Replace equipment

[Darian Dunn]

I have just purchased new gear. Like everyone I am on a budget of sorts, when will I need to replace the gear and/or do a major rebuild?

 

[Campana]

Look over all hoses and connections before every dive (the day before). Hook up your regs to a tank and pressurize them and breathe a few breaths. Turn off the tank and let the pressure sit a while to make sure your guage stays pressurized for a while.

Regulators require annual service or sooner if you do more than 100 or so dives per year or if they do anything odd like leak. I soak my regulators with the Dust Cover ON THEM after every day of diving, especially in salt water. Do not press the purge while soaking unless the reg is hooked up to a tank.

Your BC should also be cleaned out after every dive with BC Life--get some at your dive shop and follow the instructions. Check all connections for tightness, especially the one where the corrugated hose goes into the BC at the top. BC's should be looked at annually by your dive shop unless you are mechanical and learn to fix it yourself. They're quite simple, only a few things to fix.

If you are totally non-mechanical, take an equipment specialty class from your dive shop or someone who understands equipment.

Replacement is at your discretion. Dive Gear properly cared for lasts years. Regs, rebuilt annually, could last a lifetime, cause all the parts that wear are replaced.

What kind of gear did you buy?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

First, have your BCD and reg serviced annually (or as recommended by the manufacturer). There are some parts that do wear out, and will need to be replaced periodically. Reg hoses should be replaced periodically too. Properly serviced BCs and regs should be good for several hundred dives. Your diving frequency will determine how long that is.

Rinse all gear in fresh water, and allow the gear to air dry out of direct sunlight. UV rays in sunlight can degrade some gear components. (Some camera gear should be towel dried according to manufacturer recommendations.)

Masks will need to be replaced as the skirt will become oxidized over time. Silicone mask skirts last longer (and usually cost more) than rubber skirts. My silicone skirted mask is going strong after 7 years and hundreds of dives. A snorkle is probably good for as long as you don't lose it.

Certain fin designs may develop cracks over time, particularly if abused. Drop a tank on a stiff blade fin often enough, and you will ruin it.

Wetsuits may need a washing periodically to remove certain odors. Store wetsuits on a hanger designed for this use, and avoid folding. Repeated use will degrade the insulating capacity of the wetsuit, as the small bubbles in the neoprene will rupture over time. I try to replace my wetsuit after about 200 dives. Your milage may vary.

Tanks should be visually inspected annually, or any time when you suck it dry and water may have entered. Hydrostatic testing is required every 5 years (or more often if required by law). Properly maintained tanks (especially steel ones) may have service lives of 30+ years.

Computers, SPG's, compasses, and other gauges may fail over time. I have heard anecdotal stories that oil filled gauges fail faster if repeatedly exposed to air pressure changes experienced in flying. Don't know if that is true, but I did have to replace a compass when the oil leaked and the needle became stuck. I had to replace my really old computer when the manufacturer stopped replacing the batteries. Most computers now have batteries that the user can replace, so that may no longer be an issue.

 

[Darian Dunn]

This is probably going to sound strange to some of you. I have been diving on and off since 1986. I bought the cheep stuff along time ago and finally bought my regulators, gauges, BCD, computer and camera recently. So, my current gear list reads as follows.

Old No name mask, snorkel, and full foot fins
Aluminum scuba tank I bought for my air rifle
No name folding dive knife
Genesis Phantom BCD
Several clipping mechanisms
Reefmaster 515 cammera + 3x lense + hard case
2xSB102 strobes (left over when someone stole the Nikonos V, I was using).
Slate
Versa pro computer
Beuchat VX-10 Iceberg regulator, Octopus, 3 gauges

After putting this much money into my gear, I want to dive a lot before I have to replace anything because it is old. I wish I lived down south when I could dive reasonable warm water year around. On that note, if anyone knows of any good openings for a Computer security guy with a CISSP, please let me know.

 

[solodiver]

hi Darian looks like you got the info you need on servicing your gear. Look after it and it well look after you. regs should be services yearly.. as the silicone grease or crystal lube for o2 absorbes into the o-rings or in some regs is washed out.

Barry