How much extra would you pay to rent a 100cf tank vs an 80cf tank?

[under water]

I doubt it, that would mean disappointing the rest of the boat that was planning on doing those dives. There are some ops that will do 2 shallower dives on a morning boat instead of deep-shallow, those those tend to be larger ops with multiple boats. Like I know Sunset House does that. (Who are you diving with? - hmm, I'm guessing Divetech?) If they are concerned at all, which I doubt, they would probably suggest hanging near the top of the wall.

Hi Neighbor..
Yep.. it's Divetech and I too doubt that they will alter their wall plans when they find out they have a NAUI OW diver on-board (OMG)ityparty:.
I haven't mentioned them because I hear they are a good operator and I don't want to judge them overall on this one issue. We did end up booking at CC. Hope the seas on the North are flat in April.
We'll do what we feel is the right depth for us. To be honest, my wife/buddy is the more conservative so she will likely be reluctant to go below 70-80 and of course I will be a good buddy and respect her wishes.
I took the 100's off of the order, but I'll talk to the owner when I get there about their policies. I understand she lives at CC.

 

[scarefaceDM]

..Bitchout...um..no. More concern than anything else.

His C card states Naui OW. Nitrox TD and Drysuit PADI. Checked profile..

More of an air of concern than anythign else.

So back away from the keyboard and pop open a few beers dude..I got the salsa and chips...

I didn't see any certification level posted, and from his website, he seems to be experienced in cold as well as warm water. The guy knows his limits, knows his SAC rate is a little higher than his usual buddy's, and doesn't want to spoil his buddy's dive. He is only asking if 15$ is reasonable, not for a bitchout about his finances or his diving ability.

 

[stu_in_fl]

why not e-mail the operator (if you've not already done so) - perhaps its just a mistake on their website...seems like far too many $ if it is in fact $15/tank to simply upgrade from an 80 a 100....(but then again I've never been to the Caymans - maybe it's just ridiculously expensive there)

 

[Damselfish]

well, no one ever claimed Cayman was cheap :14:

 

[under water]

why not e-mail the operator (if you've not already done so) - perhaps its just a mistake on their website...seems like far too many $ if it is in fact $15/tank to simply upgrade from an 80 a 100....(but then again I've never been to the Caymans - maybe it's just ridiculously expensive there)

Thanks Stu.. apparently not a mistake on the website. I did the email thing with the operator. They did not engage in justification of why it was so expensive, just "thank you for diving with us, we will put you down for 80's" or something like that. Probably a wise strategy on their part.
Yes, it apparently is very expensive there, but 75 cents per cubic foot for extra compressed air seems like a new level of luxury.

 

[Doc]

Some great posts so far. And Frank- your responses are a welcome thing in the SB "ask and scoot" environment.

Seriously, though, instead of paying these absurd prices, throw down for am instructor and talk to them about your air consumption.

A one time investment of $75 for a quick class will eliminate your need for these larger tanks.

Your instructor, after speaking with you, will look over your dive rig and how you wear it- then they will recommend changes before taking you diving. As you dive, they may run you though some drills and then just watch your style.

I'll wager you'll be getting past this pretty quickly. As your SCUBABoard "dive count" is at 50-99, I wouldn't agonize. At the same time, you may not realize the benefit of revisiting the instructional arena.

Don't throw your money away.

 

[Chugger]

The LDS here in Guam charges $5.00 for 80's, $6.00 for 100's and don't charge any less for 67's. They deliver to the boat for free. Guam isn't exactly a dive resort though, so this probably isn't the best example.

 

[jim T.]

I dove the Bonne Terre Mine (in Missouri) and although I can't recall the exact additional amount I think it was near $18 more for a 100 for 3 dives. Because there were several long swim throughs (about 40-50 feet) a hard overhead environment I'd never seen, I opted for the 100s.

I've dived twice off of Grand Cayman (it's going to be awesome). Most of the boats wanted folks back in 45 minutes.
It wasn't unusual at all for the whole group following a DM to go to 70-80ft and there was a lot to see there. I would think that the 80s would be fine. There are always once a year vacation divers on these boats who go through their tank/dive in less than 40 minutes so at least you woudn't likely be alone in that regard. Only about a third of the dive time was spent at those depths on my group's dives.

As you probably know, the water is so clear there, that you'd still see a lot from 60fsw or less though. You can often see a half dollar coin on the bottom and be able to not only tell what it is but if it's "heads or tails" from the boat!

If it's possible to not commit to 100s right away and change your mind after the lst couple of dives, that may be your best option money wise. If you'd rather relax and take some of the worry out of your dives it may be worth it to start with the 100s and then go to 80s once you're used to the boat's operations, dress stress, etc. Some compromise options to consider, maybe?

Just remember that at 80' your air will go a lot faster than you may be used to and it's easy to get deeper and be a bit more complacent initially than you think you are if you're not used to 100 to 200ft viz and warm comfy water.

If it helps you any, when I took up diving after a 20 year absence from the sport, I did my very lst dives off of Grand Cayman and I was an air hog, nevous, and constantly checking my rental gear and an alum.80 still got me back to the up line with everyone else, (35-45 min.) for the most part including a safety stop .

 

[tedtim]

The LDS here in Guam charges $5.00 for 80's, $6.00 for 100's and don't charge any less for 67's. They deliver to the boat for free. Guam isn't exactly a dive resort though, so this probably isn't the best example.

Typical. So, the question is just how much more effort is it to provide a 100cf over an 80 cf. I guess that whoever charges more for a 100 cf tank sees this as a premium. A buck is not much, but $15 is a bit steep IMNSHO.

As for additional cost to service and maintain a 100 cf, I would have to raise the BS flag on this, even if it is comparing aluminium to steel. Heck, with the amount of times the tanks are cycled at most resorts the difference amounts to pennies on a dive.

 

[Wookie]

As for additional cost to service and maintain a 100 cf, I would have to raise the BS flag on this, even if it is comparing aluminium to steel. Heck, with the amount of times the tanks are cycled at most resorts the difference amounts to pennies on a dive.

..and how many of each have you bought and put into rental...?