The other day I made a comment something on the order of a compressor is expensive, but it will set you free. Ron responded, "How much does it cost to run one"? For me, the initial investment was the mountain to get over. Compressor's are not cheap. I got lucky. I worked with a guy who had a MaxAir 35 that he didn't use much. He wanted to sell it. It only had 11 hours on it. Some cash and a little horse trading and I bought it for $1700.00. I replace the filter every 10 hours. That's about $40.00 and I change the oil at 25 hours. A couple bucks. No biggie. The big thing for me is not having to go to a dive shop, spending the time and gas to do so. Not to mention dealing with the rules they make up as they go along. One shop who has since gone out of business called my steel tanks evil. Really!! They should have rejoiced as the require a little more attention. Attention = profits! By the way, I did take the PSI course so I know what to look for and how to do it as far as the tanks are concerned.
So, you guys who roll your own so to speak... How much does it cost you to run it and how do you justify it? For me it's a simple equation. It's a big time and hassle saver. It takes me longer to fill tanks with no cascade system. But instead of driving, I can work on things in the shop and drink a few cold ones. Works for me!
Jim