Yet another scuba shop con!
Not so coincidentally, 700.00 was close to the co-pay for a colonoscopy and some testing back in 2022 . . .
Annual on barely used gear
- Thread starter DrysuitFanatic
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Not so coincidentally, 700.00 was close to the co-pay for a colonoscopy and some testing back in 2022 . . .
It just occurred to me that when you say "set of gear" and quoted you "for everything," maybe you are referring to more gear than just the regulator set? In other words, does that $700 include servicing a BC (whatever that might entail)? Maybe that drysuit, too? Like others, I'm scratching my head as to how they could possibly have reached $700. Drysuit service/inspection could certainly add some to the total. But for a regulator set alone, $700 would be nuts.
Which regs? All the big manufacturers have shifted to something like a 2 year or 200 dive service interval with no annual inspection requirement.
And what else is included? $700 is insane on the face of it. But maybe you've got a dozen cylinders that need a VIP and they are servicing the hubs on your trailer as well.
$700 for servicing your gear. That's reasonable if you have 4 or 5 reg sets, a couple sets of doubles, and a drysuit where a seal is getting replaced. Oh, and they are including a massage with happy ending.
Otherwise they might as well be wearing ski masks and holding a gun on you.
This is $700 US right? Not those weird Canadian or New Zealand dollars right. Even the NZD would be like 430 US which is still nuts.
Where is this shop? How much did they screw you over for your gear?
Otherwise they might as well be wearing ski masks and holding a gun on you.
This is $700 US right? Not those weird Canadian or New Zealand dollars right. Even the NZD would be like 430 US which is still nuts.
Where is this shop? How much did they screw you over for your gear?
jellycatsdad
Contributor
That sounds about right when I got my regs serviced for $210. Not including shipping to/from. Unless it’s a air-integrated power inflator that serves as your air source in a primary donate OOA situation(if you’re not diving long hose), isn’t cheaper just to buy a new power inflator for a BC/wing?
No, that guy's still getting the Midnight Express treatment; can only hope dinner and a polite call-back is in the offing.
Also, which Fantasy Island dive shop employee / tech ever received forty dollars an hour? Tech was about the lowest spot on the shop totem, when I was a kid, working a Summer job, and was a net loser, in terms of cost (why else hire college kids for it, some who had never seen a torque wrench or the inside of a regulator, at minimum wage?) -- though a station above that new guy who regularly rinsed urine from stacks of rental wetsuits, with jugs of Fabuloso, while breathing through his mouth.
Poseidon, for example, which always held a reputation for some of the priciest maintenance and parts, can currently be serviced -- all models -- for 95.00 apiece, which includes both first and second stages (or a whopping 125.00 for a 1st and two 2nds); and service kits are included in that price, from a well-respected firm in the US Midwest, from whom I have frequently purchased parts for DIY . . .
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My number was just an approximation to extablish a somewhat "usual" rationale of a cost for service. Some day you will learn what overhead/profit means in the business world. When I worked in consulting, my employer billed me out at $150/hrs. The multiplier of 3.xx was a common number applied to salaries to cover all costs of the company. Things like rent, utilities, equipment debt/maintenance/depreciation, insurance, and on, and on are all on top of salaries paid.
I certainly would have loved that $150/hr, but it isn't how business is run.
You ever been to a car dealership and seen the posted hourly rate for mechanical work? Think they pay their techs that money? LOL.
Anyhow, my $40/hr at that multiplier turns out to be about $13/hrs direct labor. My 1 hr time on each piece is obviously high unless the reg is a completel mess (or the tech is clueless), and my parts cost is again (as I stated) really just a guess at a placeholder, but if you have purchased service kits lately, it just might be in a statistical range. Again, the purchase of those on the open market has cost multipliers that are different if sold to a consumer or used in the shop's work.
Now certainly it just might be possible to find it for less, and geographic location plays a role in costs too.
We certainly can agree the op's quote has us scratching our heads...
Belzelbub
Contributor
What the shop charges and the tech receives are two different things. The shops hourly rate will undoubtedly be more. Shop I use charges a flat rate for service, but it works out pretty close to @rhwestfall's estimate.
For inspection, they charge $25 for the whole reg (1st, and 2 seconds, etc.)
For service, they charge $35 plus parts per stage.
i will assume there must be some confusion here.
perhaps you misunderstood the quote your shop gave you?
it might help if you were to clarify exactly which gear was to be serviced for 700 bucks. clearly that cannot be for one set of regs.
as far as how often to get service......
as someone already pointed out, if you have a warranty of some type which might include free parts for life, you may be required to get some type of service or inspection each year to maintain that warranty. that may be something to consider.
it could also depend on the type of reg you have. a sealed reg should require less servicing compared to a non sealed reg. we cannot know which you have unless you tell us the brand and model.
it may also depend on the type of diving someone does. non sealed regs with heavy salt water use combined with poor user maintenance = more regular servicing for example.
in your case it sounds like the regs have seen little use and typically there should be no issue. but no one online is gonna stick their neck out and tell you they know for sure the regs are 100% good to go. or at least they shouldn't.
i have seen divers with loose lp and hp hoses they were not aware of. also seen yoke nuts that came loose during a dive....oh wait.....that was me. lol so it is not always about getting a full service. many divers know nothing about even the most basic maintenance and wouldn't know how to use a wrench even if they owned one. not being sarcastic. it's true.
perhaps you misunderstood the quote your shop gave you?
it might help if you were to clarify exactly which gear was to be serviced for 700 bucks. clearly that cannot be for one set of regs.
as far as how often to get service......
as someone already pointed out, if you have a warranty of some type which might include free parts for life, you may be required to get some type of service or inspection each year to maintain that warranty. that may be something to consider.
it could also depend on the type of reg you have. a sealed reg should require less servicing compared to a non sealed reg. we cannot know which you have unless you tell us the brand and model.
it may also depend on the type of diving someone does. non sealed regs with heavy salt water use combined with poor user maintenance = more regular servicing for example.
in your case it sounds like the regs have seen little use and typically there should be no issue. but no one online is gonna stick their neck out and tell you they know for sure the regs are 100% good to go. or at least they shouldn't.
i have seen divers with loose lp and hp hoses they were not aware of. also seen yoke nuts that came loose during a dive....oh wait.....that was me. lol so it is not always about getting a full service. many divers know nothing about even the most basic maintenance and wouldn't know how to use a wrench even if they owned one. not being sarcastic. it's true.
OMyMyOHellYes
Contributor
I think Dow Corning Molykote 111 is the advised lubricant for scuba applications. Vaseline might eat away any latex.
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