Question Anyone ever had an incident because they serviced their own gear?

[Tom_Ivan]

I was servicing my regulators the other day and at the bottom of every page in the service manual is a full paragraph repeating the same lecture about how untrained divers should never attempt to service their equipment, its a great way to die, your an idiot if you try etc etc.

Is there any data to actually support this? I did a search online and there are plenty of stories about equipment failure but they all are new equipment, equipment recently serviced by a dive shop or rented equipment. Couldn't find a single story of a dive incident that was a result of poorly DIY serviced equipment.

I'd have thought if the manufactures were really interested in keeping people safe they would make the service manuals public and include more detail on how to test your equipment post service.

 

[lexvil]

I was servicing my regulators the other day and at the bottom of every page in the service manual is a full paragraph repeating the same lecture about how untrained divers should never attempt to service their equipment, its a great way to die, your an idiot if you try etc etc.

Is there any data to actually support this? I did a search online and there are plenty of stories about equipment failure but they all are new equipment, equipment recently serviced by a dive shop or rented equipment. Couldn't find a single story of a dive incident that was a result of poorly DIY serviced equipment.

I'd have thought if the manufactures were really interested in keeping people safe they would make the service manuals public and include more detail on how to test your equipment post service.

Money is the only interest and maintaining an outdated dealer system.

 

[rx7diver]

@Tom_Ivan,

Your problem is you actually read the service manual.

rx7diver

 

[rhwestfall]

I don't think you will have individuals who messed up doing it themselves publicly state so... The usual gripe is that service was payed for and not done correctly. You do it yourself, you take on the risk.

That being said, I am yet to have wrecked or broken my gear servicing it in over 10 years of doing it. That well exceeds experiences I had prior to doing it myself.

You do need to know what you are doing, and you can mess stuff up (like scratch sealing surfaces if you do it incorrectly), but most of it isn't surgery.

 

[The Chairman]

I was servicing my regulators the other day and at the bottom of every page in the service manual is a full paragraph repeating the same lecture about how untrained divers should never attempt to service their equipment, its a great way to die, your an idiot if you try etc etc.

I resorted to rebuilding my regs after a professional really effed one of mine up. I found out at 60ft in a deep chasm. Rebuilding a reg is simple and most anyone can learn how to do it. It's my opinion that you will take more care and fewer shortcuts than most pros.

 

[rx7diver]

... It's my opinion that you will take more care and fewer shortcuts than most pros.

+1

I can't imagine a shop taking as much time servicing my regs as I do. The shop would go broke!

rx7diver

 

[Lorenzoid]

I was servicing my regulators the other day and at the bottom of every page in the service manual is a full paragraph repeating the same lecture about how untrained divers should never attempt to service their equipment, its a great way to die, your an idiot if you try etc etc.

I agree with them that "untrained" divers should not attempt to service their gear, but what does "untrained" really mean? I took a 1-day training course from one of the (few) manufacturers that believes in their customers servicing their own gear. My course was in-person, but there are such courses online, too. One could also self-"train," I suppose.

 

[Tom_Ivan]

I found out at 60ft...

Interesting. Do you know what was wrong and why it wasn't apparent until you were at 60ft? What tests could have been done post service to catch it?

 

[The Chairman]

I can't imagine a shop taking as much time servicing my regs as I do. The shop would go broke!

Yeah, I'm pretty efficient in that regard. I used to do it for a few shops. My turnaround is usually within 45 minutes to an hour though. No shop matches that.

 

[admikar]

If it's just changing parts and testing, 30-45 minutes for a set.
Sonic bath and drying is what takes most of my time.