Rent or Buy?

[Landlocked Amphibian]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but I really want to buy a tank, but I am having a hard time justifying the purchase and convincing my wife that I need to buy one. It is only $1-2 more to rent a tank then it is to have one filled. That is a lot of rental before I would pay for the tank and yearly inspections. I like the idea of always using the same tank for consistency and having a larger tank than I can rent, but the costs seem to outweigh the benefits. Does anyone have any advice for me or recommendations on how to help convince my wife? Thanks.

[firenwater]

Landlocked,

I understand your pain. It is hard to justify the expense when it is so
cheap to rent. My justification was that I liked the security of knowing how the gear is treated and maintained. I purchased my own gear almost immediately after completing my open water dives.

Fortunately for me, my husband has many expensive hobbies. I didn't have to argue much as I am way behind on the spending. Good luck to you.

[Landlocked Amphibian]

I am glad I am not the only one with this dilemma.

[ReefHound]

This discussion has been held many times before. A search would turn up lots of good info and detailed analysis.

Basically, there are two elements - cost and convenience. If you can rent tanks for only $1 more than an air fill (which isn't always the case), you would have to dive pretty frequently to cover your investment. But there are other costs as well such as getting to the dive shop. If you spend $5 in gas getting there and back, that's a cost saved by owning. Sure you might have to make one trip for air (unless air fills are on site) but you have to make two trips to rent. One to pick it up and one to return it.

Then there is the convenience, starting with reducing the number of trips to the shop. If the shop is even open. When I was renting tanks it was sometimes really inconvenient to have to run by the shop Friday after work and then get return Monday, or face extra days rent. I have decided on the spur of the moment to do dives that day or the next day which I simply could not have done if renting because of the logistics. I like having full tanks standing by in case somebody calls me up Saturday night and says they have a friend going out in the gulf on their private boat on Sunday and a spot has come available.

If you mainly use one dive site and you can rent tanks at the site, then it would be harder to justify owning. I guess then you have to base your argument on peace of mind, knowing your tanks have been taken care of. Also, places that rent tanks often have a limited supply. I have been at sites that rent tanks where customers where told they were all rented out.

[Landlocked Amphibian]

First, thanks for the advice. I didn’t think about having to make the trip twice if I am renting. It would also be nice to have a full one at home just in case someone calls me.

Second, sorry for asking a question that has been asked before. It bothers me as well when the same question is asked over and over again. I tried to search, but didn’t find and thing that was relevant. I will try to search again.

[CompuDude]

I agree, it comes down to convenience and wanting features (such as steel tank's buoyancy and capacity) you may not be able to easily get in rentals. Unless you dive a LOT (do you?) it's not likely to pay off from a financial perspective, but that does depend greatly on personal circumstances (if it's a 30 minute drive to the LDS to rent and drop off, for instance, as opposed to right up the street).

I think if you search for cost of owning tanks or something like that there was a pretty big thread with lots of calculations and discussion a while back.

[tfriend]

I personally wouldnt think it would be worth it unless you live somewhere close to good diving and you go out alot. Another thing to worry about.

[Landlocked Amphibian]

I found some threads. I don’t know how I missed them before. I have all the information I need, so there is no need for anymore posts. Just let this thread die.

[68raggtop]

Be careful ! I bought 1 tank. Then I realized I usually do 2 dives. So I bought another. Then I saw that I was diving alot on Saturday and Sunday, and the LDS was closed on Sunday. I bought 2 more. Then I got Nitrox certified, and needed to have options for the significantlly different depths I dive to at different sites. I now have 12. I think I need intervention.

[fanatique]

I'd say if your wife has a basic understanding of scuba, it would be very difficult to convince her that you need a tank.

I have friends who chuck their tanks in the garage, and overtime negligence counters any argument you may have about the safety of knowing your own tank. Besides the inspections, you also have to worry about O-ring decay, condition of the burst disc, and so on. And you already made the point that renting is barely more expensive than filling up. Sometimes you just gotta ride the itch out and let it go away on its own instead of scratching it and regretting after.