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Considering the time I'd need to miss from work doing pickups and dropoffs, I figure owning tanks will save me way over $1000/year.Hoosier:
Terry
Should I continue to rent tanks?
- Thread starter Wheatondiver
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Terry
Assuming 25 dives/year, $8/fill, $14/rental, $20/VIP: (numbers pulled from my ***, YMMV, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Own: (25*8)+20 or $220/year
Rent: (25*14) or $350/year
That's $130/year more to rent, or break-even for a steel HP80 in right about 2 years or less.
If I change the cost/fill to $5 and cost/rental to $10, I get $145/yr to own or $250/year in rent, or $105/yr savings.
Own: (25*8)+20 or $220/year
Rent: (25*14) or $350/year
That's $130/year more to rent, or break-even for a steel HP80 in right about 2 years or less.
If I change the cost/fill to $5 and cost/rental to $10, I get $145/yr to own or $250/year in rent, or $105/yr savings.
Nudgeroni
Contributor
Beat to the punch.
I just bought 2 new tanks that came to $160 each driveout. So amortize it over 5 years and you would add another $32 per year for tank price.
Hoosier:
Aside from computing the actual payback period, does it matter? Put in the price for whichever tank you prefer and go from there.
Plugging in some #'s w/o s/h from Scubatoys I get:
Payback (years)
AL80 $150 1.23
HP80 $285 2.33
HP119 $345 2.83
After you hit the # of dives where your difference in rental exceeds the cost of the tank, you're saving money basically - the tank is "paid for".
This also does not take into account any residual value in the tank - if you decide to quit diving after 2 years you can most likely sell the tank and make back a reasonable chunk of what you spent, especially for a nice steel tank. On the other hand, it also doesn't factor in the whole time value of money stuff into it, but I'm a computer security nerd, not an accountant.
Hoosier
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Whenever you are consdering B/C ratio, there are a lot of factors we have to count.
You are right on the residual value, too. And, even there is a big variance whether you got used or new one. As Terry said, the travel/time costs are another big play balls here as well..
However, if we assume all factors in more realistic way like I assumed in the previous post, it takes a long time to offset.
I am just teasing you guys because of "Been there done that". I currently have 24 tanks in my living room... LOL~~~~
It is all convenient factor, not financial in itself..... That's my point.
You are right on the residual value, too. And, even there is a big variance whether you got used or new one. As Terry said, the travel/time costs are another big play balls here as well..
However, if we assume all factors in more realistic way like I assumed in the previous post, it takes a long time to offset.
I am just teasing you guys because of "Been there done that". I currently have 24 tanks in my living room... LOL~~~~
It is all convenient factor, not financial in itself..... That's my point.
I just ran the numbers of buy vs rent for both steel and aluminum a few weeks ago on another board... lemme see if I can find it.
IIRC, two thing to consider: You have to put a price on convenience. If it greatly increases your convenience, does that carry any value for you? It sure does for me. And secondly, and possibly more importantly, how many dives will you be doing? If you don't dive much, it can actually be far more worthwhile to rent. If you dive a lot (and owning your own tanks, full and ready to go on a moment's notice, sure tends to lead to a lot more diving), there can be a huge cost benefit to owning.
There are additional factors to consider as well, such as new vs. used and steel vs. aluminum. I'll go look for that post now, though...
IIRC, two thing to consider: You have to put a price on convenience. If it greatly increases your convenience, does that carry any value for you? It sure does for me. And secondly, and possibly more importantly, how many dives will you be doing? If you don't dive much, it can actually be far more worthwhile to rent. If you dive a lot (and owning your own tanks, full and ready to go on a moment's notice, sure tends to lead to a lot more diving), there can be a huge cost benefit to owning.
There are additional factors to consider as well, such as new vs. used and steel vs. aluminum. I'll go look for that post now, though...
Found the post. Note my calculations assumed a LOT more diving per year, but the math is easy to change to plug in your own numbers:
How much your own tank costs or saves depends entirely on how much you dive. If you are a traveling vacation diver diving once or twice a year, it makes little sense to buy a tank. If you're going to be diving locally, regularly, however, there are true savings in owning your own tank.
here's some basic math.
