turnaround time to service equipment?

[Jax]

I really appreciate the info. This was my first set of gear, and I like scubapro's warranty, but I wish the smart com was not discontinued, I didn't know better in 2005 when I bought it. I like it, but maybe I could have a better computer with the battery isssue. And since I will get it serviced every year now, it should be cheaper, as I will only have to pay labor, I beieve. My last dive was in 07. I will make sure I take it to be serviced in the winter months!

Pierre, did you register your smartcom with ScubaPro? If not, you screwed yourself. It is not too late. One of the ScubaPro Uwatec bennies is "Batteries for life.". Since they do a full checkup when you send it in, it is a win all around. If it isn't too late, the dealer can send copies of the receipt. Otherwise, go online (search ScubaPro Uwatec registration) and register the smartcom, for next time.

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[Jim Lapenta]

I can do a full service on HOG regs (1st, 2nd, and octo) for around $100. Including parts.

And the HOG's only require service every TWO YEARS.

An inspection is recommended at a year and what I do for that is checking pressures and adjusting them if necessary (mine did not need it), inspecting hoses, mouthpiece (will replace if necessary or asked to),inspecting seats and if necessary change (again mine did not require it), and give everything a good cleaning.

I charge $25 plus parts if required plus shipping back to the owner. So with me anyway an inspection at a year and a rebuild at two years would run in the neighborhood of 150 bucks including shipping back to the owner. That's every 2 years though.

As for comparing them with ScubaPro or any other brand, I own regs by HOG, Oceanic, Sherwood, US Divers, and ScubaPro. I've used regs by all of these plus Atomic, Dive Rite, Aqualung, Zeagle, and Mares. None of them are any better as far as quality of construction, finish, attention to detail, and how they breathe. As an instructor I've taken every opportunity to use as many different pieces of gear as I can to better serve my students. The only thing I've not used is a double hose or a rebreather. Yet.

I'd say my HOG's breathe better than any reg I've tried and are more comfortable. And the fact that users are able to take a class to service their own regs and buy kits without going the back alley route along with the price point make it a no brainer and why I am in the process of selling off my other regs and replacing them with HOG and Edge. I have kits for my other brands and in a couple months I'll be doing the annual service on them and then selling them. Gonna be some good deals on some good used regs this fall.

ScubaPro, Aqualung, etc are very good regs. Their names are well known. But like a Harley you pay for that name. I had my bike inspected last week and was looking at some of the new Yamaha's and Kawasaki's. Two I liked are set up exactly how I'd want with accessories and all. Both are around 9 grand. A comparable Harley would be in excess of 17. For a bike that is more expensive to maintain, service, accessorize, and insure. And IMO the quality is no better. Regs are the same way. Pay for the reg not the name and you can save big.

 

[redacted]

Although I disagree with you about the difference between SP and the other "no name" brand, but I am not going get into that here. The OP would have received his parts for FREE if he had kept up the warranty.

What do you think it would have cost him in labor charges to get those FREE parts? I figure the parts cost in that $245 bill is $65 ($25 for a 1st stage kit and $20 each for two 2nd stage kits at retail). That would leave $180 worth of labor charges that would have been necessary every year for the 4 year hiatus. So it would have cost to OP $720 to save avoid the $65 charge for parts. What am I missing in this con game?

 

[BennyM]

Nope, according to the OP: "get my scubapro gear back in warranty" which, as far as know, there is a penalty fee to get the regulator back into the SP "parts for life" if you do the service on annual basis. FS and SS should cost around $60 - 80 depending on the locale for the labor. Please note that this warranty covers not only the standard O/H kit but also any other parts that would need changing such as piston, etc. should they need changing.

In my field of work, related to advanced U/W technology R&D with extensive U/W field work, we do find that there is BIG difference in quality, reliability and performance in regulators. We only accept certain regulators in our work with SP and, now, Atomic, to be on the top of the list. Actually two other brands would be acceptable. One of the main criteria that would need to be taken into consideration is the reliability and stability of the manufacturer.

