Annual Service

[mediumone]

I just picked up our regs after annual service at our LDS.

They are:

1) FDX10 with Oceanic Neo, and
2) FDX10 with Oceanic Delta 4

I was charged $30.00 for the two FDX10 service kits, and $70.00 labor for the Neo and Delta 4, no parts needed.

I wasn't expecting $200.00. Did I pay too much, or do I need to wrap my mind around 2016 prices?

Thanks.

 

[rhwestfall]

around here (and geographic differences are prevalent in pricing), labor is $25/stage + cost of parts kits.....

no parts - did they need service?

 

[mediumone]

no parts - did they need service?

Absolutely needed to be looked at.

 

[rhwestfall]

well, 2 firsts and 4 seconds? 6 x $25 = $150.00 labor
+ 2 X $30 = $60 for parts kits (no idea what that brand milks you for compared to actual value)

$150.00 + $60.00 = $210.00 (seems "on par" if that is the equipment totals)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm a little different with service as I do not charge labor by the stage. My labor rate is 45.00 an hour. Usually it takes me about an hour and a quarter to service a 1st and both seconds unless they are really grungy. If they require extra cleaning time the customer is charged for it.
I don't rebuild regs that don't need it.
Parts are extra but on the regs I do unless they see a crazy amount of use or are simply not well cared for the rebuild is every two years.
Average cost for a service with rebuild of all three stages runs in the area of 115-120 bucks plus return shipping. So if they actually did what they said (hope they returned your old parts) 100 bucks is not unreasonable.
You can reduce those costs in the future by being meticulous as to how you rinse and care for them.
Many questions about how I rinse mine and the care I recommend is why I added a chapter on gear maintenance to my book. It seems to be getting overlooked or not emphasized enough in some OW classes. Based both on the questions I get and the shape some regs show up in for service.

 

[Wookie]

I just rebuilt the second stage of my daily breather. 20 years and 1000 dives. It got 2 upgrades and a whole bunch of rotten plastic replaced. My first stage, OTOH gets a rebuild every 5 years 250 dives without fail. I don't recommend this for anyone else.

 

[redacted]

@

. My first stage, OTOH gets a rebuild every 5 years 250 dives without fail.

Sounds wasteful unless you are seeing 10psi +/- of creep. How does that Atomic look at that point?

 

[Wookie]

@


Sounds wasteful unless you are seeing 10psi +/- of creep. How does that Atomic look at that point?

They are sealed, which traps salt water against the spring. I had a main spring fail on me once, which means that the IP goes to zero real quick. I just want to inspect the spring. I don't replace any soft parts or anything, unless the filter is off colored.

 

[redacted]

Seems like they are somewhat sealed. An IP guage should detect such an incipient failure.

 

[mediumone]

Thanks for your responses rhwestfall and Jim Lapenta. I appreciate them. It seems like I was charged an amount that was a little on the high side, but definitely didn't get taken -- and on the plus side, I know that the tech is not just pretty good, he's very good.