Door County soon to have air!!!

[captkathy]

Breathe deep Door County divers, air is on the way!

I'm happy to announce that I've purchased an air station and should have it here in 7-10 days, with an operational deadline of July 1st.

It's a Coltri Sub compressor powered by a 9hp Honda gas motor.  Continuous duty and rated for 10.8 cfm, it features auto drain, auto stop, high temp shut off, Carbon Monoxide indicator, along w/ various other bells and whistles.  I will also have a four bank cascade and fill panel.  All of this will be housed in a 12 foot Cargo Express trailer w/ a ramp, side door, and ceiling vent.  The exhaust will be vented out the floor, and the intake will come in through flexible tubing running out the ceiling vent.  I'm right now doing my research to find which lab I'll go through to do my air tests.  During the season, the air station will be about a mile and a half South of Gills Rock on Hwy 42.  If you remember Marilyn who works at the Shoreline office, she's allowing me to keep it on her property.

For those of you familiar w/ the air station saga, power has yet to be run to the old compressor.  Jake and I still hope to work together in the future, but he understands that I need air now.

I had warned many people that if the old air station got up and running, that fills may be as much as $10.  I hate to say it, but my price will probably be up there also.  I know this seems quite high when many of you have fill cards w/ your local dive shop for less, but my reasons are many.  First off, there is this substantial initial investment, next is the very short season we have up here, and finally is the very small base of local divers.

Finally, there is the matter of when air fills are available.  For the most part, they will need to be prearranged.  I wish I could offer the convenience of fills anytime and while you wait, but I do have my boat to run, and I also still work on "The Shoreline."  So for now, I see these happening on a call ahead basis.

So air fills are on their way back to Door County!  I came here to let everyone know the change in status, but to also get any feedback you might have.  If anyone has an opinion, input, or advice on scheduling an air fill, pricing, and any other ideas, I would be happy to hear them.

Happy Diving,
Kathy
Dive Diva Charters

[captkathy]

Fired up the compressor today and have an air test ready to send out!  Still waiting for the fill panel and a few odds and ends to arrive, but will be pumping air soon.

The trailer it's housed in is red, hmmm, I wonder what I could paint on there to catch a divers eye... White stripe coming soon

[matt t.]

Sweet! Congradulations ;D.

[DiveCaptDean]

Kathy-
Congrats on getting an air system up and running...My opinion is while i would not jack the price of air up there just tomake a buck, I DO NOT consider the price you are thinking of charging as JACKING THE PRICE......$10. a fill in a location that has no air is not out of line.  I dont think yo should concern yourself with the fill card situation at everyones LDS.....you are not a LDS..you are a charter operator......I have not even met you, and i can tell the kind of person you are by your posts...the fact that you mentioned some of the things you mentioned and explained your reasons should show everyone that you are there to make an HONEST attempt at running an HONEST operation....I wish you the best of luck and congratulate you on taking the initiative to put such an investment into your operation.....hold firm on your pricing.  Anyone that doesnt understand can certainly spend the time and money heading back toward green bay to get a fill if they dont like it....while they are at it..they can fill their gas tank again too.....

Good job
Deano 

[captkathy]

Thank you Deano   

[captkathy]

First air test passed!

[Spiels]

Kathy-

Where are you located?  My Summer place is in Sturgeon Bay.  This is great news!

[captkathy]

Hi Spiels,
My air station is a mile South of Gills Rock.  For you in Sturgeon Bay, it's kind of a horse a piece...  30 to 45 minutes to me or to Green Bay.  But if you head North of the Bay to do any diving, then I'm definately closer.  My number is available here, so please feel free to contact me if you need to arrange a fill.

Busy day ahead, but I'll respond to your PM soon.  (May not be as busy of a day as planned due to this wind    Summer one day, Fall the next!

Happy Diving,
Kathy

[divegirl]

I agree kathy. The price is not unreasonable. I would differently get my tanks filled by you.

[captkathy]

Thank you DiveGirl!