Free air fills? How many shops offer this?

[mobster75]

I know this is a thread asking for some trouble, but how many local shops offer free air fills? If your shop charges for air, how much is it to fill an AL80? Just wondering so I know what to expect when I'm out of my local area.......

In the end, the only actual charge to the LDS will be for either gas or electricity for their compressor (ok.. maybe a bit for filters) from where I figure things..

 

[diverdown247]

My LDS's charge between $4 and $6 per fill on an 80 depending on which shop I use. The key to free air is joining the LDS's specific dive club. That is sometimes the benefit to being part of their "circle".

 

[jbd]

In the end, the only actual charge to the LDS will be for either gas or electricity for their compressor (ok.. maybe a bit for filters) from where I figure things..

Just wondering---did the LDS get the compressor for free??? Do they not ever have to do parts replacement and routine maintenance??? Did they get the bank cylinders free also and not have maintenance issues with that either????

Basically I'm wondering anyone would expect an LDS to subsidize their diving. :huh:

 

[cummings66]

My LDS is free air for life if you buy the tank from them. They charge $200 for an AL80 which is high, but then if you dive enough it's cheap. It's like they pay you to dive over time.

However, you're wrong on the only charges for the air. Sure gas or electricity, filters and for clean air that a Nitrox diver can use the filter prices add up quickly. Then you've got to figure maintenance on the compressor, they don't last forever and in fact if you look at the cost of a compressor for a commercial use you'll find they cost a HUGE fortune, then the cost of a repair can easily hit a grand to rebuild it.

Then you have to consider the Banks they fill, they'll often be hydro'd although I think it's not required. My LDS keeps theirs in Hydro. Then figure the testing they do on air, gages, etc and it adds up. To be honest, I don't know how they do it except as a loss leader to get divers in there to buy other gear.

 

[L.A.Dave]

I am with JBD on this......dive stores are lucky to break even.....part of their liability insurance is to cover using gas compression machines.

Unless the dive store can get the compressor free, an employee to operate it for free, no workers comp on the employee while he is doing fills, no compressor maintenance, etc.....

EVERY overhead expense is ultimately borne by the consumer. There is no such thing as free airfills, only shops that subsidize their airfills by shifting that cost onto other products and services.

 

[friscuba]

[

In the end, the only actual charge to the LDS will be for either gas or electricity for their compressor (ok.. maybe a bit for filters) from where I figure things..

A lot more goes into air than just electricity or gas. The oils for those compressors cost a furtune (somthing in the 40-60 bucks a gallon range) and need to be changed out on a regular basis, I'm thinking every hundred hours or so depenidng on the situation. Filter cartridges can cost 35-80 bucks a cartridge and need to be changed out every 30-50 hours or so plus or minus. Filter cartridges alone can cost in the .50 to 1.25 buck a fill range depending on your setup.

A compressor doesn't come FREE, it needs to be paid for. I looked at several 8-10 cfm air setups last fall that would've run me say 13-16 grand to set up with a small bank. That was just a small setup so I could pump 12-14 tanks for my boat without having to stand around much over an hour. At some point the shop should be able to charge something just to pay back the initial investment, even at a buck a tank that'd be a ton of tanks before that compressor is ever paid off. We're not even talking repair/maintenance or replacement costs that should be tacked on yet.

If they're seriously pumping tanks, then they're going to have to pay someone to do it. That can tack on another chunk of a buck a tank just to cover that cost.

Now you figure in electricity and you'll have a shot at realizing what a tank costs to fill.

Just a couple of things to think about before thinking your airfills cost the shop nothing.

 

[Packhorse]

Not to mention the cost of their time and the fact they are there to make money.
I payed NZ$65 to my LDS got a shirt (value$25) 10 free air fills (value $50) and $3 fill there after. Its not free but its deffinatly cheap. You can pay $7 for a fill or out on the islands $10.
The filters they use for o2 clean tanks cost $2.50 per fill. A nitrox fill is $20

 

[mike_s]

I think you'll find that air prices vary greatly per LDS.

A lot of this is based on the capital investment and operating cost of their compressor sysem. Many shops have "surplus" compressors that are left over from government military projects, etc. Some have "brand new" state of the art systems that are O2 clean with o2 clean mixing panels, etc. You'll see the prices vary greatly between these setups. Add the extra expsense of 'bank systems' or banking of pre-mix nitrox, and you'll see more expense.

Of course the more fills a shop does, the more wear and tear on the compressor and maintenance, but the more the fills offset the capital investment in the system.

Shops in my area charge $4 to $5 to fill an AL80. Shops in the FL Panhandle seem to charge $5 to $7 for the same tank. I've noticed that shops in some other areas charge $7 to $8 for an air fill. This seems kinda high to me though. But in all reality I think it's more in line with the "real costs" of an air fill for a shop that has a higher end compressor system instead of a military surplus system. Especially once you consider maintenance costs, electricity, filters, labor for work force, insurance, etc.

Of course Nitrox fills only cost more to deliver by the shops.

I do know of a few shops in the FL Panhendle that give free air fills if you buy the tank from them. But you pay "full price" ($165) for the tank (AL80) and get something like 10 free fills or free air for the first year. So to me that doesn't seem like a bad deal.

One way of helping with the cost of air fills is to see if your shop has a 'bulk' price. One of our local shops sells air fills in a 'air card' where you buy 10 fills for $30 bucks. That equates to $3/fill which is pretty darn cheap. Of course that insures you'll visit their shop more often and hopefully buy other stuff. So I'm sure it's a "loss leader'.

 

[fishb0y]

$10 a month with 2 fill stations (for about 10 tanks) open 24/7. However it is a diving club, pretty sure there is no where else that offers the same service.

 

[mobster75]

Actually my local shop offers free air (not nitrox) period. I'm pretty sure its regardless of whether or not you buy the tanks from them. But it got me wondering how common that is out there and what the going rate for an AL80 fill would be...