As for Jim Lapenta downgrading SP and the others and emphasizing the criteria that make SP superior to the "no name" brand such as HOG, I gather that you are selling HOG and thus it is to your personal interest to justify why one should buy HOG and not better quality regulator. HOG is NO SP or Atomic or Aqua Lung!!!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I did not downgrade SP or AL. I clearly stated they are very good regs. But so are many others that do not cost nearly as much to purchase or maintain. And you should be careful what you call no name brands. ScubaPro was once a no name brand. People were buying Voit, US Divers, Aqualung, Dacor, and Healthways. In fact I'd say that every major and minor brand was a no name at one time.

And for the record I do not hide that I sell HOG regs. Nor do I hide my real identity when making statements about gear I've used. What type of R&D do you do? For who? What is the criteria you set for the gear? What testing do you do of it? And why would anyone buy a reg that charges a penalty for missing a service? I like many have had my regs in blackwater, saltwater, silty conditions, and under the ice. They have been to 155 ft. Others are diving them to 200 or more. What more should I ask of them? And just how many dives do you have on HOG regs to say they are no SP?

The guy had work related issues that kept him out of the water so he should be penalized for that? Sorry, I don't go for that from any mfg of anything. And so now maybe he's in the parts for life. Unless he needs to miss a service again or finds out that the yearly requirement for most regs that see average recreational use of say 50 dives a year is a racket. I never sent in the registrations on my Scuba Pro regs. I get the kits on line. I service them myself so don't care about the parts for life because they simply do not need serviced every year.

And based on yout posts in this thread you really should consider changing your signature. Talk about attitude.....Sheesh!

 

[BennyM]

Why do you need to know about my work? All I can tell you is that we use SP and other approved mfg. equipment to do our work that necessitates diving. Our work is NOT testing recreational dive equipment for industry comparisons. We test dive equipment before approving them for our staff use U/W while performing their duties conducting engineering research (most of it is classified).

As for the "penalty", as I understand it, SP takes on some liability when reinstating the Lifetime warranty and thus they charge "reinstatement" fee. No other regulator manufacturer has this type of policy. Once it is out of warranty, it is out of warranty. it will be extremely difficult to match SP service and consistency over the years (decades).

While it is true that each manufacturer had to start from zero, more or less, we prefer the ones that started long time ago, stayed in business long time with their equipment performing accordingly. Not all manufacturers who have been in business a long time are approved either. Some are excluded from being used by our staff because of reliability issues even when they are some of the biggest and most known manufacturers out there.

No-name scuba brands will do what they have to do in the beginning to gain market share as many do outside the dive industry. Some will even turn a "defect" or a "disadvantage" into a feature to gain market share.

You are confusing attitude with opinion and sharing experience BTW.

 

[mike_s]

Are you saying that HOG is anywhere close to SP regulator quality and performance?.

Since you asked about Regulator performance....... and how 'close' it was...


Here is the breathing performance on regs in question.

Ext WOB (Work of Breathing.)
ScubaPro mk25/s600.........0.75 J/l
HOG D1..............................0.74 J/l

and one more high end Reg, just for comparison....
Apeks XTX200....................0.76 J/l

 

[j2s]

Anyone have experience w/Apeks 1st stage repairs/rebuilding ???.....Sent a DS4 to the factory 2 months ago for an overhaul..Not in a rush, like Apeks, 1st time for this situation, was wondering if this is normal ??!!!

 

[mike_s]

Anyone have experience w/Apeks 1st stage repairs/rebuilding ???.....Sent a DS4 to the factory 2 months ago for an overhaul..Not in a rush, like Apeks, 1st time for this situation, was wondering if this is normal ??!!!

it takes a qualified tech about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to rebuilt it and test it out.

where'd you sent it? (your profile says you're in Florida, but the factory where they are made is in England for Apeks).

 

[Codiak]

My two mk25/650 sets will be on eBay soon, specifically to be replace with Hog d1s.

I'm not doing the swap because SP are bad regs, I'm doing it because having dived the hog I'm more than satisfied. Now couple that with being able to service the reg myself and it's a no brainer.

Now the transmitter battery sitrep with SP does suck. I love the Galelo and Smartz computers, but having waiting as long as 3 months for SP to deal with battery swaps is just down right pathetic. So it's back to a simple analog pressure gauge for me