Should I trade my Scuba Pro for an Aqua Lung Legend LX Supreme?

[christinascott]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently weighing the pros and cons of trading in the Scuba Pro regulator that I own for an Aqua Lung Legend LX Supreme with ACD.
With the trade-in, the Legend would cost $500.00 and comes with free parts for life. The Scuba Pro reg set that I bought second-hand will cost approximately $90.00 in parts and $90.00 for servicing each time.
I'm basically trying to figure out whether it's worth keeping the one that I have, or if it's worth paying more and getting the free parts that come with the Legend.
I would also like to know how often people normally get their regulators serviced?

I'm a fairly new recreational open-water diver and do not intend on pursuing more technical dives, so would really appreciate any feedback that you might have!

 

[Zung]

Which Scubapro do you have? $90 for parts seem high; maybe you should shop around.
If you only dive occasionally, say 20 dives a year, you can go easily 3-4 years or more between service, so the running cost is not too bad.

 

[spectrum]

Well 180 dollars to service a regulator (3 stages) sure sounds high to me but I'm no ScubaPro wonk so others can chimne in on that. Obviously if that number is as inflated as it sounds it could kill your ROI.

You don't say what you have for a ScubaPro regulator but does it meet your needs? is a cold water rated for instance?

The dive industry's mentality is based on an annual service profile. You pay the shop annually and the manufacturer comps them for parts. This seems to keep everyone happy. Parts are peanuts for the manufacturer, the shop stays busy and the shop has a vested interest in maintaining brand affiliation.

Typical use patterns and service results have called a lot of this into question. It's ludicrous to believe that this vital equipment requires a rebuild after processing 50 or even 100 cylinders of compressed air. This is nothing more than a glorified valve and in industry they can operate for decades, 24/7 albeit without some of the exposures dive gear faces. It's also true that most regulator malfunctions happen right after service. Most of the time it is just a follow-up adjustment that is needed but unless you learn to do these things it can be very disruptive. The rub is that if you do a poor job handling and maintaining your gear a regulator can be internally trashed in a jiffy.

All that being said many divers are eschewing the annual service interval and taking a more needs based approach to regulator maintenance. The sticky at the top of this forum details things one can do to monitor the condition of a regulator set and catch developing problems before they become hazards. Using this approach many regulators go untouched for 2,3,4 or even more years.

Over time regardless of use most regulators will suffer some effects. The rubber seats will imprint to the orifice and become prone to free flow. This can usually be corrected with a quick adjustment. Most o-ring seals are concealed and protected with a film of silicone lubricant, deterioration of these will take a long long time. More exposed surfaces like a second stage diaphragm are usually a high tech durable material that does not even fall into the standard service profile.

Be sure your gear is getting a good cleaning after each dive day if you decide to pursue an extended service interval.

Pete

 

[mcgowman]

In this neck of the world, most shops charge about $25/stage for service (so, $75 for first/second/octo) + parts.

I have two regulator setups. One is a 1990's era U.S. Divers/AquaLung that I purchased new and still has the parts for life program. The other is an even older ScubaPro MK10/156BA that I also bought second hand (chrome is just cooler than plastic).

The ScubaPro setup averages about $150 (labor + parts) each time I get it serviced. Once AquaLung modified their service intervals to alternating years of inspection/service, it gave me reason to evaluate the number of yearly dives I do. Since, it's not that high, I decided to only service the ScubaPro every other year. I still bring the U.S. Divers in annually for it's inspection/service to keep the parts program valid.

I'm also anal about soaking/cleaning my regs after use. If I was not and dove more frequently, I might still do the annual service.

Not sure which ScubaPro setup you have and what type of condition it's in. Unless it's trashed, it should work fine in most conditions if serviced properly.

If you're liking the idea of having a brand new reg with a known service history to give you peace of mind, the $500 could be money well spent. Then sell the ScubaPro to offset the cost.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I wouldn't pay $500 for any reg unless it's a full reg set with octo and gauges. Especially if it's just a first stage, hose, and second stage. Did that early on before I knew better and allowed a shop owner to talk me into it. You can get a new, sealed, coldwater reg set with 1st stage, 2nd stage, octo, and basic spg and depth gauge for less than $500 bucks and keep your scubapro reg as a spare. You just need to shop around.
BTW those parts are not free. You're just paying for them on the front end instead of when you bring the reg in for service.

