He complained on receipt and use that the remote dump valve was leaking, and that the low pressure line to the power inflator leaked. He states that he rinsed the latter vigorously, and that it then worked well enough, but that he was disappointed that he had a persisting leak from the dump valve. . . . . He expresses a reluctance to now pay a technician to have a look at it.
Can't say that I blame him for his 'reluctance'. I would be reluctant as well. If I pay for a BCD, I expect it to be leak-free, UNLESS the seller's listing said otherwise.
Would any of you buy such a bcd and not have it serviced on receipt before starting to use it? Have it given a good look over by a qualified technician?
I would expect it to be fully functional,
without leaks of any kind, upon receipt, OR that the listing would specify any leaks / deficits. I would NOT expect to have to pay to have a problem repaired after I had purchased it. If I chose to have it 'serviced' after I bought it, as a precaution, that would be my decision, and my financial responsibility.
What you
should have done
BEFORE posting it for sale (definitely before delivering it to the buyer): a) Assemble the unit (attach the BCD to a regulator / cylinder; 2) b) fully inflate the BCD. then submerge it to check for leaks, at all connection points, and at all dump / overpressure valves, and from the bladder itself; c) remove from the water, and disassemble the unit, but leave the bladder fully inflated overnight, to see if it lost air over an extended period. That way you would have known if there was a problem or not, and could have alerted potential buyers in your listing. As it stands now, it appears from your comments that you can't verify that these problems were not present when you shipped it. The buyer has already done more than his fair share (rinsing), and may feel he has bought a lemon.
In reality, the problem with the leaking dump valve may be something very simple, and merely unscrewing it and wiping the surface of the hard seat and the rubber diaphragm might well address the leak. But, you cannot expect him to go through with the sale at this point. You might suggest he unscrew the dump valve cover and check for some grit on the rubber diaphragm or the seat. But, I wouldn't be surprised if he just wants to wash his hands of the deal at this point. Basically, you're stuck if he wants to call the deal off.
Wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to optimum frequency of servicing BCD. Seems to be that yearly would be optimum, and that some might go to every 2 or 3 years. Perhaps yearly for regulator?
I only 'service' mine when I have a problem. But, I fully expect to have to periodically replace O rings in the inflator valve, and to clean the dump valve, and replace tie-wraps, if that is what are used to attach the power inflator to the corrugated hose. That is infrequent (maybe every 4-5 years, if that often) but I expect to have to do those things sooner or later. Regulators are another matter, entirely.
