Tanks?? New/Used or Rent???? Which is better?

[Dive-aholic]

Tell me about it!

Actually, the LDSs I use on a regular basis are in other states. I have a compressor at home and sometimes get fills hear the lake 3 hours away, but my purchases occur online or during my travels.

 

[GA Under Water]

I have a pretty good Setup. The place I usually go diving locally has a Shop/compressor/Nitrox/rentals all within 100 feet of the water. Tell ya something, it really makes the weekend "just get wet" dives easy.

 

[CompuDude]

I have a pretty good Setup. The place I usually go diving locally has a Shop/compressor/Nitrox/rentals all within 100 feet of the water. Tell ya something, it really makes the weekend "just get wet" dives easy.

I still prefer to have my tanks filled and ready to go, so unless you fill up on the way out, you have to wait to have tanks filled before you can dive, negating some of the benefit of owning your own tanks.

To the OP, if you're diving in California as your avatar suggests, you might want to consider steel vs. aluminum tanks, as the buoyancy characteristics are a LOT better for cold water diving. The costs go up, but so do the intangible benefits. And used steel tanks carry their value a lot better than used aluminum tanks. It's hard (tho not impossible, here in Cali) to find places that rent steel tanks, so that's definitely an argument in favor of owning steel tanks.

Owning my own tanks (and all my other gear) and no longer having to hassle with pickups and returning tanks to the LDS everytime I want to dive has made a HUGE difference in the frequency of my diving. If I have the time and inclination to dive, I just grab my gear and head to the water, no waiting, no hassle. I refill my tanks during the work week by dropping them off at a LDS nearby on my lunch break, and pick them up the next day, then I'm all ready to go again whenever I want.

 

[meesier42]

I have 2 tanks already, paid $40 for each of them, then another $40 to get them Hydro'd, VIP'd, and filled with NITROX. Figure you can buy a used AL80 with recent Hydro and VIP for under $100. If the VIP or Hydro is old or expired then subtract the cost of getting those done and that's the MAX you should pay for the tank.

 

[Tortuga James]

Tell me about it!

Actually, the LDSs I use on a regular basis are in other states. I have a compressor at home and sometimes get fills hear the lake 3 hours away, but my purchases occur online or during my travels.

At what distance does an LDS become a LDDS?

I feel very fortunate that I can pull up to my LDS's dock and walk in the shop to get tanks.

 

[namabiru]

Yeah, I would buy if I were sure I was going to still be in the States after graduation. Or at least going to remain in sunny Arizona. Of course, I don't even have reg/BCD yet, so what's the point of being able to go dive on a whim...

But yeah, I knew from the beginning that it would be more profitable to invest in my own tanks. New ones really *aren't* that expensive. I even looked on Amazon at the sports equipment when I was living in Japan and saw prices of $100 or so for AL-80's. Yeah, you'd have shipping. But I'm guessing if you formed a relationship with a LDS and could buy both at once you just *might* get a nice deal for buying in quantity. Or maybe they'd give you a courtesy first-fill on them. Or something.