 

[halocline]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently weighing the pros and cons of trading in the Scuba Pro regulator that I own for an Aqua Lung Legend LX Supreme with ACD.
With the trade-in, the Legend would cost $500.00 and comes with free parts for life. The Scuba Pro reg set that I bought second-hand will cost approximately $90.00 in parts and $90.00 for servicing each time.
I'm basically trying to figure out whether it's worth keeping the one that I have, or if it's worth paying more and getting the free parts that come with the Legend.
I would also like to know how often people normally get their regulators serviced?

I'm a fairly new recreational open-water diver and do not intend on pursuing more technical dives, so would really appreciate any feedback that you might have!

It sounds like mostly cons for you and pros for the dive shop. I'm sure your scubapro regulator is perfectly fine for recreational diving, although it would be helpful to know what model it is. $180 is really expensive; $90 for 'parts' to rebuild a regulator is an absolute outrage and anyone charging that for 3 rebuild kits ought to be ashamed of himself. We're talking about a a handful of o-rings and a few seats that I'm certain cost pennies to source or produce.

This is a classic example of the dive gear industry charging absurdly for service in an effort to coerce you to buy something that you definitely do not need, or will even likely be an improvement.

If you take care of your regulator well, you can use it for years without service, provided that when it is serviced, it's done correctly.

One last thing, the 'ACD' or whatever it's called is a gimmick that does nothing for the performance of the regulator. It's not as bad as the oceanic system that actually puts an obstruction in the air path, but it's nothing I would want on a regulator. Just use the rubber cap that comes with the reg and you'll be fine soaking it after salt water use.

 

[oceanhunters]

Aqua Lung gives you parts for life & maintenance for life, but most shops will charge you labor, (in our shop $30) everything scuba pro is expensive, you will save money in the long run, and AQ is world recognized as one of the best. i think its worth the upgrade.

 

[eelnoraa]

Aqualung free part for life requires you to do annual service. If you miss, you lose it forever, no re-instatement. Two conditions need to be met for FPL save you money:
1. you dive a lot, so that annual service is necessary
2. where your live, labor cost is less than part cost for reg service.

If both are met, it will still take your some time to recovery the money you spend. Otherwise, you are not saving anything at all.

Like other said, $90 for part for Scubapro service is quite high. Where I live, $45 for parts (give or take) and about $75 for labor for a full set (one 1st + two 2nd). If I do about 100 dives a year, you can quickly see why FPL doesn't make sense to me at all.

---------- Post Merged at 02:43 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:37 AM ----------

..., but most shops will charge you labor, (in our shop $30) everything scuba pro is expensive, you will save money in the long run, and AQ is world recognized as one of the best. i think its worth the upgrade.

I really doubt that any shop out there will throw in the labor for free if you are under FPL. AFter all, that is why some shops emphasize on FPL program, they make money from labor. And I bet $30 is per stage, not the full set.

 

[USdiver1]

Both a ScubaPro regulator (don't know which model 1st or 2nd stage as you failed to mention it) and the Aqualung Legend LX Supreme should be considered high end, bulletproof reliable regulators. That said, either should function for decades with routine maintenance. As a previous poster mentioned, the Free Parts for Life requires annual servicing, thus you need to be diving pretty heavily to justify the labor charges that you will incur at each year's service. If you are only diving a few times a year, and don't abuse your regulator, it should easily last 2, 3 or more years before requiring an overhaul. If the Legend does something that you need that the ScubaPro does not do (eg. environmentally sealed for cold water diving) it may justify you buying it, but if you are only diving a couple of times a year in warm water, it may be more of a "gotta have it -want" thing than one of actual need. Either way you go, staying with your ScubaPro or moving over to an Aqualung, you should be content in knowing that you have one of the better performing, rock solid reliable regulators made.