Anyway, this spring is a pretty busy time for me. I am still plugging away at little details here and there, but I hopefully plan to start the real design phase of the submersible this summer. My dad and I will also be taking some welding classes over the summer, so hopefully by the fall we will be ready to begin construction of the pressure hull. As much as I like to have a "progress calendar," it seems that I'm better off without one because busyness and complications always mess it up! And I definitely side with you folks that spending some extra time researching, learning and educating yourself is well worth it when you consider the stakes (money, as well as safety).
In the mean time, I'll still be active here on psubs with questions, as well as working on my model of the sub and experimenting with design. Now here is my first official question on the psubs forum: Has anyone here purchased/considered purchasing a high pressure compressor of their own for the purpose of filling tanks at home? I know that they are relatively high cost items, but when you consider a large dive operation, including submersible operations and support divers, I can't help but wonder if the purchase could be justified? You must remember that you are not only eliminating the small fee of a tank charge, but also eliminating the need for unnecessary trips to the dive store (time & gas!!!), unnecessary transport of the tanks (bulky & somewhat dangerous), and all the while eliminating the need for the purchasing or renting of multiple tanks per person per dive trip. There are several companies that seem to carry this equipment, the best I've found looks to be Nuvair,
http://www.nuvair.com/compressors-hp-breathingair.shtml The smaller and portable units listed on this site could be carried aboard a boat and taken out onto your dive location. Any thoughts? ~ Douglas S.