Question: I got my reg/BCD serviced a year ago and haven't dived with it...is it safe to use?

[briannapstevens]

I hope it's ok to post this thread here. I looked for a similar thread and couldn't find one.

My husband and I got our gear serviced about a year ago. We have nice, pretty-new BCDs. He has a new reg. (Mine is a vintage Mares metal reg that I love too much to give up). We ended up not diving with them (or maybe we did once). We're going to Kauai in a week and trying to decide if it's prudent to bring our gear since it's been over a year since it's been serviced. Are we being too conservative? I have this "but what if the reg's diaphragm is sticky?" etc kind of thoughts.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on whether it's really necessary to service your gear once a year, even if it hasn't gotten wet (or has gotten wet only once). Am I being too conservative?

 

[crofrog]

I hope it's ok to post this thread here. I looked for a similar thread and couldn't find one.

My husband and I got our gear serviced about a year ago. We have nice, pretty-new BCDs. He has a new reg. (Mine is a vintage Mares metal reg that I love too much to give up). We ended up not diving with them (or maybe we did once). We're going to Kauai in a week and trying to decide if it's prudent to bring our gear since it's been over a year since it's been serviced. Are we being too conservative? I have this "but what if the reg's diaphragm is sticky?" etc kind of thoughts.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on whether it's really necessary to service your gear once a year, even if it hasn't gotten wet (or has gotten wet only once). Am I being too conservative?

I would not have any concerns diving them assuming everything appears to still visibly in good condition, and nothing appears to be dry rotted, loose or otherwise visibly deteriorated.

 

[tursiops]

Good: test the reg by sucking on it while the first stage is closed off with the dust cap. You should feel a vacuum form, with no air coming in. Your diaphragm is then OK.
Better: put the reg on a tank in a dive shopl don't turn on the air and such on it. Then turn on the air and see how it breathes. If the shop as an IP guage put it on the LPI connection and see if the Intermeidate Pressure is like 125-140 psi or so. Purge it a few times and see if the IP returns to the same level and holds there.First stage is OK.
Best: Also borrow the tank and test out the reg in a swimming pool.

You're probably fine, but it is nice to not guess.

 

[inquis]

Assuming the first & second stages are connected, block the tank orifice on the 1st stage and inhale gently on the second: no air should move. Now exhale gently, and air should exhaust. This tests the 2nd stage diaphragm for tears/blocks/stickiness.

(It's a good practice to do this anytime you connect to a tank before turning it on.)

ETA: apparently gotta type faster!

 

[KenE]

I was in the same situation due to injury and surgeries. I took the gear to the LDS and asked what they suggested. They said they would test it and give it a once over at a fraction of the cost to a full service. I believe the gear was fit, but the piece of mind was worth every penny I paid. However, I trust the service guy at my LDS not to do a service that is not needed.

 

[briannapstevens]

Good: test the reg by sucking on it while the first stage is closed off with the dust cap. You should feel a vacuum form, with no air coming in. Your diaphragm is then OK.
Better: put the reg on a tank in a dive shopl don't turn on the air and such on it. Then turn on the air and see how it breathes. If the shop as an IP guage put it on the LPI connection and see if the Intermeidate Pressure is like 125-140 psi or so. Purge it a few times and see if the IP returns to the same level and holds there.First stage is OK.
Best: Also borrow the tank and test out the reg in a swimming pool.

you probably fine, but it is nice to not guess.

Good idea. I can bring it to the dive shop that did the service and see if they'll let us connect it to a tank. I don't have access to a swimming pool. But these are great suggestions.

 

[briannapstevens]

I was in the same situation due to injury and surgeries. I took the gear to the LDS and asked what they suggested. They said they would test it and give it a once over at a fraction of the cost to a full service. I believe the gear was fit, but the piece of mind was worth every penny I paid. However, I trust the service guy at my LDS not to do a service that is not needed.

I hear you on the peace of mind thing. I'm not sure if I trust the guy at the LDS. That said, that's where we got it serviced. So hopefully, they'll stand behind it. Thanks for your response.

 

[briannapstevens]

Assuming the first & second stages are connected, block the tank orifice on the 1st stage and inhale gently on the second: no air should move. Now exhale gently, and air should exhaust. This tests the 2nd stage diaphragm for tears/blocks/stickiness.

(It's a good practice to do this anytime you connect to a tank before turning it on.)

ETA: apparently gotta type faster!

Wow! I never thought of that! So glad I posted this question.

 

[tursiops]

Good idea. I can bring it to the dive shop that did the service and see if they'll let us connect it to a tank. I don't have access to a swimming pool. But these are great suggestions.

Your dive shop has pool access.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

You will be fine. Keep in mind that the rental gear will be in worse shape than whatever you bring yourself . I would just take the gear and plan the first dive to be a shallow one just to be sure, especially after not diving for a while.

What you do need is to check your dive computer batteries and have those replaced if older than what the manufacturer recommends (3 years maybe?)

If you are paranoid:

Inflate your BCDs overnight. If they mostly stay inflated - all good. If not, check the dump valves for dirt. Repeat. Worst case check for leaks in a bath tub or spray the suspected leak with a bit of shampoo to check for bubbles. Replace inflator (I doubt any shop actually services them) every 5-20? years. Nothing else to service on a BCD. I wouldn’t bother with servicing BCDs in the future unless you have a known problem or feel like subsidising your local dive shop.

When you go diving, check if the inflator is not leaking (pressurising the BCD or bubbling when disconnected). If yes, there is a tiny valve in the low pressure hose that you connect to your inflator and the dive shop/dive master should be able to clean the o-ring inside in about 2 minutes.

Regs are most likely to fail (freeflow for most designs) right after being serviced because a service technician made a mistake. Always check your regs in a pool or on a shallow dive after service. Service the regs as little as possible to avoid failures .

You generally want to service your regs every few (2-3?) years as some of the parts might dry-rot, after putting a couple hundred dives on them, whenever you significantly flood them with salt water or when they start failing, e.g. breathe wet or freeflow (* . Replace hoses when they get bulges etc., might be prudent to change them ever few years depending on how much you dive.

Unless you flooded the regs or horribly bent the hoses to the point that you get visible bulges, you will be fine to dive them. If you are diving with a DM, they can fix any small problems (little bubble - no trouble) by replacing an odd O-ring in few minutes at the dive site.

Servicing regs every year especially if you don’t dive 100+ dives a year is unnecessary but it does give extra money to your local dive shop and obviously the manufacturer recommends it to sell you a service kit.

(* this does not apply to O2 clean gear, but that’s not your case