Advice on first time regulator servicing?

[Shafqat Ahmed]

I'm overdue on getting my regulator (Scubapro MK25/A700) serviced for the first time. I've read some scary stories about under qualified "authorized technicians" that messed up an otherwise great regulator.

Any advice for a first timer?

Any LDS technician recommendations for those familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area?

Thanks!

 

[happy-diver]

Scubapro MK25 service manual - Google Search

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[Shafqat Ahmed]

lol are you suggesting I service it myself? I'm not sure if I'm up to the challenge

I was looking for advice on finding skilled technicians - do I just use the Scubapro authorized dealer to fina a local dive shop, or is there a smarter way to find a good technician?

 

[shurite7]

You can use Scubapro’s website or Google to search for an authorized dealer.
Don’t get too caught up in the scare posts from this forum. Look at it this way, if you decide to service the reg yourself, you will be no better or even different than a new service technician in a dive shop, who at least went through SP’s technician course. If you use an authorized dealer you are more likely to come across an experienced technician.

 

[runsongas]

take it down to anywater sports in san jose or up to marin dive center or monterey bay diving in sand city which is a commercial outfit. bamboo reef is a dealer, but iirc they are more of a mares shop.

 

[lexvil]

take it down to anywater sports in san jose or up to marin dive center or monterey bay diving in sand city which is a commercial outfit. bamboo reef is a dealer, but iirc they are more of a mares shop.

Anywater in SJ or Aquarius in Monterey.

 

[halocline]

I'm overdue on getting my regulator (Scubapro MK25/A700) serviced for the first time. I've read some scary stories about under qualified "authorized technicians" that messed up an otherwise great regulator.

Any advice for a first timer?

Any LDS technician recommendations for those familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area?

Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, what makes you say it's overdue? Is it just that it's been over a year, or is there an actual problem with the regulator? Is it a warranty issue?

It's certainly understandable that you don't want to service it yourself, although it's easier than you would think for mechanically inclined and motivated people. What you should absolutely do, however, is learn to test and evaluate the performance of your regulator. That is super easy and the process is detailed here:
Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

Then you can determine yourself if it actually needs service or not. Depending on how much you dive, you might find that taking it in for annual service just for the 'free' parts ends up costing substantially more than simply servicing it when it needs it. A MK25 that is only used a handful of times/year and is cared for and stored correctly should easily last 5 years between service. I don't know a great deal about the A700, but I suspect it would also go a long time between needing service, as do the S600 and G250, which are probably pretty similar in design.