How much should an airfill be?

[triplecove]

I was just wondering. Here in New England within 10 miles of me air fills for my many 72cf steels vary from $6.50 and almost 9 bucks ($8.75). At many of the shops its the same price to fill anything under 100cf. Is this the norm around the scuba world? One shop near me is $12.50 to fill any hp tank. Thats $25.00 for a 1/2 day of diving! I am seriously considering buying a compressor but I dont know if I should.

 

[esears]

Depending on which shop I use, fills range from $2 to 4 Euro here.

 

[Keith.M]

Sounds like a rip off.

In Monterey it is like 6 a tank, right there at the breakwater. Or buy a 10 fill card for 40.

My LDS is 40 for a 20 fill card. My tanks are steel 85's.

 

[chrpai]

Where I live one dive shop charges $45 a year for 2 fills or 2 rentals per day. Sadly they are too far from me.

Another dive shop charges $7 per fill but a fill card gets it down to $5. They charge tax on this. They also want $75 per tank for unlimited fills (3x+ time the price compared to the other shop and rentals not included )

Another dive shop charges $5 per fill but a fill card gets it down to $4. They don't charge tax on this. Annual fills are available for those who ask. Negotiation indicates you might get it for $100/yr.

Not saying one or the other is a RIP. I actually usually get my fills at the $5 shop since the fills are usually 3300 cool. The $4 tends to be 2700-3000 cool. It really comes down to how much gas I need for a dive and the days of the week they are open.

YMMV...

 

[Tug]

Unfortuantly, what you have said seems to be the norm here in Massachusetts. Most shops near me (North Shore) charge between 8 and 10 a tank.

 

[rivers]

Anywhere between free (my dive club) to £5 for a single. Max £10 for a twinset. My local muddy puddle charges £3/£6 respectively.

 

[tdtaylor]

High pressure fills air- $7.00
High pressure EAN32- $14.00

Our LDS separates the costs by LP and HP.

Seems to be the going rate in the NE.

 

[616fun]

Anyone who owns a compressor will tell you it's not cheap to keep and maintain. Throwing a few bucks towards fills keep me from owning my own compressor.

I pay $7 for a single air, $10 for nitrox singles. $20 for nitrox doubles. $25 for custom blend (anything other than banked 32% or air).

I get these prices from a local who owns his own compressor. I got tired of screwing with the local shops and luckily he did too

 

[Herb-alaska]

Keep in mind that when you buy that a compressor that free air has a cost to it. I figure that my Max air 35 costs about 4.00 just in filter cost plus a few pennies in fuel but a lot in time. I have to sit there and baby sit it while it takes 45 minutes to fill my HP 130 and then run out and drain the filter moister every 8 to 10 minutes. I then have to prorate the cost of the compressor ( $3,500) toward each fill. If I had an option like a dive shop that sold me a air card for 100 per year I would grab 2 and feel Like i was getting a deal.

Free air does not exist, remember that your dive shop pent $10,000 on that fancy compressor and either has to be saving for the next one or pay the mortgage on the current one. I would not think 10 bucks for a properly filled tank is out of line

 

[herbdb]

Our local Dive park charges $6 for a low pressure air fill and $13 for a LP Nitrox32 fill.
High pressure air is $10 and Nitrox32 is $15.

Books of fill tickets can reduce the price, but I forgot to mention to the DW that my book of 40 HP Nitrox fills cost $520. Cut the price to $13 for nitrox.