Skinsfan1311
Contributor
I was thinking of buying a tank, for the sole purpose of checking out my equipment. I have the room in my shed. Good Idea? Stupid Idea? Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Owning a tank to clean/test/check BCD & Regs
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You can work out with it too ...put your treadmill on a steep incline and practice shore dives.
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Have you thought about diving with it?
Personal reasons aside, if you buy a tank, it will need to be Visually Inspected every year, and Hydrostatically Tested every 5 years, so there is an expense in owning a tank, regardless of whether you use it or not.
Terry
Personal reasons aside, if you buy a tank, it will need to be Visually Inspected every year, and Hydrostatically Tested every 5 years, so there is an expense in owning a tank, regardless of whether you use it or not.
Terry
Skinsfan1311:
Damselfish
Contributor
why not, I sold all mine when I quit diving locally and wish I'd kept one. They're also handy for inflating tires and other things. If I was going to buy something specifically for this I might go with something smaller.
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
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Skins,
The only reason I could see to make that sort of investment would be because there is a long period of time between your dives and you are just too far from a local dive shop to go by and hook your gear up to a depleted tank and give it a once over.
I dare say that the probability of your gear becoming corrupted or damaged between dives is quite remote.
Basically, I just can't see the justification for the expense.
But, that's just my opinion.
the K
The only reason I could see to make that sort of investment would be because there is a long period of time between your dives and you are just too far from a local dive shop to go by and hook your gear up to a depleted tank and give it a once over.
I dare say that the probability of your gear becoming corrupted or damaged between dives is quite remote.
Basically, I just can't see the justification for the expense.
But, that's just my opinion.
the K
Creed
Contributor
Well, I own 3 tanks that I keep in hydro. They are all older, steel 72s. I use them to work on gear, and to dive with. Even in the cold season, you can often find a local college that will let you dive in their indoor pool. Go get yourself an old 72. They last darn near forever, and hold more than enough gas for most dives. And they are so undervalued that you can pick one up and get it hydro'd and filled for less than $100. In fact, my last one cost me $40 to buy and get hydro'd. Can't beat that. Just be careful on getting an epoxy lined tank. They can be hydro'd and VIP'd by someone who knows what they are doing, but a lot of LDSs are lazy and won't go the extra mile to VIP a tank like that. You can always build a cheap tumbler and tumle it out, though, so don't let 'em condemn a perfectly fine tank for no reason. Always make that clear before getting it inspected.
I wouldn't do it for the sole reason as you suggest.
Get the extra cylinder and it will give you more flexibility. As mentioned a used 72 can have plenty of good aplication in and out of the water. Otherwise get 1 more of your standard cylinders. You can't have too many.
Air fills right after the dive don't usually happen for me so I have the spent cylinders on hand for the clean-up process. Then it's fresh fills before the next dive.
Pete
Get the extra cylinder and it will give you more flexibility. As mentioned a used 72 can have plenty of good aplication in and out of the water. Otherwise get 1 more of your standard cylinders. You can't have too many.
Air fills right after the dive don't usually happen for me so I have the spent cylinders on hand for the clean-up process. Then it's fresh fills before the next dive.
Pete
OP
Skinsfan1311
Contributor
Thanks for all of the great replies....
Mandy3206
Contributor
IMO, It's not a bad idea.
10 yrs ago, I bought 2 AL 80 with less than 10 dives each, from a marrying man and they sat in my house most of the time doing equipment maintenance and blow gun duty.
It was easier to get the tanks at the dock and not carry the tanks around.
Later, they've seen more action due to the boat that we use now (no tanks available at the dock).
Whenever I can, I'll rent the tanks close to the boat and drop them before getting home, one less thing to carry around.
It's good to have your own tanks in case that some saturday night you plan a sunday dive with a friend and no LDS is available to rent, or all tanks are rented when you need them (both happened to me more than one time). In any case, your tanks will bail you out provided they're full.
Buy full size tanks, you won't regret it in the long run, now I got 4 Al 80 and looking to get 2 more.
10 yrs ago, I bought 2 AL 80 with less than 10 dives each, from a marrying man and they sat in my house most of the time doing equipment maintenance and blow gun duty.
It was easier to get the tanks at the dock and not carry the tanks around.
Later, they've seen more action due to the boat that we use now (no tanks available at the dock).
Whenever I can, I'll rent the tanks close to the boat and drop them before getting home, one less thing to carry around.
It's good to have your own tanks in case that some saturday night you plan a sunday dive with a friend and no LDS is available to rent, or all tanks are rented when you need them (both happened to me more than one time). In any case, your tanks will bail you out provided they're full.
Buy full size tanks, you won't regret it in the long run, now I got 4 Al 80 and looking to get 2 more.
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