Tank Rental

[moosicman]

I am gearing up to gear up soon and am trying to budget and so forth...anyway....after i get certified i will be buying a rig of bcd/reg and the rest but i don't know about renting a tank...do most ppl own their own tanks usually....it seems i've seen that its only $3 for air but now i'm thinking that may literally mean for JUST the air. so if i plan on renting a tank everytime i dive, how much is the normal tank rental.

[ReefHound]

Prices vary by region but I've not seen air fills that cheap unless you have some quantity fill card or program. Around here they are $5 to $8 for air fill and $10 to $12 for tank rental.

I think tanks are worthwhile to own if you'll be diving locally but probably not your first priority in gear purchases. If you dive frequenting, owning your own tanks will save a bit of money but most people buy them for the convenience factor.

Browse the Scuba Gear/Tanks section of this forum and there are several good threads on rent vs own.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Around here shops are about 8 bucks a day, or 12 bucks a weekend. So it you're heading out for the weekend, and paying 3 bucks for the air, and 9 bucks for the tank... it doesn't take a lot of weekends to pay for a tank.

Plus it's nice just having it there - so you can grab and go without having to stop by the shop.

[moosicman]

great info...thanks...i'll probably only be diving once a month and with the initial cost of bc/reg and the fins, snorkel, and mask and suit, i think i'll wait on the tank......but only for now

[ntburchf]

Parts of Florida (Central) are 4 dollars air. and about 10 nitrox.
North Florida, (Cave Country) it's per cubic foot. (It's cheaper by the cuf).
Helium is the big thing now, approx 40.00/60.00 per fill/tank

[Dive-aholic]

Brad, check out Cave Adventurers. It's located less than 45 minutes from you and on the way to the springs and the jetties in N. Florida. Edd sells and rents tanks. If you're only going to be diving once a month, you're best bet would probably be to rent. The nice thing about Edd's shop is that it's on his property so it's open 7 days a week and you can drop tanks off even if he's closed the shop.

[moosicman]

thanks for the heads up chipola divers. i will definitly keep that in mind, cause that sounds useful....after i'm certified i may want to hook up and go diving with ya. i'm gonna want someone to take me under their wing and show me some of the ropes of places to dive around here....although i won't be going in any caves..LOL...do you dive vortex springs much...that is where i'll be doing some of my ow.....

[terrillja]

I wasn't initially thinking that I would buy a tank, but after the scuba bug bit me, as well as my dad getting certified, we went on a tank buying spree- we each have 2 tanks, and I'm planning on buying him a pony for Christmas so we each have one of those too. It's a 30 minute round trip to get tanks filled/rented, so in my case, it was far easier to buy than rent, or I'd burn up an hour between going there to rent and to return the tank. Much nicer to just walk out and grab a tank from the garage, then jump in the lake.

[Dive-aholic]

Originally Posted by moosicman

thanks for the heads up chipola divers. i will definitly keep that in mind, cause that sounds useful....after i'm certified i may want to hook up and go diving with ya. i'm gonna want someone to take me under their wing and show me some of the ropes of places to dive around here....although i won't be going in any caves..LOL...do you dive vortex springs much...that is where i'll be doing some of my ow.....

Don't discount caves just yet. You're so close to them, you just might get bitten by the cave bug! We'll hit the jetties some time. Vortex is okay, but really crowded on the weekends because of all the OW classes there. It's also not that big. I have taught there, but only during the week. My preference is to teach at Morrison and the St. Andrews jetty.

[RoadRacer1978]

The dive shops around me are 30 minutes to 1 hour away and in the opposite direction of my local diving lake. So renting a tank for local diving would be a total waste of time and money. I purchased my first tank from a sporting goods shop that was going out of business and got it pretty darn cheap. Wish I had bought more now. I have one tank and it does pretty good for local diving and I can usually get it filled nearby, but 2 tanks would be better than one I think. My plans for my GC from ScubaToys is to get another tank. With the discount and GC you can't beat the price. Just gota get off my lazy rear and give the guys at ST a call.