Tanks?

[rligon]

I followed the same schedule as N2DeepInAz. We dive several times a month, but I was finding myself renting tanks and then not going, or waking up Sunday and really wanting to dive but with no way to get tanks. Make sure and let your LDS know you are interested in tanks, we ended up with a pair that had been used twice for a pretty good discount. My trigger point was when we were diving enough that the difference in rentals ($8) vs refills ($5) was enough to pay for the tanks in 2 years.

 

[overkillphil]

5 times a year, I wouldn't bother buying. Just rent. Now if you start going 50+ a year, by all means buy tanks..

 

[The Chairman]

I am asking myself would it be worth the money to not have to be on a LDS schedule?

I never discourage anyone from buying gear and that goes here. I would suggest that you have all your other gear purchased first. After all, you will have to get them filled SOMEPLACE, so you are still at someone's mercy for that.

 

[AzAtty]

I do live in Birmingham. I graduate from Samford in May. I start law school in Tuscaloosa next fall. I'm torn over the tank situation because my schedule is just so busy. I am asking myself would it be worth the money to not have to be on a LDS schedule?

I do plan on diving at least five times a year either at Vortex or Blue Water in Pelham.

You should never allow yourself to be too busy to dive. When I was in law school, there were a few days I blew off class in favor of spending the day mountain biking in Sedona. Trust me, your contracts professor will still be there droning on about consideration and promissory estoppel when you return. And you'll be a much happier person.

Unless you're doing a single dive, you'll probably need multiple tanks. That means dropping more bucks for the purchase or renting. For five trips a year, you can plan sufficiently in advance to rent the tanks (and if you can't calendar that far in advance, you have no business being a lawyer, because you live and die by the calendar ).

I like having my own tanks, but every time I prepare for a dive I need to sort through them to determine how much gas I have, what mix I have on hand, and whether I should look fashionable with a nifty purple tank or go with the old shot blasted aluminum look. Tragic.

 

[OldNSalty]

I do live in Birmingham. I graduate from Samford in May. I start law school in Tuscaloosa next fall. I'm torn over the tank situation because my schedule is just so busy. I am asking myself would it be worth the money to not have to be on a LDS schedule?

I do plan on diving at least five times a year either at Vortex or Blue Water in Pelham.

Samford is a good school but you should've gone to Mercer

Serious, congrads on getting into law school and all.

I would still rent for a bit or buy used. Old steel 72's can be had at a good price.

Just curious, why travel all the way down here to dive at Vortex when you'll be so close to true blue water? There are many good charters going out of Destin/PCB and many DM willing to help you out if its a comfort issue.

 

[Jupiter31]

I am finally cleared after an accident to finish my certification. My certification instructor has told me what I need to do to finish. Woohoo! My question is this: I have a friend that is telling me to buy my tanks.

Is it better to purchase your own tanks or rent them for the day at the dive location (ie Vortex?)

RENT

I would definitely rent the tanks for a check out dive. I don't know the rates at Vortex but it should be less than $20 for Alum 80 rental and a fill or 2.

Save your money on tanks now, soon you will have so much more "stuff" that you will want to buy!

Yup - remember, there is a cost for the fill when you own your own tanks - and I wound not recommend Al tanks for the vast majority of divers - to me steel makes much more sense

Agreed, tanks are nice but should be one of the last things purchased. I see you live in Birmingham, how often do you think you are going to dive in a year?

Still, if you decide you need to buy, there are good deals on craigslist if you are patient.

I do live in Birmingham. I graduate from Samford in May. I start law school in Tuscaloosa next fall. I'm torn over the tank situation because my schedule is just so busy. I am asking myself would it be worth the money to not have to be on a LDS schedule?

I do plan on diving at least five times a year either at Vortex or Blue Water in Pelham.

You may have answered your own question - rent!

There are things I've been looking at I want to buy. A few of my friends are thinking about getting certified so we are looking at the wireless systems for when we all dive together.

Have you priced these systems? Tanks will seem real cheap - this is the 2nd to last piece of eq you need - after tanks, of course

Rent----for a while........After (maybe) a year, you can buy------IMO

Maybe - or never - I've owned my own for 30 years b/c we dive locally, and often from our own boat - but if I did not, and dove locally 5 or 10 times a year - and was a new diver and entering law school to boot (my wife graduated law school and to say its a time commitment is an understatement) - I'd never buy them - why? So you are not at the mercy of the dive shop - you still need them serviced and you still need them filled

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

simple rule for me on tanks, if you are going to dive locally, buy them, they pay for themselves pretty quick (some shops offer fill cards when you buy a tank which pays them off almost immediately compared to renting). The convenience noted earlier is also big, being able to decide in the morning to go dive and not having to work around the dive shops hours. If not, you are not likely to schlep tanks on a plane so no need to buy them.

 

[Web Monkey]

I am finally cleared after an accident to finish my certification. My certification instructor has told me what I need to do to finish. Woohoo! My question is this: I have a friend that is telling me to buy my tanks.

Is it better to purchase your own tanks or rent them for the day at the dive location (ie Vortex?)

You'll have a really hard time justifying a tank purchase financially, since it could take years to recover the cost.

The real advantage to owning tanks is that you can dive anytime you're in the mood. If your buddy stops by Sunday morning and you guys feel like diving, just toss your stuff in the car and go. If you rent tanks, you need to think about it far enough ahead to rent, then make a trip back to drop them off at the shop before getting charged for an extra day.

I bought my tanks right after my regs.

Terry

 

[stargost]

If you dive local, you'll end up buying tank pretty fast, like all the other gear, as it is too painful to go to the dive shop, get to the place, come back, etc ... Tank is just part of the rest. If you rent some equipment as standard practise, then rent tank, if you have everything else, you won't last before jumping for the tank...

However, the next questions are:
- which one !? (size, HP, LP, AL, stell ...)
- how many ... when you dive local, and want to do 2 dives, but the filling station is not close, then having 2 tanks is convenient.

And then, once you buy these 2 tanks ... you'll come back with something else you are wondering whether to buy or not !
-

 

[sdorn]

I don't know about Vortex, but I have been to Pelham and you can rent steel tanks from them for like $8 (check their website to confirm). It is really easy when you get there to just rent from them, and based on your location and the fact that you are entering law school, I have a feeling that you'll be diving Pelham way more than anywhere else. It is a pretty nice place, too.

I finished law school in 2006 while working a full time job (45 to 50 hours a week) and going to school at night (10 to 12 hours of classes per semester). I did it in just four years, so you can make time for diving if you really want to.

I will say that law school isn't the best of ideas right now if you have any ambitions of working for a law firm. Because of the fact that law firms have been doing lots of layoffs and not hiring many new lawyers out of law school for the past two years, there is a huge glut of unemployed lawyers (with great credentials) out there saturating the market. I would not want to be a new law school graduate looking for a job anytime in the next five years.

Good luck with law school and diving!