Why such a hassle to get Nitrox in MA?

[oceancurrent]

Hahaha. A smooch by a fine-looking divestore shopgirl would be fine by me, but I think I would have deep objections to Mark blowing me a kiss (and I bet he feels the same way too, so no problem here)

Here is the summary of my premixed Nitrox findings for your future reference

• Mass Diving (www.massdiving.com) fill up to 40% for $12.50 (up to 104 cf) or $15 (104cf+).
• North East Scuba (www.northeastscuba.com) fill up to 40%. Cost is $16 for 80cf, $17.50 for 100cf, $19 for 120cf.
• Atlantic Divers (www.atlanticdivers.com) fill up to 36%. Cost is $10 for 36% and $15 for custom mixes <36%.
• East Coast Divers (www.ecdivers.com) fill up to 36% for $12.
• South Shore Divers (www.southshoredivers.com) fill up to 36% on regular tanks and up to bank mix (39%) for ponies for $10 (all tank sizes, no sales tax charged).
• PG Dive (www.pgdive.com) have general plans for doing EAN fills, but no details have been released.

Notes:

I know for a fact that SSD charge $10 regardless of tank size and have no sales tax on the fills (or it's included). North East Scuba provides the most versatile fills albeith at the highest price. Mass Diving seems to strike a good balance between excellent service and price. Atlantic Divers and East Coast divers did not mention tank size as a factor in the price, but may turn out to be charging extra for 100cf+ tanks (can anybody check on this?).

When considering the price of the fills, factor in the time you have to spend obtaining them, and the level of service you will receive. For example, with SSD, I would spend an average of 3h getting my fills (1h commute each way + 1h wait). With Mass Diving it took me 2h to get my fills (40min commute each way + 30min wait). Also, the quality of the service is much better at Mass Diving, which makes it a better deal than SSD for me. However, if you don't care about the customer service quality or the wait time, SSD would be the best deal. If you live very close to one of the other store, it may be the best deal for you to go there (as long as you don't object to said store's philosophy).

The Nitrox fills in Massachusetts are way more expensive than most other places. In the caribbean, the common price for a Nitrox fill is $8. If I recall correctly, there is place in Florida, which specializes in all gas blends and does premixed Nitrox for $5 or so. In Bonaire, it's not uncommon to get an "unlimited Nitrox" upgrade for a small cost ($50) or lately for free. I fully expect that with time the price of Nitrox in MA will start falling as result of competetive pressure and better informed consumers.

 

[yak]

FWIW, I have a Nitrox punch-card from SSD. 10 fills for $90.

 

[large_diver]

I fully expect that with time the price of Nitrox in MA will start falling as result of competetive pressure and better informed consumers.

Don't hold your breath (pun intended)

 

[PeaceDog]

I see an uprising in our future, folks: THE 38% REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN.

I can't remember a time in recent memory where I have perused this message board and shook my head in disbelief or snickered so much.

I raise a stiff-armed fist to you, oceancurent. Che Guevara would be proud. If you had this much zeal for other local scuba concerns, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to dive with no flag, take eggers and freely take a dump in any local Gloucester resident's house after my dive.

I just thank God that I had a meeting with a client tomorrow that required a promo-length version of my film. Had I not been up late editing and burning a DVD, I would have never learned of the enriched air conspiracy that plagues our sport.

Power to the people! Kill whitey!

 

[gmbaker]

....freely take a dump in any local Gloucester resident's house after my dive.

ugh ogh, you mean this is not ok?

 

[SteveAD]

Tank size is irrelevant here, 10 bucks for 36 on tap, 15 if we have to blend. just a matter of the labor involved.