To OWN or RENT

I am only planing about 15 to 20 dives a year. The question is is it better to own tanks or rent them. Some people i have talk to say that it is better to rent because i dont dive that much, yet others say it is better to own all your gear. What is the general rule on this.

Will you be diving locally or only on vacation?

I wouldn't get tanks if I didn't dive local...

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I will be traveling a little but not much, no more than half my dives.

I own 20+ tanks, rent them unless you teach or are into tech. I do the VIP and it takes way too much time every year (i won't cut corners)and even at cost the hydo's every 5 years cost me a small fortune!

However if you are diving locally and can only rent alum tanks, buy some steel tanks, less weight to wear, less bouyancy shift, less likely to float face down if unconsious.

If you have never dove steel try it you'll like it!

As El Orans said it's only a question for local diving since you never travel with a cylinder. The exceptions would be a pony bottle or or if you were on an expedition.

So for local diving it comes down to convenience and number of dives per outing. If you have a cylinder(s) filled and standing by perhaps you will dive more, this is good. At 15-20 local divers per year you get a reasonable return on investment especially when you value convenience. Proximity to and hours of your LDS are of course a big factor.

We often try to do 2 dives per trip which means having a pair of cylinders. If this is the case and you are talking more like 8-10 uses per cylinder per year I would not be in a hurry to purchase.

Like most things scuba there are no "rules" just best personal choices. Consider diving more and make it an easy decision to purchase your own cylinders. When you have a minute beef up your profile so we can all provide more suitable answers.

Costs vary. Around here an air fill is $3-$5. A filled tank can be rented for $12.

Each cylinder requires an annual inspection (VIP) which runs arounf $15. Every 5 years the cylinder must be hyrdrostaticly (pressure) tested, this can run $15-$30. These are right numbers that float around YMMV. Spread out over moderate usage these are not big expenses.

We prefer steel cylinders for cold water diving and those are not available in my region as rentals so owning also brings the benefit of diving the exact cylinder that you prefer. You also know where it's been, how it's been cared for and where all of the fills have been done.


Pete

Owning tanks is a little different than owning the rest of your gear (which I'm all for.) For the amount of local diving you plan it may make more sense to rent. You might want to add up how much it will cost you to buy tanks, get them filled, annual VIP, hydro every 5 years. And compare against what it it would cost you to rent.

One reason to own tanks even if it doesn't pay is convienience. Just like you will usually dive more if you own the rest of your gear and don't have to mess with rentals or work around the hours of the shop, it is handy to have filled tanks at home waiting to go anytime. It's hard to say if picking up and returning rental tanks is actually any more trouble than getting your own filled though. Sometimes they will fill while you wait, and others you may have to drop off and pick up later so it's 2 trips anyway.

Another reason to own tanks would be because you would prefer a different type of tank than you can rent - perhaps you will find you can only rent AL80s, but would prefer to dive with steel 100s (for example.)

I own two AL 80's and am looking at buying two 63's for my wife. We do a ton of local diving, otherwise I probably wouldn't own them. I think you can rent tanks for about $8 per day around here. For those 15-20 dives, how many times out per year is that? What I mean is, we usually do 5+ dives in a weekend. If you're only going out a few weekends, I'd rent. If it's 15 different trips, then it probably pays to own. Tanks were toward the bottom of my purchase list, but I'm glad that I have them.

I personally bought one tank that I use locally and it is nice to have at home to check out my gear. I can check out the BCD, flush out regulators (which is better to do when they are pressurized), and make sure that the batteries are good in the air integrated computer I use. I would not buy more than the one since I rent while traveling.

I think it's a good idea to own a couple of tanks. Unless you never get a last minute call to dive where you have to take a special trip to the shop to rent some. I like having full tanks sitting there ready to go in case I get an urge

or a call

I just bought two steel 100cf tanks and figured out the break even point is 41 dives. When I do break even on my tank purchase I also have something tangible to show for it. Figure out how many dives you are going to make and the total cost of the tanks to your door. Then find out how much the per day tank rental costs. Do the math, and see what works best for you.

Convenience is priceless..."Wanna go diving", "Sure let me grab my gear". No trip to the dive shop on both Friday and Monday to get and return the tanks. Yes they must be filled but that can be done at my convenience mid week or the weekend before.