Cost for servicing gear each year??

[KeithG]

Sorry newbie with two questions.

(First) - Does anyone know a typical price for getting my new gear serviced next year when I get ready to take my vacation? (Regulator, first & second stage plus octo).

(Second) - Do the gauges need serviced each year, if so how much is that?

Thanks,
Marty

Typical cost is a lot. It is what ever your LDS thinks they can squeeze out of you.

That said... there can be 3 schools of thought:
-service it yourself AS REQUIRED and incur minimal costs (if you can purchase maintenance parts)
-take it to the LDS and pay through the nose every year
- buy new regs every 2-5 years and never pay for servicing...

 

[TMHeimer]

Back to the BCD rinsing. I try to dump all (as much as realistic) of the salt water out first--before putting in the fresh water. I add air to assist the dumping of both the salt and later fresh. Before putting the fresh water in I put in a little baby shampoo, then the fresh water, then shake & dump. Then continue to dump in the next couple of days. I've had the same old BC 13 years.

 

[Bob DBF]

buy new regs every 2-5 years and never pay for servicing...

Rinse regs throughly after diving and keep an eye on the IP, one may only need to have the regs serviced 2-5 years , or more depending on usage.

I have a Sherwood dry bleed first that went in the shop once since 1980, over 50 dives a year and went into backup status in 2008. I dove where there was debris in the water in some areas and I had to dissamble the second to clean it, then I started working on the seconds because they were drop dead simple.


Bob

 

[msinc]

Rinse regs throughly after diving and keep an eye on the IP, one may only need to have the regs serviced 2-5 years , or more depending on usage.

I have a Sherwood dry bleed first that went in the shop once since 1980, over 50 dives a year and went into backup status in 2008. I dove where there was debris in the water in some areas and I had to dissamble the second to clean it, then I started working on the seconds because they were drop dead simple.


Bob

Hello Bob...when you say the seconds are simple, what about adjusting them?? I mean, isn't there an adjustment that has to do with pressure {or vacuum} required to make it open??? I guess if you have the gauge it's easy?? Or is it more like as long as it's not leaking air and it opens when you try to breathe it's considered good to go?? Thanks for any info. I bought a used bc with a reg on the inflator. It was only used on one dive. When I tried it out the reg leaked air. I turned the adjustment until it just stopped leaking and it seems to work okay, but doesn't it still really need to be put on a gauge to be sure it's dead on or no????

 

[rsingler]

Hello Bob...when you say the seconds are simple, what about adjusting them?? I mean, isn't there an adjustment that has to do with pressure {or vacuum} required to make it open??? I guess if you have the gauge it's easy?? Or is it more like as long as it's not leaking air and it opens when you try to breathe it's considered good to go?? Thanks for any info. I bought a used bc with a reg on the inflator. It was only used on one dive. When I tried it out the reg leaked air. I turned the adjustment until it just stopped leaking and it seems to work okay, but doesn't it still really need to be put on a gauge to be sure it's dead on or no????

Go back a few posts. Follow @Bob DBF 's advice. Go thru @couv 's checklist, in your case step #10. You'll have your answer.

Yes, I have a magnehelic, and I fine tune my second stages to just where I want them. But telling whether you're in spec or not is as simple as filling the sink.

Whether or not you're trained to adjust a regulator, all divers can check their equipment health with couv's checklist, and probably better than what some shops do for their $200.

As for "adjusting" your spare air until it just stopped leaking, you may have done well, or you may not. There is a fine art to this, which is at least one reason why service is not cheap, and one reason why we crab so much about the quality of the service we get from our LDS. There is indeed a limit to the effectiveness of DIY, unless you put in the effort to learn the theory. Think "Regulator Savvy" for $80 from ScubaTools.

You can do this! But it does take effort.

As for neglected BCD's and their power inflators? There is a reason that that is the most failure-prone piece of gear we dive - it gets neglected. Salt water moisture and small chrome and brass parts do not coexist well. There is a reason that emergency disconnection of your LPI hose is part of dive instruction 101. But if you treat your BCD like you treat your $500 regulators, it doesn't have to be that way. Just disconnect a dump valve after every salt water trip, fill the BCD with warm soapy water and drain it via your LPI, and all will be well.

Sad to say, 90% of the complaints about gear performance that we see in the shop are, shall we say, self-inflicted? It's a fact of diving life, just like it's a fact of flying military jets: every hour cranking and banking means at least two hours of boring maintenance. It's just the price we pay for our joy.

 

[Marty Bess]

Thanks everyone for all the great information. I feel better now about buying first and second stage and octo.

 

[Damselfish]

I subscribe to the "if it's not broke don't fix it" school of reg service. After years of being a slave to service warranties and manufacturer schedules, I don't do that anymore. Maybe every few years, when it seems they start to need it. (Which is going to be different for everyone depending on regs, how much you dive, how well you take care of them, etc.) Everyone has to decide for themselves what's right for them. But right before vacation is the time I least want to get regs serviced, since after service is mostly when I have had problems.

I would go locally if possible, support your local folks and it's easier to go back if something is wrong. But shipping is certainly a viable option if no one services your brand locally. It's possible it could be the same or less expensive even with shipping, depending on your options. Or you may discover someone really reliable you'd prefer to ship to, over a local option which you find to be less so. (I've been diving nearly 30 years, and of the local shops I've used I've experienced one shop that screwed up nearly everything - obviously they would not have gotten a second chance from me, but they went out of business anyway, surprise! There's one that I have never had a single problem with, but unfortunately they don't service my current brand. Then there's several others that fall in between.)

 

[rhwestfall]

Just keep in mind the "annual service to maintain a warranty" usually really isn't a bargain.......

 

[fmerkel]

The DIY group for reg servicing I think is pretty small. The number of divers that actually have a decent technical grasp of how their regs work if maybe a bit larger, but I think pretty small.

I think most divers simply believe the industry, and do what the industry says. I belong to a large (200+ member), and active (~150 local dives posted in 2017, ignoring trips). I'm one of the few that do their own regs. Most just have them serviced and deal with 'sticker shock'. I've also adjusted a fair number of regs at the dive site that just came back from servicing. 2nd stage, minor adjustment tweak and not horribly uncommon if you know what is happening. I always check IP before making any tweaks to a reg in the field.

I gave up on Scubapro's annual warranty over 10 years ago. Seems Scubapro has too...mostly.

 

[rhwestfall]

I do find some folks here are a little overzealous of jumping right to telling folks that they should be servicing stuff themselves, and I'd rather see a push to understanding their equipment (stuff like the "regulator checklist") being presented (thanks to those that do). Periodic payed for service is an okay approach as well as DIY if you are so inclined. Annual service to maintain some magical "warranty" is just plain silly....