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Rcontrera
11-27-2009, 09:03 PM
I have been asked numerous times if owning a compressor would save a diver a lot of money or cost a ton per fill. I thought I would post this information just to set the story straight.


Operation and maintenance ... the cost of running a compressor has been greatly exaggerated. For filters, it is about $1 per fill. For oil, it is $12.95 for an oil change on the Coltri MCH6 and you do that about every 50 fills which is another $ 0.26 per fill. Then the 100 hour maintenance (valves, relief seat, drain valve seats, inlet filter) is about $150 and that adds another $2 to the cost of your fill. Without adding in the cost of the compressor itself, you are at $3.26 per fill.

Equipment ... if you want to add in the cost of the compressor, it should give you 1000 hours of operation with care before incurring major overhaul costs. That adds another dollar to the cost of the individual fill. On the $3290 Coltri that means that your fill is about $4.26 for a standard 80.

Power and/or fuel is a HUGE variable depending on where you are in the world but you can plan on anywhere from about five to seventy five cents per fill.

Now, that said ... will you save a lot of money buying a compressor? No ... unless you dive a LOT.

Is there an advantage to owning your own compressor then? Sure ... convenience. Even if you trust your local dive shop's air, they aren't always open when you need them. In addition, there is the air quality factor. You know the quality of the air that you are pumping because you take care of changing oil and air filters regularly.


Now, with all that information, does that mean that compressors are for everyone? NO WAY! In order to operate a compressor you need to be willing to learn something about how they work, how to operate them safely, how to maintain them and how to tell when they need service. And we all know that divers in general don't read directions.:D

OK ... I think I have covered what I intended.

The Publisher
11-28-2009, 04:01 AM
That was some interesting numbers crunching, thanks!

shinek
12-08-2009, 08:21 PM
Yeah and there's a lot of other stuff I could buy with my 3 grand before I get to a compressor. Some of it's even dive related!

Rcontrera
07-03-2010, 11:34 PM
OK Compressor owners ...


CHANGE YOUR DAMN OIL!!!

It is the height of the season and 100% of the compressor problems that have been brought to us this year are oil related. Over heating, valve leaks, ring scoring, blow by, etc can all be traced back to too infrequent of oil changes.

While you are at it, how about blowing down your separators more often. Yeah ... I make money selling parts, oil and filters. But if you blow down more often, you will replace your filters less often. And if you change your oil, you will be buying less parts.

:beat: Sorry for harping on this subject, but apparently people aren't listening.

acelockco
07-05-2010, 02:33 AM
Sorry for harping on this subject, but apparently people aren't listening.

It is not that we are not listening, it is that none of us have our own compressor. It does not make any sense to own a compressor for almost any diver.

Rcontrera
07-29-2010, 07:00 AM
It is not that we are not listening, it is that none of us have our own compressor. It does not make any sense to own a compressor for almost any diver.

Not to be argumentative, but just because you don't have a compressor doesn't mean that nobody needs one. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many sold every year.

More and more home compressors are selling every year because of the slow decline in dive shop air quality and serious increase in fill costs. While there are a lot of very fine air systems out there, junk air can still be had in almost every city with two or more dive shops. Additionally, more divers are diving a ways from their home shop and taking a dozen tanks to the camp ground for a weekend at the lake just doesn't make sense.

Oh ... and it is compressor owners that are sending stuff in for service ... not non compressor owners.;)

acelockco
07-29-2010, 04:19 PM
Not to be argumentative, but just because you don't have a compressor doesn't mean that nobody needs one. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many sold every year.

More and more home compressors are selling every year because of the slow decline in dive shop air quality and serious increase in fill costs. While there are a lot of very fine air systems out there, junk air can still be had in almost every city with two or more dive shops. Additionally, more divers are diving a ways from their home shop and taking a dozen tanks to the camp ground for a weekend at the lake just doesn't make sense.

Oh ... and it is compressor owners that are sending stuff in for service ... not non compressor owners.;)

It is cool, we are all entitled to our opinions here. I don't know where you live, but here in the USA the air we get at the local dive shops is of the highest quality and only costs a few dollars.

One of my dive buddies does have his own compressor. It cost him $4000 used and also needs the filter replaced pretty often. Just the cost of the filters is $2 per fill plus electricity (220volts) plus the cost of the compressor. I just can't imagine filling enough cylinders to make up the difference when the local shop charges $5 per fill.

That being said, most divers that dive enough to warrant a compressor also dive nitrox or some other gas not air. The home compressors can not fill nitrox or trimix which makes them useless in my opinion.

I do agree with you that there are some situations where a compressor would be of great benefit and the cost is not as much of an issue as convenience. Trying to dive at a remote location that doesn't have a dive shop reasonably close by would definitely be easier with a compressor. Owners of boats that spend long amounts of time at sea could also benefit as they don't want to return to the mainland to refill cylinders.

In the end though, most of us do not and most likely will not own dive compressors in our life. It doesn't make sense for most of us. In the bigger picture, we need to support our local dive shops with fills and other purchases. If we do not support them and they go out of business getting air fills will become a very difficult thing.

acelockco
07-29-2010, 04:22 PM
One more thing, compressors are way overpriced. Get us some $500-$1000 compressors and they will start making financial sense.

Rcontrera
08-07-2010, 06:13 AM
I am very glad that you get top quality air where you live. Unfortunately, that is more the exception than the rule.

I have been part of the diving industry since 1981 and air systems were what got me into it so I have seen just about everything you can see in a dive shop.

