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Local Items: Where do you get air?
Bonaire Talk: Local Items: Archives: Archives 2005 - 2006: Archives - 2006-03-01 to 2006-07-31: Where do you get air?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #134) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 8:53 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Are there any dive shops/resorts that offer a discount to locals for tanks or air fills?

Are there any places that you could perhaps pay a (discounted) monthly fee for tank rentals?

I don't have my own tank now, should I bring one from the US, or wait til I get to Bonaire?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry Gauron (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #610) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 11:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Jenny,

Get a tank on Bon. The airlines won't be happy about transporting a tank.

E-mail all the dive shops with your request.
Here is a nice link.
http://www.infobonaire.com/diveoperators.html

Good luck!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #135) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 11:40 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for the link Jerry.

I would be shipping the tank on Amcar, with the valve out. I have a deco bottle that I'm definitley bringing. Just not sure about AL 80s.

My main concern is that if I have my own tank, I could be waiting forever for a fill, whereas if I borrow tanks, they're right there. Just not sure what the cost difference is.

So where do the people who live on Bonaire get their air? Do you all have your own tanks or do you borrow?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By herman mowery (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #584) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 2:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jenny,
I can see no reason to bring a tank. At $100 per week for all the tanks you can use, it would be really hard to break even. Shipping a tank has got to be at least $50 each way, not the mention the pain in the rear of shipping it both ways. If you need to a deco bottle, why not just sling a 63 or 80? Bring the sling and use a local tank.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #137) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 3:57 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Perhaps I need to clarify....

I am MOVING to Bonaire. So I was wondering if people that live there get discounts from dive shops for like a 'monthly subscription' for air.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #138) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 3:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

oh and my deco bottle is for Nitrox, right now it has 80%, so I definitely want to bring that.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Gould (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #514) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 7:24 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jenny,
You can buy a refill card at any of the Diveshops on the Island... Buy 2 tanks and always have a full one... Ron

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #630) on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 11:03 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ron: How does a refill card work? Just curious.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Gould (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #516) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 9:20 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marcus,
You buy a card with say 20 fills on it and everytime use have a tank filled they punch it out on your card. The savings is the more you buy the cheaper they are... Ron

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By pat murphy (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #853) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 9:39 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

we bought our tanks (2 each) from bruce at carib inn. i paid as much thru him as i would have paid here in the states and then didn't have to worry about having them shipped there. he has great prices. i'd suggest you email him and see if he'd be willing to order some for you. also, i've heard some dive shops will sell their used tanks when they are due for hydro. maybe you could buy a used tank and have it hydro tested there.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #145) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 10:07 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Where is the closest hydro facility to Bonaire?

If I wanted a steel tank, I should ship from the US, right?

Thanks for the tips, Ron & Pat. Carib Inn has always been helpful to us when we needed any last minute gear items.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2800) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 11:11 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jenny, e mail Bruce at Carib Inn and he can probably order you whatever you like. Bringing a filled tank down is probably not an option in this day and age, as I believe all shipped tanks have to have their valves removed. Walt at Rec Tec Divers could probably help with special mixtures.
On reflection, I'm not so sure an aluminium tank that has been used 600 or more times in two years is a good secondhand buy. Anybody know?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1528) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 12:12 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I didn't even know there were aluminum tanks available for rent on Bonaire... I thought most places only provided steel.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #146) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 1:53 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ideally, I wouldn't buy a tank at all. A lot of the dive shops i have experience with (mostly in FL) charge maybe an extra dollar or two to rent the tank vs. getting your own tank filled. Not having to wait around while they fill it would be nice too.

and yes, seb, I don't think a frequently used tank is a good buy either.

Susan,

I'm pretty sure every tank I ever used on Bonaire was AL. I know the ones at Buddy Dive are cuz it started floating at the end of my dive.


 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1529) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 2:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

D'oh! You're right - I had it the other way around.

It's been a long week... I need a vacation (I have over 4 weeks accumulated but I can't get the DH to agree to "the right time", Arrgh!!!!)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jenny (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #148) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 5:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Susan,
No worries. Hope you can make it to Bonaire soon!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1530) on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 5:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks, Jenny - me too! It doesn't help that one year ago these last 2 weeks I WAS on Bonaire. I'm going through major withdrawal! :-(

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By pat murphy (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #861) on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

you can get a tank hydro tested at bonaire scuba services...it's on the road to rincon just past antriol i think. my thinking would be that if the price was right and the tank passed hydro it would be a good deal. it depends on the tank...some will fail hyrdro after only 100 dives while others keep passing each time they are tested.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #635) on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 1:07 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks Ron. The fill card info may come in handy for some of the longer retirement trips we'll be taking to Bonaire someday.

 


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