Reg Service DIY or LDS ?

[DiveTub]

Ok following on from this Poll
http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=180963

Do you service our own Regs or pay for them to be done by an LDS.

Also like to hear comment the service quality from the LDS from those that don't DIY.

Cheers
Chriso

 

[MichiganDiver]

Well, I just bought my reg off ebay. Have never dived with it, and don't know how to service it. My local LDS refuses to service any reg without a valid US warranty, but another LDS a few miles away will service it for me. I like the more distant shop's overall philosophy a lot better, too.

I bought the Airspeed Press book on servicing your own regulator, and I'm educating myself on regulator function. I expect that someday I will service my own regs. I'm still new enough to this sport, though, that I'll leave the reg servicing in the hands of someone I trust. Remember, though: it's trust, but verify.

 

[k4man]

I'm no technician. While it's good for even OW divers to know about the operation of their gear, I HAVE ALL GEAR SERVICED BY PROFESSIONAL SCUBA CERTIFIED TECHS!!

 

[scarefaceDM]

I service my gear to a point. I get major serving done by my LDS tech guy. Since he does this everyday he knows how better than me. And has the right tools and testing equipment.

The only servicing I do to my regs is take apart the second stage and clean the dirt that gets in the diaphram once in a while. Plus change an o-ring here and there. I service everything else aside from my First stage.

All divers should have a basic understanding of gear repair. If you are good at fixing things then by all means get the parts and do it yourself. You would be best severved in taking a repair course of somekind. Some LDS offer this. Or taking an equipment specialty( PADI ) will give you a BASIC working and fixing knowledge of gear servicing.

Stephen

 

[jpsexton]

Well, I just bought my reg off ebay. Have never dived with it, and don't know how to service it. My local LDS refuses to service any reg without a valid US warranty...

This kind of stuff just blows my mind! :shakehead I see shops with that kind of attitude and for the life of me can't see how they justify it.

 

[jpsexton]

You should add to the poll "If I could buy parts I would service my own"

 

[ClayJar]

I'll open and clean the second stages. I'll swap hoses, O-rings, HP spools, and all that other superficial stuff. The deeper stuff I haven't learned yet, so I trust my LDS. They really like me, so they're not going to blow off my service and kill a good customer.

(On the other hand, once I can trust my own training, I would find it difficult to believe that anyone could do a more thorough job. I don't seem to be too dumb to learn, and then there's that little matter of enlightened self interest.)

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I send mine back to the shop I purchased them from. A big recommendation here for Phil Ellis at Dive Sports who is also an active member of this board.

 

[in_cavediver]

I do my own since I'd go broke paying someone to do it for me.

 

[Thalassamania]

While there are a fair number of shops that do great work (and if you have one that’s great) there are also shops where regulator servicing is, shall we say, less that it might be.

Frankly I never heard of a catastrophic regulator failure (I’m sure that it has occurred) except when it just came out of the shop (and that weird case where my buddy bit the tabs off of his mouthpiece and blew them into his second stage). Lack of service problems tend to be hard to breathe of bubbling.

My take is to service my regulators myself (but then I’m often in remote places or out at sea and need to be able to repair my regulators). I have friends who service their regulators religiously and others, who use the five year plan: dive it for five years with no service and throw it away (now it’s flog it on eBay). I hate to say it but the latter group seems to have fewer serious regulator problems.