Regulators that work but have gone out of circulation

[beaverdivers]

Make sure your insurance will cover you for renting gear!

 

[japan-diver]

I would say you are not looking very hard if you can not find parts. Even the Dacor Pacer regs mentioned by Wookie have parts available from Trident and a few other sources. As most regs use generic sized seats, orings etc.. finding parts is not a problem. Now if you crack a body or something like that you may be out of luck. Now saying that parts are not a problem - having regs that are old in rental is usually not a great idea as Wookie also pointed out. Buy a few every year and sell off your old ones and you stay ahead of the game and always have new regs to rent out.

 

[RonFrank]

You live in the US, one of the most sue happy places in the world. If your regs are so old that you have any difficulty getting parts then sell them on the sidewalk and purchase new regs yesterday. I honestly do not know what you are thinking. Imagine the liability you face if a diver dies, and you get sued over an older than dirt reg, even if they died for a non reg related reason.

You should always have newish equipment in the rental fleet. If you want to rent out junk, I hear MX is where you want to be. Most dive shops in this area turn their rental fleet over annually. We have no salt water here so I would imagine annually there would not be out of line unless this stuff gets little use.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

It might have been a good idea to post this question anonymously. Thank's for informing me about the dangers and incompetance of Jules' Lodge. It's better that you asked, but the fact that you let this situation get to this point in the first place and that you then actually asked for public guidance, speaks volumes. Sorry.

I too, for this very reason, am glad I own all of my gear.

 

[aquaregia]

It might have been a good idea to post this question anonymously. Thank's for informing me about the dangers and incompetance of Jules' Lodge. It's better that you asked, but the fact that you let this situation get to this point in the first place and that you then actually asked for public guidance, speaks volumes. Sorry.

How does a situation not get to this point? There's a decent chance that the service kits only just became unavailable to them and that they have had many years of safe and dependable service from these regs and don't want to jump to an unknown if they don't have to.

I'd be curious about the liability difference from using a Trident service kit over an OEM one.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

How does a situation not get to this point? There's a decent chance that the service kits only just became unavailable to them and that they have had many years of safe and dependable service from these regs and don't want to jump to an unknown if they don't have to.

I'd be curious about the liability difference from using a Trident service kit over an OEM one.

You have a point, and I agree with it. But I'd think a company whose business revolves around underwater activity would at some point think, "hmm, maybe we should update these 20+ year old regulators". I think there's a difference in utility between personal and commercial use. ... kind of like expired chicken. I'd eat it a few days past it expiration date if it were in my fridge, but I would never pay for it at a restaurant (or be pissed to find out I did). Then imagine your face if the chef came out while you were eating and asked if he should keep or throw away his expired meat.

 

[Garrobo]

What japan-diver said. Also, I have three sets of Dacor XLE/960's which I think were made in the 70's and which I used regularly up till about a few years ago. No problem finding parts kits for either the first or second stages. In fact I've still got a couple rebuild kits for them (including diaphrams) though I don't use the regs anymore. I picked up the stuff off of Ebay over the years.

 

[redacted]

You have a point, and I agree with it. But I'd think a company whose business revolves around underwater activity would at some point think, "hmm, maybe we should update these 20+ year old regulators". I think there's a difference in utility between personal and commercial use. ... kind of like expired chicken. I'd eat it a few days past it expiration date if it were in my fridge, but I would never pay for it at a restaurant (or be pissed to find out I did). Then imagine your face if the chef came out while you were eating and asked if he should keep or throw away his expired meat.

Have you looked at the age of some commercial passenger jets? Age is much less a factor with regulators as with planes that suffer from metal fatigue problems. As long as they are inspected and serviced I don't see the problem. That does mean that service parts must be available and, with few exceptions, they generally are. Unfortunately, many service providers have a tendency to condemn older gear in the hopes of making a sale on new gear.

The OP still has not told us what kind of regs we are talking about.

 

[Wookie]

What japan-diver said. Also, I have three sets of Dacor XLE/960's which I think were made in the 70's and which I used regularly up till about a few years ago. No problem finding parts kits for either the first or second stages. In fact I've still got a couple rebuild kits for them (including diaphrams) though I don't use the regs anymore. I picked up the stuff off of Ebay over the years.

It's fine for you to use Trident kits to keep your old regs serviced. Those old Dacors are great regs. When you go to Hertz, do you want to rent a '77 Impala? They were great cars in 1977, and there are still lots on the road. Doesn't mean I want one today. I'm in the process of throwing away thousands of dollars worth of food that expired. It's still good, but I can't serve it to customers, and the food pantries won't take it. It's just not worth the risk.

 

[Wookie]

Have you looked at the age of some commercial passenger jets? Age is much less a factor with regulators as with planes that suffer from metal fatigue problems. As long as they are inspected and serviced I don't see the problem. That does mean that service parts must be available and, with few exceptions, they generally are. Unfortunately, many service providers have a tendency to condemn older gear in the hopes of making a sale on new gear.

The OP still has not told us what kind of regs we are talking about.

See post 8. They're Genesis.