Yearly Gear Maintenance costs?

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rottielover

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Location
St. Louis MO
# of dives
25 - 49
Hi all...

I haven't been able to find this information so I was hoping those of you that know would enlighten me...

My wife and I both have AquaLung reg's and BCD's, and when I purchased them I had gotten the impression that as long as I bring them in once a year that the "warrenty" took care of any costs. Looking back on it, I'm not sure how I got that impression, seems like somone told me that was the case.

Well I got back our gear and the LDS charged me ~$100 for the service. I just wanted to make sure this is normal.

I went to the Aqualung website and found this info:

*Buoyancy Compensators
30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Limited Lifetime Warranty (Pro-rated)
COVERED:
• This warranty extends to seam integrity, stitching, inflator components, and assorted hardware. Factory prescribed annual service by an authorized Aqua Lung dealer is required.
NOT COVERED:
• This warranty does not extend to abrasions, punctures, cuts or tears, or seam separation caused by chemical attack; including prolonged exposure to chlorine.

*Regulators
Free Parts for life agreement
30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Limited Lifetime Warranty (Pro-rated)
COVERED:
• This warranty extends to all regulators and alternate air source parts provided that an annual inspection or overhaul is performed in accordance with Aqua Lung America procedures.
NOT COVERED:
• Mouthpieces that have been torn or bitten through or hoses that have pulled out of crimps.


Basically on the invoice the LDS charged a small fee for labor, and the bulk of the cost was for "maintenance kits", I assume this to be a kit full of O-rings and other parts that the LDS replaces on an annual basis.

Anyway I just want to make sure that I'm paying a fair price is all.

I'm guessing from the way the warrenty text reads that it's basically a "matierals and workmanship" clause per normal warrenty's. In other words if a seam busts because it wasn't sewn correctly at the factory, they will pay to fix it, but if I bust a seam and it wasn't thier fault I pay.

Thanks in advance, sorry for the stupid question.
 
The warranty covers free parts (the "maintenance kits") for the reg but not the labor to do the work. Fairly common. So they shouldn't be charging you for parts (though I'd expect the labor to be more than the parts.) But if it was $100 for service on 2 complete reg sets that's not bad.
 
OK, I was just wanting to make sure this was normal. The Kit's I was charged for apply to the BCD's acording to the invoice...

A c-bill a year for 2 sets of gear is fine by me, I just wanted to be sure it was normal, the guy that told me "they cover the yearly cost" was wrong, he should have said "they cover the parts for the regs", that makes more sense now.

Thanks for the quick reply
 
I can't imagine what parts they'd be replacing in a BC. Maybe they could replace an o ring in the inflator or something, but really most people do not get BCs serviced. You can check them out well enough yourself.
 
I've got Aqualung regulators and they are covered by the free parts warranty as long as they are kept serviced. Aqualung provides the parts to the dealer. I/You pay the labor costs. cost will vary per shop, but most shops charge $50-$65 labor for servicing of a regulator set (1st stage, 2nd stage, octo,etc). My shop charges $60. I've seen the rebuilt regulators and it's a pretty in-depth process if it's done correctly.
 
Damselfish:
I can't imagine what parts they'd be replacing in a BC. Maybe they could replace an o ring in the inflator or something, but really most people do not get BCs serviced. You can check them out well enough yourself.

You're right, nothing most people couldn't do on their own, assuming no Air2 or the like on the inflator. I'd want a competent tech to pull that apart on a regular basis.

The failure point is normally the power inflator, it traps dirt, plus salt buildup and associated corrosion. Those tend to be neglected. The dump valves also need to be disassembled and cleaned. A dose of BC cleaner inside helps along with a routine purge with fresh water.
 
Generally most people will have their regs serviced but ignore the BC. This can be a mistake considering a malfunctioning inflator will provide a trip the surface and the chamber if you can't disconnect the LPI in time. An extreme case I know but I heard a story from a dive boat captain in the Ft Lauderdale area who was on the boat with the divemaster when a BC came shooting out of the water like a Trident missile with no diver attached. BC started inflating and the diver either didn't think to or couldn't disconnect the LPI as he was holding onto the wreck of the Mercedes for dear life. Ditched his gear and wrestled with his buddy like an octopus until the divemaster made it down the line to take him back to the surface.

The USD/Aqualung warranty is life time parts with a biannual service inspection/overhaul rotation. In English, keep a copy of your receipt and your service log book, once a year the BC needs to be inspected and tested to standards. The next year an annual service will be performed.

Inspection
Annual Service
Inspection
Annual Service
etc....

The USD/Aqualung warranty when followed provides for free parts, labor is a separate charge charged by the dive shop.

Hope this helps and safe diving,
Tim the Tech
 
Markdone:
You're right, nothing most people couldn't do on their own, assuming no Air2 or the like on the inflator. I'd want a competent tech to pull that apart on a regular basis.

The failure point is normally the power inflator, it traps dirt, plus salt buildup and associated corrosion. Those tend to be neglected. The dump valves also need to be disassembled and cleaned. A dose of BC cleaner inside helps along with a routine purge with fresh water.

Also a visual inspection of the BC bladder will allow checking for bladder dry-rot, though this is uncommon unless the BC is really neglected or old. But having a BC bladder "blow out" at depth is not a good thing, especially when an inspection could check it.
 
Sounds like I'm getting a good deal then! Reg's + BC ...

I noted on the invoice it states all the tests performed on the Reg's and BC, presure tests etc. (don't have the invoice in front of me)... I'm not much of a "gear head" so for the cost I think I'd rather just take the whole set in once a year to get it checked out, and just do the "normal maintenace" (BC Life, washes, etc) myself. Rather then risk taking things apart and then not getting them back 100% :wink:

Thanks for the extra info!
 
Ironically, most plumbers charge more for hooking up water and sewer pipes (per hour) than what labor costs for all three stages (1st and 2 2nd stages) of your regulator.
 

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