Quote Originally Posted by Rcontrera View Post
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.