Servicing costs for old 1st/2nd stages

[oly5050user]

Do shops really get their o-rings from pricey rebuild kits?

We do.. It's about liability.we can prove we used correct parts by our invoices from purchasing kits from manufacturer..can you see this in court if there is an accident, " no, we use generic o rings and parts to service gear, not what the manufacturer or their engineers recommend".. Right there it leaves an opening to a fault. Even if the diver died because he got hit by a boat. In a law suit EVERY THING is examined to find fault anywhere they can. All about CYA.

 

[redacted]

We do.. It's about liability.we can prove we used correct parts by our invoices from purchasing kits from manufacturer..can you see this in court if there is an accident, " no, we use generic o rings and parts to service gear, not what the manufacturer or their engineers recommend".. Right there it leaves an opening to a fault. Even if the diver died because he got hit by a boat. In a law suit EVERY THING is examined to find fault anywhere they can. All about CYA.

How does your receipt for purchasing a kit prove that the failed 2nd stage o-ring that was found to have contributed to a diver drowning came from one of that kit?

But I do believe you use kits when you can simply pass 200% of the kit cost off to the customer. Why would you use a $.05 o-ring and charge $.10 when you can use a $2 o-ring and charge $4? Only the most unscrupulous shop would use the $.05 o-ring and charge $4.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

First, it is fair to compare service suppliers on price. But, you have to make sure your comparisons are valid.

I can see lots of reasons for the pricing difference in your example:
- Older US Divers regulators were good workhorse designs very basic, very stable. Whereas Oceanic has always been known for being innovative. Some regulator designs are more complicated than others.
- More complicated designed regulators take longer to service. Their parts kits contain more parts and are more expensive. More complicated regulators tend to have tighter tolerances and require all the replacable parts to be replaced at the same time.
- Simpler designs are more tolerant of mix-and-match parts replacement. Allowing you to avoid replacing parts that seem to still be serviceable. (Personally, I would prefer complete replacement. If I'm paying for an overhaul, I'd like the result to be as close to brand-new as possible.) Of course, simpler designs are easier to disassemble/reassemble.

 

[oldschoolto]

I dive a conshelf XIV with o-rings from 1978 in it... I just want to see how far it'll go...

Jim...

 

[oly5050user]

How does your receipt for purchasing a kit prove that the failed 2nd stage o-ring that was found to have contributed to a diver drowning came from one of that kit?

But I do believe you use kits when you can simply pass 200% of the kit cost off to the customer. Why would you use a $.05 o-ring and charge $.10 when you can use a $2 o-ring and charge $4? Only the most unscrupulous shop would use the $.05 o-ring and charge $4.

If something fails I would rather share the liability with the manufacture by following their standards and procedures than have to explain why we went cheap and did not follow manufacturers recommendations.
More times than not here the part kits are free to the customer so why not do what is correct.?