Raped for repair?

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You can also rinse them pressurized to a tank or pony. That guarantees no water ever.
The only thing I have noticed is a tiny bit of light surface rust around the rim where the 1st stage makes its seal to the tank stem o-ring.
 
My local shop charges me $30 a stage but only when I need it to be fixed.
 
Did I just get raped? I dropped off two sets of regs for annual service. They were working fine last time I used them two months ago. The cost for one set was 161 bucks which included an lp hose. The other set cost me 130 bucks. Is this the norm from a local dive shop? I actually have one more set of sherwood regs with gauges and octo that I am afraid to pick up. It needed a new pressure gauge. I don't remember paying this much in the past.
Can only comment in the price. It's around the same price if not lower compared to my region.
 
My shop charges $32.50 per stage ($65) for a first and second, octo separate....
Plus parts. So if it needs a spool, hose, anything over and above the standard including excessive cleaning then it's more.
 
I'm a cave diver and "failure" of any sort is just not an option. I have my regs serviced on the recommended schedule and never complain about the cost. If you're worried about costs for what is essentially live saving equipment (especially in Cave diving) you're in the wrong sport.
Suck it up and take care of your equipment.

I don't cave dive. I am involved in many sports. Diving is just a way to put meat in the freezer at certain locations for me. I rarely dive for sight seeing. If I ever cave dive I will probably get my gear serviced prior to going.

---------- Post added August 9th, 2015 at 09:30 AM ----------

You can also rinse them pressurized to a tank or pony. That guarantees no water ever.


This is is how I always do it already. I pressurize them then dunk them in fresh water. I'm not going to service them anymore unless they are messing up some how. I am a shallow water diver any ways.
 
This is is how I always do it already. I pressurize them then dunk them in fresh water. I'm not going to service them anymore unless they are messing up some how. I am a shallow water diver any ways.

Dunking is not enough. Hours of soaking is required to remove salt water that has been driven into unprotected threaded connection by the pressure increases of diving. Dunking may work if you service more often.
 
Dunking is not enough. Hours of soaking is required to remove salt water that has been driven into unprotected threaded connection by the pressure increases of diving. Dunking may work if you service more often.


What at about soaking in warm water with an additive like salt away?
 
What at about soaking in warm water with an additive like salt away?

I have never seen a need for any such additive. Salt-away is really designed to help dissolve hardened salt deposits and that should not occur with your scuba gear if you are doing a good job caring for it after dives and after trips. It takes a good bit of drying time for salt water to turn into dry hardened deposits. My gear basically stays wet or damp through my dive trips so no hardened salt crystals get to form. After the last dive of a trip I give it a good short soak and let it dry enough to pack. But that does not dry the inside of my BCD or the nooks and crannies of my regulators to cause problems. When I get home, it all goes in tubs and sinks with warm water, usually over night. Doing this under pressure may avoid problems but I have no problem simply using good inlet protectors to keep water out of my 1st stages.

My regs only get serviced when they have a problem which is 3 to 5 years or more, I don't really keep track. When I do service them, I rarely even bother with the sonic cleaner as there are rarely any deposits to deal with and hot water and dish detergent do a good job removing old lube.

I usually only use the sonic cleaner with newly acquired used regs which often show signs of poor user care before they were put in the shed 20 years ago.
 
... I'm not going to service them anymore unless they are messing up some how.....
Just buy a simple $20 intermediate pressure gauge from almost any good dive source. Check your regs every few dives while on the boat and watch the readings and needle creep. It's really to easy. As your regs start to needle creep, it will give you plenty of more dives to decide if you want to service them or buy a new stage. Yes you can mix brands. An IP gauge will be the best money you have ever spent and provide you with a knowledge and comfort that your regs are safe to dive that day. It's exactly like checking your car tires. If one of your car tires reads 25psi, you'll say "well it's not flat, but I might want to have it serviced this week" That's how an IP gauge works. I wouldn't wait til the 1st stage seat blows when you pressurize it cause then you are either going to have a $30 quick rental charge or you just blew a ton of time, gas & boat fees to sit out the dives. Same thing, why wait to come outside in the morning to a flat tire?
 
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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