I make my living selling compressors and especially oil and filters and only a few shops actually pay as much attention to their system as they should. Of the 500 or so dive shops that I have contacted over the years and "sampled" their air, I personally would not dive with about 3/4 of them.

Don't get me wrong ... I am not attacking all the dive shops. I have several customers that have outstanding systems ... both air and nitrox. But there are a lot of them out there that just don't give a damn about their air or their compressor until it breaks. That is where the home compressors are selling.

Okeanos
09-24-2010, 10:45 PM
I have a compressor or 6! It is far more convenient than the 1hr round trip to the nearest shop. I have my own air test kit and test the air regularly.


The home compressors can not fill nitrox or trimix which makes them useless in my opinion.
Why not? Nitrox & Trimix are usually made by partial pressure blending, add the O2 &/OR He then top up with clean air. Having your own supply of O2 & He makes it all much cheaper.


For oil, it is $12.95 for an oil change on the Coltri MCH6
Not sure what oil you use but I use Anderol that cost £44 per 5L, the Coltri takes 0.3L. That makes it less than $5 per oil change. I re-pack the MCH6 filter which costs about $1 per refill.

acelockco
09-26-2010, 10:01 PM
I have a compressor or 6!

If you can afford 6 compressors then we are not even on the same page dude. I am a normal person that makes a normal living, I really can't afford 1 compressor let alone 6 of them.

Bottom line, cost is the reason more people don't have compressors. If they were in the sub $500 price range, then I am sure a lot more divers would have their own.

Okeanos
09-27-2010, 07:13 PM
If they were in the sub $500 price range
My last 2 cost me ~$300 each, working with filters and whips. They had 3 phase motors which I changed to single phase. You just need to know where to look.

acelockco
09-28-2010, 04:01 AM
My last 2 cost me ~$300 each, working with filters and whips. They had 3 phase motors which I changed to single phase. You just need to know where to look.

If you can tell me where to find a working $300 compressor, then I am all about buying one or two.

Okeanos
09-28-2010, 09:59 AM
If you can tell me where to find a working $300 compressor, then I am all about buying one or two.
University dive clubs, when they buy new ones the old ones get forgotten. They usually have some little problem like a stuck inlet valve, or even simpler an oily over pressure valve that just needs washing. Uni Clubs are always looking to sell the old ones in the UK they just don't know who to sell them to.

acelockco
09-28-2010, 02:59 PM
University dive clubs, when they buy new ones the old ones get forgotten. They usually have some little problem like a stuck inlet valve, or even simpler an oily over pressure valve that just needs washing. Uni Clubs are always looking to sell the old ones in the UK they just don't know who to sell them to.

I don't know of any university that is selling a used compressor. In fact, I don't know of a university that has a dive club that even owns a compressor. I went to 3 different universities and two of them had dive clubs. Non of them had any equipment at all, in fact the club and classes were run by the local dive shop.

If you know of any, and as you said they don't know who to sell them to, give them my name.

The Publisher
09-29-2010, 01:12 AM
Ace, he probably means in the UK....they are hardcore divers over there, where their idea of a great dive is if visibility is up to 2 meters and the current is less than 3 mph.

I see dive compressors on Ebay now and then in the U.S.

I suppose if you own your own boat or do multiple shore dives at remote locations on expeditions, but otherwise it seems a hassle.

acelockco
09-29-2010, 02:54 PM
Ace, he probably means in the UK....they are hardcore divers over there, where their idea of a great dive is if visibility is up to 2 meters and the current is less than 3 mph.

I see dive compressors on Ebay now and then in the U.S.

I suppose if you own your own boat or do multiple shore dives at remote locations on expeditions, but otherwise it seems a hassle.


I have also seen them on FleaBay, but they are more like $4000-$30,000 there. I am not seeing anything in the sub $1000 price range that is functional and safe to use.

My original point was that compressors are priced too high for most divers and that there is really no need for one with dive shops everywhere in the US that only charge $5 for a fill.

Okeanos
10-02-2010, 11:58 AM
Ace, he probably means in the UK....they are hardcore divers over there, where their idea of a great dive is if visibility is up to 2 meters and the current is less than 3 mph.
There are people that would think that but it's a common mis-conception of UK diving. Locally we get much better, below is a shot taken in low vis, the mussel ropes are 2m (6') apart

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs212.snc1/7921_180195417587_668852587_3664276_8167258_n.jpg

During some of the recent deeper dives off our north coast we have been getting 30m (100') vis.

Most UK universities have dive clubs fully kitted out, government & charity funded.

Okeanos
10-02-2010, 11:59 AM
Actually we are hardcore, temps down to 4C, all year round, any vis, any depth :D

I did 434 dives last year, around 350 in the U.K.

The Publisher
10-02-2010, 02:35 PM
Actually we are hardcore, temps down to 4C, all year round, any vis, any depth :D

I did 434 dives last year, around 350 in the U.K.

Lol Okeanos, I knew you would eventually fess up to UK divers being hard core!



;)

Okeanos
10-03-2010, 02:01 PM
Lol Okeanos, I knew you would eventually fess up to UK divers being hard core!

;)
I must admit to not liking 2m+ swells though. Makes kitting up on a rib a bit awkward.

Last winter we put our hoods and gloves on the van bonnet and they froze to it.

Dived a 90m quarry in 4 degrees with over 2 hours of deco January last year!

We dream of 3mph currents, we can get 7 knot currents in certain areas. 5.5 knots is common locally, we do aim for slack water when we can. A local dive site has some good up-currents and down currents, the up currents will set off any ascent alarm.

And I do all this with a camera in hand :D