vicmac
Registered
Hi, forgive me if this has been asked before, i have just joined Scubaboard and not read many posts yet. i was wondering if someone could tell me how to fill your tanks at home and what type of compressor you need. Cheers! Victoria 
what sort of compressor do you need to fill your own tanks
- Thread starter vicmac
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
One that will pump breathing air to at least 3000 psi. SO the one in the garage won't do. Figure on spending between $1500 on up US for a used one if you are lucky or min $3000 for a new one.
bracko
Contributor
how much are fills in the US?
$10?
300 fills just to get your money back + maintenance... or I suppose 150 assuming you dive eith a buddy, but are you seriously going to charge your buddy the same price as a dive store?
$10?
300 fills just to get your money back + maintenance... or I suppose 150 assuming you dive eith a buddy, but are you seriously going to charge your buddy the same price as a dive store?
There are a lot more puts and takes.
Filters don't come cheap and have a real impact on home costs. Power and other maintenance are also factors.
A basic set-up is 1 whip & no banks so it's pump 1 as you go. That's not usually an issue for light home use.
Logistics or the desire to home blend usually tips the scales. If my commute didn't have me close to shops I'd consider investing.
I'm paying <$4.00 with a 50 fill card. so it's a hard sell.
I'll agree with the $3000 for openers new. Auto-drain and a few other accessories can add up to more fast.
Pete
Mike Boswell
Contributor
I have looked into compressors several times, and the best deals I found were in the $3,200 range for the basic compressor. Add the misc stuff, shipping, setup, and taxes and I figure I'd be close to $4,000.00
I pay $5.00 per fill so it would take me 800 tank fills to break even on the purchase price, and more than that if you add the costs of filters, maintenance and power usage.
On the other hand, I have to drive to the LDS to get my tanks filled, and that takes an hour of my time and a gallon of fuel, about once a week.
I pay $5.00 per fill so it would take me 800 tank fills to break even on the purchase price, and more than that if you add the costs of filters, maintenance and power usage.
On the other hand, I have to drive to the LDS to get my tanks filled, and that takes an hour of my time and a gallon of fuel, about once a week.
Last edited:
I have a five year old unused fill card swallowed by a dash vent in a car swallowed by bog that is swallowed by a paddock one thousand miles away. Thanks for reminding me to phone the shop. Do you reckon you could find it for me bracko? It's in NSW. I'll go ya halves.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but commercial compressors, those suitable for Dive shops should fill an AL80 in no more than 15 minutes (I guess, or this is what I've seen in the LDS).
A diver with their own tanks (2 tanks for a dive day) could fill each tank in a day, there is no need to have such a huge compressor for home use. A small electrical compressor with high pressure and very low volume.
Besides, filters for low volume could be cheap and be replaced at very large periods of time (# of tanks filled).
I guess that there is nothing like this. Perhaps this is a commercial opportunity.
I'm not thinking of buying my own tanks, but if such a device is ever built, the situation should be quite different.
A diver with their own tanks (2 tanks for a dive day) could fill each tank in a day, there is no need to have such a huge compressor for home use. A small electrical compressor with high pressure and very low volume.
Besides, filters for low volume could be cheap and be replaced at very large periods of time (# of tanks filled).
I guess that there is nothing like this. Perhaps this is a commercial opportunity.
I'm not thinking of buying my own tanks, but if such a device is ever built, the situation should be quite different.
Potapko
Contributor
I have been weighing the options for a long time and finally decided to take the plunge and buy a compressor. It really is not about price for the casual diver, it is about availability. I wanted to dive over the weekend a little while back but couldn't because my tanks were empty. I realize I will never get my money out of a compressor but then I'll never get any financial return from my other dive equipment. I buy it to use. Eventually most of it wears out and then you buy it again. 
Why treat a compressor any different?
Why treat a compressor any different?
elmer fudd
Contributor
Actually, there are compressors like this. They're intended for precharged airguns and paintball tanks and they'll go to 3000 psi. The problem for scuba applications is that they don't deliver the same quality of air and the cheapest ones weren't intended to charge an 80 cf tank. Your typical paintball bottle is about 6 cf and the reservoir of a precharged airgun might be 3 cf.
Similar threads
