When should one think about owning a compressor?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

How about just having a bunch of tanks and haul in with a trailer? Or, are the areas too rugged for trailers?

Yes that is what I was thinking too but this is what we are talking about:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ontario/436334-how-do-you-dive-place.html

Upon getting there if we find out that we have hit a diving gold mine then it would be a shame to come back when the tanks are empty. Unless we take a huge load of tanks up there which will be useless if diving is not that great.

 

[spectrum]

From what i read in the other thread the small compressors should be up to the job unless you plan to have a load of divers in the water.

I sounds like single tank diving. If you dive an 80 and exit with 20 CFM as an example you need to pump 60 cubic feet, 20 minutes at 3 CFM. In the time of a dive including entry, exit and SI you can refill 2 assuming someone is doing shore duty with less than 50% uptime. If you have a modest pool of cylinders you can space it out or dive that much more. What sort of dive length and frequency do yo inspect in such northern conditions? Of course it will mean lugging some fuel but it's still preferable to an uber load of cylinders.

I think local knowledge and or a scouting trip could make for a plan best aligned with the reality of it all. In my experience the dive count usually is lesser than the dream.

Pete

 

[rcontrera]

Lots of opinions ... so here is mine.

Making the decision to purchase or not depends on just how much you like to dive. If you can't get air and are used to doing two, three or more dives per day and there are two or more in your dive team, then the decision is easy.

The small Coltri compressor that someone linked here is just perfect for a small dive team. It is NOT continuous duty so it is best to just pump one tank at a time and then you can pump all day long as long as it is not hot in your area. I am in the PNW and can pump all day in 80 degree weather or cooler. Any hotter out and you will have to give your compressor a rest every now and then.

Maintenance is a mandatory expense. Oil changes every 25 hours or annually ... whichever comes first. Outlet filter changes every 30-40 fills. Valve changes every 100 hours. Whatever service you need on the Honda engine. All that ads up to a little over $3 per fill for a standard 80 ... not to mention the initial cost of the compressor. If you factor that in and amortize the cost over the expected life time that takes the cost up to more than $5 per fill.

Hope that helps

 

[dead dog]

When you dive doubles, because some of the newer shops can only fill one tank at a time.

 

[HIGHwing]

The use case is just begging for a rebreather rather than a compressor.

 

[rddvet]

When you dive doubles, because some of the newer shops can only fill one tank at a time.

I don't understand how that makes sense? You mean they can't fill more than one tank because their dinky compressor can't continuously run?

 

[oldschoolto]

I don't understand how that makes sense? You mean they can't fill more than one tank because their dinky compressor can't continuously run?

No.... The newer fill cabinets are made for one cylinder to sit in a explosion proof box when being filled... So doing doubles is not possible... Ether you break them down or fill them with a whip from another tank... That's how I fill my double steel 72's...

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=scub...ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:129&tx=65&ty=52

jim

 

[rddvet]

No.... The newer fill cabinets are made for one cylinder to sit in a explosion proof box when being filled... So doing doubles is not possible... Ether you break them down or fill them with a whip from another tank... That's how I fill my double steel 72's...

Google Image Result for http://www.starairsystems.com/400w_ss_pd_fill_stationm.JPG

jim

Oh. I've seent those, but honestly didn't think they were that popular. That sucks.

 

[rjack321]

How many people are you inviting/driving up to James Bay? Realistically a 3.5cfm compressor will support 4 to 6 recreational dive tanks per day max. If you have more than 2 or 3 divers you will spend all your time filling and possibly burn up a portable unit in the process.

 

[dead dog]

The dive shops are the one's who will lose out on this unless they redesign the filling stations.