Question about equipment maintenance and repair

[redacted]

No, but they did mention the liability of not doing professional service.

As a fellow Tech diver, I'm sure you understand the importance of proper service.

Did they site any specific cases where a Scuba service was held liable for failing to provide "professional service"?

 

[beaverdivers]

No, but I can give you a beauty.

Largest settled lawsuit in SCUBA history. 1980's - Diver dies from drowning in USVI. Older diver enters the water, panics, boat crew grabs B.C. corregated hose & tries to pull diver out of the water. Hose breaks, diver drowns.

Wife & baby awarded suit.

13 years later I trained her son. She was still close friends with her lawyer.

Do you think I made absoutely sure all his gear was properly serviced?

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Did they site any specific cases where a Scuba service was held liable for failing to provide "professional service"?

I would like to up the ante on this question. Has any manufacture or dive shop ever had a law suit brought against them because they have sold parts to the consumer?

No, but I can give you a beauty.

Largest settled lawsuit in SCUBA history. 1980's - Diver dies from drowning in USVI. Older diver enters the water, panics, boat crew grabs B.C. corregated hose & tries to pull diver out of the water. Hose breaks, diver drowns.

Wife & baby awarded suit.

13 years later I trained her son. She was still close friends with her lawyer.

Do you think I made absoutely sure all his gear was properly serviced?

What does this have to do with proper service? I can pretty much guaranty the corrugated hose on any BC would fail if put under this amount of stress. Did the win the suit because the previous person who worked on the BC installed the hose wrong or some idiot on the boat tried to pull the diver up by a piece of equipment that was never meant to support that kind of weight?

 

[beaverdivers]

The jury consisted of local islanders that probably did not know how to swim and thought SCUBA diving was crazy.

The captain probably grapped what he could, I am not sure of his IQ.

Perhaps the corrugated hose was worn.

Yes, you are correct, a corrugated hose is not made to lift a diver out of the water.

A wife with baby wins every time.

If my student, the teenage - grown up baby, had any gear problems, then I would be in hot water.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

The jury consisted of local islanders that probably did not know how to swim and thought SCUBA diving was crazy.

The captain probably grapped what he could, I am not sure of his IQ.

Perhaps the corrugated hose was worn.

Worn or not they pulled him up bu the corrugated hose and it broke, they caused the fault and should have known better as they are "professionals looking over the operation".

Yes, you are correct, a corrugated hose is not made to lift a diver out of the water. Yes I agree

A wife with baby wins every time.

Only if you provided the gear or worked on it.

If my student, the teenage - grown up baby, had any gear problems, then I would be in hot water.

No matter what you do you are screwed buy what you just said.

Yes I do agree equipment maintenance is important, but when statements like posted earlier are said by a manufacturer I believe indeed it is more marketing and scare tactics than caring for the customers welfare.

 

[MarkHerm]

Yes I do agree equipment maintenance is important, but when statements like posted earlier are said by a manufacturer I believe indeed it is more marketing and scare tactics than caring for the customers welfare.

Agreed. The stated case does not contribute anything to this discussion. It neither shows issues due to improper BC service nor with legal liabilities for not getting professional maintenance.

 

[TSandM]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around regular service for a BC.

A BC consists of a bladder, one or more dump valves, and an inflator assembly. (If you have an integrated octo-inflator, then of course the regulator part needs regular service.) The dump valves are simply a plate or plug with a spring, and a cord that pulls the plug against the spring and allows air out. Other than inspecting the spring from time to time, to make sure it hasn't corroded, there is nothing there to service.

The bladder needs to be rinsed out by the user, but there is nothing there to service. If you want to unscrew a dump valve and look inside the bladder for salt crystals, you can easily do that at home.

The inflator assembly is the one thing that requires periodic maintenance or repair. The o-rings there are moving and are susceptible to getting salt or grit into the innards. As I said, if you have a standard corrugated hose, you can buy the entire replacement unit, made by Trident, for something in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 dollars.

I really don't understand the push to have professional servicing of BCs.

