Maintence costs?

Hi folks,

I'm wondering if anyone is able to give me a rough sense of what maintence costs would run on a typical (basic) set of scuba gear. Inspections, cleanings, etc etc.

Are we talking $100 a year? More? Less?

Thanks!

For my reg, my LDS charges $60 (one 1st stage + two 2nd stages) for labor and around $30 for parts. Another $5 to pressure test the accuracy of the SPG. So it's about $100. I check my BCD after every dive so no need for annual for BCD.
Dive safely.

The only thing that needs annual service is your reg set and tanks, if you own any. Reg sets can vary. I was paying anywhere from $70-120 depending on the reg before I started servicing them myself. Tank costs just involve VIPs. They can range from $4-15. Call your LDS and ask them. They should be able to answer your questions.

I send my regs to ScubaToys for their annual service. Including shipping it's about $55.

Some of this depends on how often you use your gear and how well you take care of it post dive. I go two years between regulator service, although I occasionally do check 1st stage IP and also remove the second stage cover to check for signs of corrosion between services. No service on the bc as I check before each dive. The spg also requires no service, unless a problem is noted, like lack of swivvle or slow leak which means it's time to replace the $1.50 spool.

My LDS charges $42 for reg service plus parts = $60 this last month. My tanks cost $15 for vip.

TOM

Thanks.

I'm trying to do the math and figure out what my cost per dive would be if I bought myself some scuba gear (which would then need to be maintained). The nice part is... the more I dive the cheaper it gets

rjpv:

Thanks.

I'm trying to do the math and figure out what my cost per dive would be if I bought myself some scuba gear (which would then need to be maintained). The nice part is... the more I dive the cheaper it gets

Click to expand...

Don't look at it as only a cost factor. Look at the convience of owning your own gear plus the fact that you know you're getting the same "working" gear each time and not having to deal with someone at the dive shop maintaining the rental gear or a customer not reporting a problem with rental gear.

I've rented gear several times only to get in the water and find there was a problem with the gear. Now consider that I drove somewhere like to the beach and this ruined or delayed the dive while we go it fixed. So factor in everything.


A perfect example is owning tanks. By the time you buy tanks and pay the $10 to $15 Visual fee every year and $25 hydro fee every 5 years, it's not much of a break even unless you dive a lot. If you travel (or fly) you typically use tanks at that location, lessening the use of your own tanks. So for that $20/year average maint fee per tank, chances are you could pay the difference in rental tanks and air fills and come out about the same. However, the convience of owning tanks is not having to "rush" to the dive shop on Friday afternoon after work to rent tanks and "rush" to get them back within the rental period. It's just much easier to own tanks and not to have to deal with it. It just costs more for many of us. Especially when you own "lots" of tanks. It's still worth it.


To get back to your orginal question, which more centered on gear(regulators, etc), consider that many new regulators include "Free parts for life" warranties. This cuts down on annual service costs.

You really don't have to service the BC like you do the regulators, but it's still important to inspect it. Look for corrosion on any metal parts, dry rot on any hoses, stitching coming undone on any of hte harnesses, etc. or small holes in the bladder. (you can test be bladder by blowing it up all the way and letting it sit for a few hours and see if it goes down any. If it takes "hours" to go down, you might have a "small pinhole" type leak and not a big deal. just inspect for the leak and it's easy to patch. If it goes down in minutes, then you've got a problem. You don't want that hole to tear bigger while you're trying to obtain neutral bouyancy during a dive.

mike