Question about equipment maintenance and repair

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PNelson

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Location
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Recently purchased some used gear and was going to take it into my local dive shop for general maintenance.. Was BLOWN away by how much they charge for service! To take a look at my octo kit and bcd was going to cost an estimated $200 for labor and parts kits.. This really seems like a rip off to me.

Am I just being unrealistic? Is there a checklist of what you can do yourself to ensure that your gear is safe for diving?

Thanks in advance for your comments and advice.

Philip Nelson
San Antonio, TX
10 year novice diver.. :wink:
 
$25 a stage for labor and $25 a stage for parts is quite normal for some brands.

Safe for diving, means knowing the service history, and the current condition of said equipment.

FWIW you can come very close to buying a brand new set of regs for the amount the lds is going to charge you, plus what you originally paid for the reg set. Plus with HOG the parts kits are reasonably priced.
 
How much of that $200 is for the BC and how much for the regs? Checking out a BC yourself is not difficult, it's been discussed on any number of threads here you can probably find.

Getting regs serviced by a shop is rarely cheap, over surprisingly little time you can expect to pay more for service than the original purchase. That's the catch with used regs. If you get a really good deal on some high end reg, and better yet can service it yourself, it can work out. But if you don't have the tools and knowledge to service your regs (most people don't), and don't know the history and have proof of recent service from someone you trust, it's harder for it to pay off. As said, by the time you pay for service on top of whatever you just paid for the regs, you can be most of the way to buying something new. You'd generally be paying to service new regs after a year or two as well, but at least you'd have a newer/known reg. Personally, I think used regs are a game best left to folks who have pretty good knowledge of the market, probably have multiple regs, and can service them.

(I've even heard of people buying lower end but still perfectly fine new regs, using them for a few years until they seem to need service, and just selling them and buying a new one instead of getting them serviced.)
 
Was it for just your oct. ( back-up 2nd stage ) or your whole regulator ( 1st, 2nd and oct. ) and your B.C.?
 
I pay $33 per stage for my service, $99 total and parts are free from Scubapro, so by the time you add parts and the BC service $200 is probably not too unreasonable.
 
There is very little to service on a BC. Depending on the type, you might be able to replace the entire inflator unit with a generic one from Trident for about $40. Other than the inflator unit, the only "service" is to make sure the dump valves are clean and operating and that the bladder holds air. (One caveat is if you bought one of the i3 units. I know nothing about how they are serviced.)

We pay about $150 per set to get singles regs serviced (one first stage, two second stages) WITH my husband's instructor discount. Service is painfully expensive.
 
Rate here in Westchester NY (one of the expensive areas in the country to live in) is $59.for labor on a regulator annual service plus parts..if in warrenty as in a new original owner scubapro regulator parts may be free. service is on 1st stage/2nd stage/alt air source./spg spindel..for bcd its $25. service consist of disassembly/assembly cleaning of inflator and cleaning interior of bcd..being that the regulator you purchased was used there are no free parts,so rebuild kits can add to cost and easily double/triple service fees. his is why it may not be worth it to buy used gear unless you either get it for less than 1/2 of what it cost new and know how to do your own service and have the ability to get the parts and tools to do the job properly.
 
There is very little to service on a BC. .... Other than the inflator unit, the only "service" is to make sure the dump valves are clean and operating and that the bladder holds air. ... Service is painfully expensive.
I just returned from a Scubapro service clinic. Proper B.C. maintenance was emphasized. It is very important that your B.C. is serviced!

$200 is a fair amount of money for a complete system, but may be in the ball park.

The question is " Is it worth putting that money into used gear? ".
 

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