rx7diver

 

[landphil]

It’s a beautiful California heatwave day. So, I took off work early, packed up the tanks along with the rest of the gear and got a fun late afternoon beach dive in Monterey with my daughter. Finished just in time to get the tanks refilled for a Friday morning boat trip. Having the extra steps of arranging rentals and getting everything back on time makes it all more stressful; and we probably end up skipping an awesome dive.

Outside of boat dives and maybe Pt. Lobos, we almost never choose a date and plan to go diving. We always just assume that if it’s a day off and the conditions don’t suck, we’re going diving. Tanks are that one last piece of gear that lets us do that

 

[LI-er]

If the tanks will be provided by the dive charter then there really isn't much of a reason to bring your own tanks unless (for example) you want the longer bottom times provided with a larger steel tank such as a 120, and the boat only provides AL80. Some smaller charters- I can think of one in particular in Deerfield, Florida, doesn't provide tanks at all you have to rent them nearby and bring them to the boat.

When I do shore diving, or dived off my own boat, I had my own tanks, 4 in total. Always filled and ready to go, that way I didn't have to drive a distance to rent tanks if I felt like splashing on a whim, and I also didn't have to rush back there to return them after the dive.

So for me, it's a combination of convenience, longer dives, and sometimes no other choice.

 

[Cthippo]

For me it comes down to being as independent of the dive shop as possible.

There are reasons such as it being a 45 minute drive each way to get fills etc, but at the end of the day it's mostly down to minimizing tje number of people between me and getting in the water.

 

[lexvil]

It’s a beautiful California heatwave day. So, I took off work early, packed up the tanks along with the rest of the gear and got a fun late afternoon beach dive in Monterey with my daughter. Finished just in time to get the tanks refilled for a Friday morning boat trip. Having the extra steps of arranging rentals and getting everything back on time makes it all more stressful; and we probably end up skipping an awesome dive.

Outside of boat dives and maybe Pt. Lobos, we almost never choose a date and plan to go diving. We always just assume that if it’s a day off and the conditions don’t suck, we’re going diving. Tanks are that one last piece of gear that lets us do that

108° at home, now at 0145 it’s 79°, projected hi in Monterey today 68° it should be a good dive day. When I get home to rinse my gear I’m guessing a very short dry time.