Assumptions:
tank - $120 (Al.80)
fill card - $4/fill
rental - $8/tank
Number of dives:
2x / week average = 104 dives per year
1x / week average = 52 dives per year
Cost to rent 104 tanks/year: $832
Cost to fill your own tank 104 times/year: $416
Cost to rent 52/year: $416
Cost to fill your own tank 52/year: $208
Cost of owning a tank, without dives:
$120 for tank
$10 Annual Vis Inspection
$5 Hydro inspection (every 5 years, $25)
------
$135 for the first year, $15/year after that.
~~~~
Total cost of 104 dives per year in a rented tank:
$832 (104 x $8 = $832)
Total cost of 104 dives (and fills) per year in your own tank:
$551 (104 x $4 = $416 + $135 = $551)
Total cost of 104 dives (and fills) after first year to fill your own tank:
$431 (104 x $4 = $416 + $15 = $431)
So at around 100 dives per year, owning your own tank saves you $281 the first year, and $401/yr for the rest of the life of the tank.
~~~~
Total cost of 52 dives per year in a rented tank:
$416 (52 x $8)
Total cost of 52 dives (and fills) per year in your own tank:
$343 (52 x $4 = 208 + $135 = $343)
Total cost of 52 dives (and fills) after first year to fill your own tank:
$223 (52 x $4 = 208 + $15 = $223)
So at around 50 dives per year, owning your own tank saves you $73 the first year, and $193/yr for the rest of the life of the tank.
Clearly, the numbers balance differently for steel tanks, but they bring other advantages for some divers that can't necessarily be quantified the same manner. And at the 100 dive/year range, even steel prices can be compensated for... especially if you buy used tanks and don't pay full retail.
But for someone diving enough, the financial advantages are all in favor of owning your own tanks.
The added convenience, for most people: Priceless.
Slam dunk, if you ask me...
How much your own tank costs or saves depends entirely on how much you dive. If you are a traveling vacation diver diving once or twice a year, it makes little sense to buy a tank. If you're going to be diving locally, regularly, however, there are true savings in owning your own tank.
here's some basic math.
Assumptions:
tank - $120 (Al.80)
fill card - $4/fill
rental - $8/tank
Number of dives:
2x / week average = 104 dives per year
1x / week average = 52 dives per year
Cost to rent 104 tanks/year: $832
Cost to fill your own tank 104 times/year: $416
Cost to rent 52/year: $416
Cost to fill your own tank 52/year: $208
Cost of owning a tank, without dives:
$120 for tank
$10 Annual Vis Inspection
$5 Hydro inspection (every 5 years, $25)
------
$135 for the first year, $15/year after that.
~~~~
Total cost of 104 dives per year in a rented tank:
$832 (104 x $8 = $832)
Total cost of 104 dives (and fills) per year in your own tank:
$551 (104 x $4 = $416 + $135 = $551)
Total cost of 104 dives (and fills) after first year to fill your own tank:
$431 (104 x $4 = $416 + $15 = $431)
So at around 100 dives per year, owning your own tank saves you $281 the first year, and $401/yr for the rest of the life of the tank.
~~~~
Total cost of 52 dives per year in a rented tank:
$416 (52 x $8)
Total cost of 52 dives (and fills) per year in your own tank:
$343 (52 x $4 = 208 + $135 = $343)
Total cost of 52 dives (and fills) after first year to fill your own tank:
$223 (52 x $4 = 208 + $15 = $223)
So at around 50 dives per year, owning your own tank saves you $73 the first year, and $193/yr for the rest of the life of the tank.
Clearly, the numbers balance differently for steel tanks, but they bring other advantages for some divers that can't necessarily be quantified the same manner. And at the 100 dive/year range, even steel prices can be compensated for... especially if you buy used tanks and don't pay full retail.
But for someone diving enough, the financial advantages are all in favor of owning your own tanks.
The added convenience, for most people: Priceless.
Slam dunk, if you ask me...
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