I do think that it is quite a reasonable point to make, that the cost of service has to be figured into the degree of "deal" that someone is getting when buying used gear, but I think it's primarily an issue with regulators.

 

[The Chairman]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around regular service for a BC.

It all depends on how comfortable and competent the individual is in inspecting, evaluating and repairing their BC as well as their inclination to want to do it. I am a master certified Automotive and Heavy Truck ASE certified Technician but I simply hate changing oil. If I trusted someone down here in Key Largo to do it like I trust the Bumby Ave Goodyear Tire and Rubber #2456 in Orlando, I wouldn't go near the drain plug. But I don't make it close to them very often any more, so I get my hands all oily! Some people just don't want to be bothered or feel ill equipped to make those decisions or effect any repairs. That's OK... that's when having a shop do it for you makes sense. What doesn't make sense is to simply neglect it year after year and then blame the manufacturer when the rig seems to fail prematurely. I've seen thar incredulous look more than once with the diver loudly proclaiming that their gear is a piece of junk since it only lasted 2, 3 or 4 years. Few seem to want to accept responsibility for their own gear.

If you are not going to do it, then please, please, please have SOMEONE do it. It doesn't matter what your motivation is for not doing it: just make sure it gets seviced! No, it's not hard, it's not rocket science and it doesn't cost a bunch of money. However, if you want your gear to keep operating dive after dive, you need to have it serviced. Neglect is not a viable service plan. Since this thread started, I have gone through my personal regs and three BCs. It was a good reminder that my gear needed to be serviced and since I am heading to Cozumel this week and to the Sea of Cortez in about a month. I don't want to have any gear failure or other surprises so I am getting some dives on the newly serviced gear BEFORE I leave town. Even if it's only in a pool, get some time on newly serviced gear and make sure it's up to your standards.

BTW, Mini-Season is coming up for the Florida Spiny Lobster. The shops are probably already getting an influx of gear to be serviced. They'll see gear that hasn't gotten wet in five/ten years and customers that expect to be able to throw $20 at them and get it all serviced. Tanks from the 60's, BCs with termite and roach damage, regs that are covered with more vedigris than chrome will all show up with divers expecting that the years of neglect can be resolved with a flick of the Scuba Tech's magic wand. What's funny/tragic are the divers who bring in their equipment less than a week before mini-season expecting it to be ready on time. It's important to PLAN AHEAD for these events. Some of the parts are hard to find and neglected gear has the propensity to have seized parts and fittings that require long soaks and extra time to disassemble. Even more important, please don't inspect your gear the night before and expect to dive it without incident. Neglect that results in a gear emergency on your part is not the shop's or manufacturer's problem. You and you alone are responsible for the gear you dive. Say "no" to trust me dives by vetting your equipment before you splash.

 

[The Chairman]

As a caveat, I checked the date of the OP. I actually serviced my Atomic Regs about two weeks prior to this thread (I think). However, I serviced my Hog regs, and my BCs (Zeagle and Hollis) since this thread started. I should note that I only have a few dives on the Hollis in about two years. I still found verdigris on the valve parts, so I am glad I checked it out. Verdigris leads to pitting and corrosion. Those are not good for scuba gear. Neglect, no matter how benign it might seem, is not a viable service option. At least not for me.

 

[diverrex]

Part of the issue with these type discussions is that tend toward the two extreme sides when often something in the middle is the more realistic circumstance. In this case one end is a BC should be serviced every year with the other being that never need serviced. I think a quality BC that is regularly maintained well can at least go several years without any actual service either by user or shop. But at some point in it's life it may need service. I think what many of us object to is the industry standard claim that this is a life support piece of gear and should be serviced every single year and at maybe $30 a pop for maybe no more than blowing it up and rinsing it out.

When the LDS talks about how customers should be loyal and not buy online maybe they should realize it needs to work both ways and not try to overcharge for minimal service on something that probably doesn't need any service.

A good LDS to me would be one where you could take your BC and they would look at it and say it's just fine no charge.