Servicing your own gear

[Island Style]

Does anyone know if there are classes locally that teach people to service regulators both 1st and 2nd stage?

I'm curious to know how one goes about certifying themselves to service these items. I'm an electronic technician by trade, as of late, a network administrator...but I'm very dextrous and good with my hands mechanically...

If anyone has anything to share...please either post or pm me.

Thanks in advance,

Brent

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

it's not that hard, your average person will likely do a better job servicing their own gear than some guy getting paid 5 bucks an hour at a shop. I know I'll get flamed for this, but I'd rather work on my own stuff and *know* that it's put together correctly.

 

[mjcoussens]

I agree. With the nature of the shops out here you would be very unlikely to find one willing to allow you to train to service regs and other equipment. Also, I would suggest you get a copy of the every oxygen hacker manual. Great info in them on many aspects of dive equipment. Any tools that you may need for this you can get from scubatools.com, I'd also talk to Jay (Rockjock) about getting a hold of a spanner wrench, since he made a copy of mine. FWIW, pm me your email addy along with the make and model of your regs and I'll see if I've got the tear-down schematics for them. If I don't I'm sure someone on the HUE team can does or can get them.

Matt

 

[DiveWestOahu]

repair seminars are generally only open to dive shop persons and dive professionals due to liability issues, also if you was able to take a class very unlikely you could get anyone to sell you the parts needed for service, Sherman does make a good point about knowing yourself and there's really not much to it, but on the other hand if you install something incorrectly and it fails(first or second stage) at 90 feet,,, well ,,, the rest isn''t pretty

 

[rockjock3]

There is also a great site airspeedpress.com that will give you pretty much all the information on how to do all the maintenance on your own as well as schematics for most major manufacturers. I can tell you it is much nicer to be able to service your regs when they need it and not have to wait 2-5 weeks for them to come back and then have to check them over for mistakes that might have been made.

 

[sea nmf]

I know you want to do your own. But just in case, I've got the best guy on the island. A bunch of local shops use him. He is located in Hawaii Kai.

He services NOAA gear and is direct. No need to go through a shop. He guarantees a week turn around, too. Standard pricing. But I really, really trust him.

PM me if interested.

 

[Island Style]

I figured that..

I knew it would be unlikely that a class would be offered...it's big money here in Hawaii and any other seafaring state with scubadivers...It just seems like a lot to pay every year for servicing...

Thanks all for your input and thoughts. Hey, maybe we can all get together one day to share our knowledge on the subject...I myself plan to start digging deep for the information...

Just for info sake...I am using:

Oceanic:
CDX-5 First Stage without the Environment Protection
Delta-3 Second Stage
Alpha 8 - Octo
Air XS 2 - Alternate Air source

I just picked up the Air XS 2 and may be swapping the Alpha 8 out...

I tried both out this weekend (had a primary and 2 alternate regulators...) both had their advantages and disadvantages as well...

Here is something...I dove with a buddy of mine that had not been in the water for a while...he showed concern when I told him about my integrated Oceanic Air XS 2...that's why I left the Alpha 8 octo hooked up to my first stage...we even practiced under the water...and it was definitely safer and more comfortable to use the Octo than to give out the primary and use the alternate...that primary hose is way to short to be comfortable...then again, it's not about comfort...it's about getting air...so, I'm still up in the air.

 

[mjcoussens]

If you were to switch to a 5-7ft hose on the primary and a 22 inch hose on the back-up with a bungie around your neck, you'd have comfort and the ability to get air. If set up correctly you can actually reach the bungied backup without the use of your hands.

Matt

 

[weenerdoggs]

Try this:

Sea Nmf is referring to Mikey of Mikey's Scuba Repair 808 295 2414. He is the reg servicing guru of Oahu. He did my reg a few months ago. he also does all the military and NOAA reg servicing.

I understand that you want to save yourself from the $5/hr repair job. No worries, Mikey has the experience and will be happy to get the job done right. The turn around time is one week or less.

Lastly, this guy is a bit of a mad scientist. Super chatty and knowledgeable. You will learn a lot from him about reg servicing in general. He pretty much explained the evolution of regulators to me and gave me the knowledge the shops dont have. He may be able to direct you to where you can learn the independent skills in a safe and appropriate manner.

Best of luck, be safe not sorry!

Jason

 

[stairman]

Dema has a seminar every year to learn how to rebuild regs but as stated you have to be a dive pro or be sponsered by a dive shop which isnt too hard if you make friends with shop owners etc.Its been held in Orlando the past few years,this year its in Vegas.Again its hard to buy the kits but to save on labor cuts the cost way down.My Atomic kits are like 12 dollars.Specialty tools have to be bought as well.Ive biult several carbs and nail guns but no regs yet.