Yearly maintenance and parts return

[JC Fedorczyk]

I had my girlfriend drop off our gear at our LDS where we purchased our equipment from a year ago for its yearly maintenance. I asked her to request from them the old parts when they service it. She was told that they cannot do that because it is a liability risk..... They can "show" the parts to us but we cannot retain them.

Now I guess if I stretch it I could imagine someone taking the old parts and trying to "re-service" a different regulator with the old parts... but come on....

and what's to say that they don't just have a bag of stuff they pull out for each thing they perform maintenance on.....

Are they blowing smoke up "you know what" or is this something that other LDSs do? I haven't had any problems with them before and find them to be a trustworthy and helpful LDS but I would just like to get the parts back so that I know there is no funny business.

 

[Damselfish]

There's nothing wrong with returning parts, I've always been under the impression that is thought to be good practice. Some shops do (my current one does) but most I've used don't seem to bother. I haven't had any reason to be concerned about it or think they were cheating.

 

[dlndavid]

Got all my SP parts returned to me after servicing.

 

[redacted]

Many shops seem to think they are wrong but, giving them the benefit of the doubt, they may really believe what they are telling you. And yes, it is quite possible to take used parts and install them in another regulator. (And it can work OK, at least for a while.) It would be easier if they just told you that they have to mail them back - that one is pure BS. If they did a good job and you trust them, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[JC Fedorczyk]

you guys are awesome. Thanks for the fast replies.

 

[wcl]

you guys are awesome. Thanks for the fast replies.

Hi,

My LDS always returns parts removed.

Generally, it is a good best-practice for consumers to require this (in many places, it is the law for auto repair facitlities to return parts or get a signed waiver of that right).

Another view is that the consumer owns the parts.

Regarding liability, it is certainly possible, but it would be interesting to see if that was written into service certification contracts or insurance, or if it is just (potentially justified) a fear on the part of the LDS.

On the other hand, for all that we sign waivers for already in this sport, that seems like a really tiny liability risk for the LDS.

Just my thoughts,

Cheers,
Walter

 

[scubatoys]

We don't bother give people back old parts... It's not a liability issue for us... it's who would possibly want them, and for some of the manufacturers, to get free replacement parts, we have to send the old ones to them. I guess if someone wanted to pay for their parts instead of get them free, and wanted them... I've no problem giving them to them...

Just don't understand why... I didn't keep my oil filter after they change my oil... and when the guy came and cleaned out my septic tank... well you get it.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I love the septic tank analogy. :11ztongue

Of course when I had my septic tank pumped this spring I observed the process and noted that after pumping the tank dry he added some very evil looking water back into the tank out of the truck again. I understand the logic for this but I was none the less glad I was the first stop on his route that morning. Otherwise, the odds were good that at least some of the evil looking stuff would not have been my evil looking stuff. :11:

But I digress...

We do return the old parts. It does provide proof the work was done and it also provides an opportunity to discuss issues with the regulator. Really dirty/salty/worn parts can help drive home the need for proper cleaning, not getting water in the reg, not stretching service intervals, etc. In some cases it also helps educate reg owners on things that have not been addressed or have been skipped in prior services. For example I will often find 10-15 year old regs with the original LP and HP port o-rings installed. Another common problem is finding a very old and dried out flow vave o-ring. Advising customers of these issues educates them that often more must be done to the reg to ensure it is working at peak performance than just replacing the parts included in the service kit. Those sorts of discoveries and disclosures virtually guarentee repeat business when the owner connects the dots and figures out the "other" shop has been charging them for very shoddy service.

We do not worry about liability stemming from a reg owner deciding to use the old parts as spares. It is not likely to happen and if it did, the reg owner/self servicer is obviously going to have a serious problem with contributory negligence if something goes wrong.

If however, in a particular shop's jurisdiction and/or with their specific liability insurance requirements, giving old but potentially serviceable parts back to the owner is a problem, that can be resolved easily by cutting the o-rings, diaphragms, and soft seats before returning them to the owner. The owner gets the parts and has assurance the same bag of used parts has not been shown to the last 500 reg owners, and the shop has the assurance that the owner is not going to use them for spare parts. It keeps everyone happy.

It does add a small amount of work for the tech as they have to put the used parts in the bag and keep them with the reg, but it is not a major issue.

 

[Charlie99]

The two different shops I've used both return parts. I threw them in my save-a-dive kit for that time I'm off diving in Timbuktu and nobody has replacement parts for my Atomics. So far, the only part I've used is an inlet filter clogged up with white aluminum oxide paste from a bum tank on a Cancun dive boat.