I can rent a large N2 tank for $120/year plus fills. The local dive shop only goes 3000 on compressed air, and I want higher, so next option is a compressor.....
Has anyone analyzed cost of owning a compressor and compared it to N2 tank supply? I'm not gonna be shooting over a couple hundred rounds a month in my case
What one doesn’t foresee in tank rentals and fills are, one, that’s the price you’re quoted today. With everything going up I bet in six months that price will be higher.
Second- whatever dealings are made in tank rentals and fill costs are subject to change if and when the local supplier gets bought out by someone else or worse yet, corporate.
meanwhile, consider the fact the time you take doing rentals and such, meanwhile with everything going up a really nice, stout compressor that costs x amount of dollars now will also go up in price, making purchasing one of those even harder to swallow.
The best suggestion I can make is to look at yourself and honestly evaluate how devoted you are to this hobby. If you say “PCP’s forever!” then I would do the buy once, cry once deal and invest in a dive air rated compressor like the Bauer or my personal favorite, the Alkin. Once you recoup from that expense you are not at the mercy of any rental company or any hikes in prices.
just so you know, just two years ago, if I remember correctly, a horizontal or vertical model W31 Alkin could be had for $2900 not including shipping. This is for the standard model without the auto stop or auto purge.
A friend of mine bought his coming on a year ago now, and I believe he paid $3400 minus the shipping, and it’s also the standard model without the auto stuff.
So while one is renting tanks for a year, think about what that Alkin is going to cost then