shogan
Contributor
Ok I'm not looking to fill 10 tanks in an hour 1 tank an hour would be fine. So is there an inexpesive to build or buy scuba compressor/filtration.
Is there an inexpensive compressor
- Thread starter shogan
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captain
Contributor
Define your inexpensive.
Compressor inexpensive starts around $1500 if you get lucky with a used one.
Compressor inexpensive starts around $1500 if you get lucky with a used one.
is this to save money on air or for convenience? if it's to save money than unless you pay an outrageous price per tank or have to drive a lot to get it than don't go for it - it will end up not justifying the price, especially if you need so little that babysitting a tank for an hour is not an issue. if it's for convenience than you need to evaluate how much are you willing to pay foor that convenience.
i am not trying to discourage you, i have a small unit as well (about 3.5cfm).
if you are looking to buy something keep an eye on craigslist and ebay, sometimes you can get a good deal. for building you can also keep an eye on surplus military units. have a look at compressor group on yahoo.com, there's plenty of info in there. also, consider the pressure you need, with 2200-3000 psi you can get away with a small stewart warner driven on 12V DC (about 70amps i think). if you need 3500 psi you need something more able.
building getss expensive really fast - parts are not cheap and not allways easily available. I would say with a bit of luck you can get suitable unit for 1500-2000.
first you need to decide exactly how much this is worth to you, after that i bet there's enough people in here willing to help you make the best choice.
i am not trying to discourage you, i have a small unit as well (about 3.5cfm).
if you are looking to buy something keep an eye on craigslist and ebay, sometimes you can get a good deal. for building you can also keep an eye on surplus military units. have a look at compressor group on yahoo.com, there's plenty of info in there. also, consider the pressure you need, with 2200-3000 psi you can get away with a small stewart warner driven on 12V DC (about 70amps i think). if you need 3500 psi you need something more able.
building getss expensive really fast - parts are not cheap and not allways easily available. I would say with a bit of luck you can get suitable unit for 1500-2000.
first you need to decide exactly how much this is worth to you, after that i bet there's enough people in here willing to help you make the best choice.
if you are lucky you might be able to pick up a "flamethrower unit" on govliquidation.com. the issue is that the filtration alone will be upwards of 300. add a fill whip for 120 and things start adding up.
unless you are willing to put at lest 1200-1300 into it plus add some later i would recommend to stop wasting time or start praying for some extra luck.
It's strictly about not having air at the lake I"m going to. The dive shop owner that was on site on the lake retired. The docking facility still has the air system on site but stated they will have issues with having personel on hand to fill. So I forsee an issue of not being able to get air and with no one really in charge I will be very concerned about the quality of air.
But at $1500 for a personel unit I will just plan on taking 4 tanks down and my daughter and I will just get 2 dives a weekend unless refill is possible.
I have access to an operating commerical building/boat storage sitting next to a state park on the lake and if the air on the lake does dry up I'm contemplating the possibility of having a system put in place though at the costs to buy I"m not certain it would even pay for itself and generate any revenue.
Are there any companies leasing these and charging a per fill basis like copier companies? Just brain storming her.
But at $1500 for a personel unit I will just plan on taking 4 tanks down and my daughter and I will just get 2 dives a weekend unless refill is possible.
I have access to an operating commerical building/boat storage sitting next to a state park on the lake and if the air on the lake does dry up I'm contemplating the possibility of having a system put in place though at the costs to buy I"m not certain it would even pay for itself and generate any revenue.
Are there any companies leasing these and charging a per fill basis like copier companies? Just brain storming her.
I just wanted to say cheap compressors do exist, you just have to hunt for them, and not expect them to show up on your timeline. I have bought 2 compressors very cheap in the last few years, one was a 30 year old 3.2 CFM Bauer Purus that came to me 3rd hand through ebay after spending most of its life a small fire station (rebuilt in the late '90s), cost $250 plus 500 miles of driving each way on short notice to pick up. The second deal was on a 15 CFM Diesel powered Davey 2MC1A compressor from government liquidation for a bit over $300 plus pick up expense 200 miles away, this particular Davey was not set up for breathing air, so I have spent another $700 or so fixing it up, adding fill whips, CO monitor, etc.
Ike
p.s. don't expect to make money on air fills, at least not enough to matter, once you add cost of filtration, electricity, depreciation/repair, labor, insurance, air testing, etc. most dive shops barely break even on air. Then you will have people with expired visual stickers showing up, you will need to get set up to do VIP+ testing, and all the money that goes into it, then people will want to rent tanks, and pretty soon your a dive shop. Also as you can tell people will only pay so much for a tank fill before they start thinking about buying their own compressor.
Ike
p.s. don't expect to make money on air fills, at least not enough to matter, once you add cost of filtration, electricity, depreciation/repair, labor, insurance, air testing, etc. most dive shops barely break even on air. Then you will have people with expired visual stickers showing up, you will need to get set up to do VIP+ testing, and all the money that goes into it, then people will want to rent tanks, and pretty soon your a dive shop. Also as you can tell people will only pay so much for a tank fill before they start thinking about buying their own compressor.
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