Used gear and Diving Locations Questions

[kf4zht]

I got my OW certification through college last year and now am in the Advance OW class (Covers nitrox, deep, photo/video, nav, computers, night and a couple other topics) I have been on the class dives and have more at forty fathoms grotto and Ginnie Springs in a couple weeks, but other than that have not gone on any other trips.

Looking at dive trips it looks like most are at least $200 + travel and food. For a college student that is hard to get money up for. I see alot of people talk about diving in random lakes and areas, is it worth it to go with a buddy and dive some of the local public lakes for cheap diving? Are there any special precautions I need to take other than having a buddy if diving lakes/rivers (ex having a buoy).

Second is on gear. I just bought a used Tusa Imprex Pro BC with the Tusa octo/inflator combo, a scubapro first and second stage, gauges and a aladin pro computer. I got it for $600 from a shop inculding a rebuild/check on everything so it's current. I think I got a good deal, and I'm happy with it. Now I need to get at least a wetsuit and tank. Are there any problems with buying a used wetsuit or a tank (if I can find one, wetsuits are more common)? Any other gear I should avoid buying used?

Thanks in advance

 

[rstofer]

Wetsuits lose some of their insulation ability over time. Check for signs of obvious damage and decide accordingly. Since a new Edge farmer john style suit, brand new, is only $169, it may not be worth buying used. Unless you get it VERY cheap. I just bought one for my grandson last week. Now, the hood and gloves are additional but they are what they are (about $40 each but there are cheaper).

As to the tank: check that it is current inside a 5 year hydro requirement. If it is a Luxfer aluminum tank, make sure it has a manufacturing date newer than 1988 when they changed alloy. It is my understanding that my early '88 tank will require eddy current testing on the next hydro and that the cost will be more than 1/2 the cost of a new tank. Check for the Visual Inspection tag on any tank. When was the last time it was evaluated? Has it been cleaned for Nitrox? Is there a Nitrox tag on the tank? Regardless, I would have a new Visual Inspection and cleaning. See if you can 'borrow' the tank long enough for an inspection. Better yet, get the seller to get a NEW visual inspection. It's cheap (or free).

A new 80 CF aluminum tank is about $140 and a new steel HP 100 tank is about $300 (YMMV). The aluminum tank will probably last more than 20 years and the steel more than 40. There are other reasons to choose steel over aluminum (or not), search the forums.

Richard

 

[Damselfish]

Local lakes and whatever - some may be interesting dives, some are just places to get wet and practice, and some may have hazards. There may be places where diving isn't allowed. The only way to find out diving any particular place is to find local people who know through school, a local dive club, on the net, etc.

 

[fisheater]

I second that advice:

Join a dive club and learn from local divers.

 

[NudeDiver]

I would avoid buying a tank for a while and just rent one with air when you need it. If you go out diving somewhere, you're probably going to want to make at least two dives. Unless you happen to be near a fill station, you'll need two tanks. Buying one tank may be reasonable for a new diver - but two is getting up there - esp. when you consider the maintenance requirements.

 

[Damselfish]

If you dive enough owning your own tanks (yes, you'll probably find you want 2 most of the time) can save you money but you have to do the math. Look at purchase price for tanks, price of fills, price to rent, how often you will dive, and do the math. You might find that renting a tank does not cost much more than just an airfill so it takes a fair number of dives to break even. Remember that you have to pay for annual inspection and hydro every 5 years too - sooner if you get a used tank with less time to the next hydro.

A lot of the advantage of owning tanks is the convenience, plus the ability to get tank types and sizes not usually rented. You still need to get someplace for fills, but you can do it when convenient and not worry about picking up and dropping off for a daily rental. You may dive more with your own tanks, but the convenience might not be a priority for a student short on cash. (Plus being a student, are you in the same area for the summer and if not what will you do with them, do you drive or do you fly someplace?)
make you nervous.

 

[NudeDiver]

A lot of the advantage of owning tanks is the convenience, plus the ability to get tank types and sizes not usually rented. You still need to get someplace for fills, but you can do it when convenient and not worry about picking up and dropping off for a daily rental. You may dive more with your own tanks, but the convenience might not be a priority for a student short on cash. (Plus being a student, are you in the same area for the summer and if not what will you do with them, do you drive or do you fly someplace?)make you nervous.

I agree that unless you dive a LOT, the advantage of owning tanks is probably not cheaper cost. For me, it's mostly about the convenience. I want to own my own tanks SOOOOOO badly. I could keep them available, filled up and ready to go - so that when it is time to go, I'm ready to go. I recently bought 48 pounds of used lead at $2/pound (enough to dive with, plus some extras in case I lose some, a buddy needs some, etc.), which puts me one step closer. Now I just need tanks.

However, when I go diving, it's for a weekend, so I need at least four tanks. If I can't own at least four of them, then owning isn't going to do me any good. If my wife is going diving, then I need eight. Owning 8 tanks is significant cost. Nevertheless, when I can manage to buy four of them at once, I'll buy four. Of course, given that I'll be using them with a drysuit, I want steel tanks - which drives the cost up even more. So for now, I'm stuck renting ):

 

[kf4zht]

The main reason I was going to get a tank is that I am a volunteer firefighter and have access to a cascade system and compressor, so I can refill my tank myself. Otherwise it is a hour and a half drive to the nearest dive shop each way. I can easily justify the cost of a tank when you add in fuel costs.

There are a few places around here that might be decent, I do know there is one private lake where a guy sunk a school bus for divers, I know a few people connected to him, going to see if I can dive that one day. I don't know of a local club, just a few people from the area.

 

[Garrobo]

Any time you rent a tank or other gear, it is used. Some well used. Go to Ebay and look for what you need. Usually you can buy several wetsuits or BCDs for the price of one new one and many of them are hardly used or new. If what you buy doesn't fit, put it back on Ebay. All you'll probably lose is shipping costs. Everything that I have resold on Ebay went for more than I initially paid for it. My first set of regs were some old Dacor XLE's which were in such good shape that the reg man only had to clean them. Since then I have bought new but my first gear is still waiting for something to go wrong with the plastic.

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

get your own tanks ... its a no brainer since you have access to free CLEAN air and live too far from the shop. but as someone noted earlier, it needs a recent hydro stamp in the metal as well as a vip that is current (less than 12 months old

what kind of temperature are you planning on diving there? that will play a role in wetsuit decisions.

where are you? there are different approaches to take
with wetsuits, boots, and gloves.

for instance, if you are near a golf course, you can dive their lakes for golf balls and sell them back to hacks, making money at the same time to pay for your gear.