Got Burned by DACOR

[MMM]

.. When did the scuba diving industry go goth? You used to could buy scuba gear in every color of the rainbow and then some. Now every thing is black and or gray and I've noticed

that most BCDs just come in the one color. Is the scuba industry in morning for the untimely demise of Dacor? What gives?​

Not me. I have a flourescent red skin. One of my 5 mil wetsuits is black and red. I have custom made beanies (one with a princess crown on it and one with a jester's hat) in outrageous colours. And I just bought a Halycon BP/W that was a special edition for the Susan Komen Foundation so it has pink cancer ribbon trim on it. But my mask is black....

 

[spoolin01]

I think I've got the manual section you need. I probably got it from knotical. Shoot me a PM with your email and I'll send it. It's too big to upload here, about 10Mb.

 

[dsenloe]

I would be more than happy to help you any way I can. If you need parts and/or service, contact me and we can discuss it Regards Scott

 

[knotical]

... I need to get my hands on a service manual for the 360 ...

[FONT=&amp]File sent.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Several years ago I scanned my Dacor manuals and offered them to the universe.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Most of them eventually found their way to vintagedoublehose.com (VDH), but for some reason one didn’t make it. That’s the one you needed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]It would be great if someone at VDH got it and posted it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]In the meantime, I’ll send it to anyone who provides an email address to send it to.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]For the other files, anyone can download them from VDH.[/FONT]

 

[toliver66]

File received.

Thanks again Knotical. I will keep you in mind for parts Scott but it maybe a little while. I don't take servicing my own regs lightly. Although I have the mecanical skills nesasary being a model builder/machinist as another hobby and a basic understanding of how my reg works I want to research and expand my knowlege base first. Plus I need to get some basic tools necessary for the task at hand.

Here is an outline of how I plan to approach servicing my own gear:

1. Get a copy of all Dacor service manuals and info I can get.
2. Get a copy of "SCUBA Regulator Maintenance and Repair" and "Regulator Savvy".
3. Read and study acquired literature.
4. Machine and/or purchase tools, test gauges and lubricants.
5. Find and acquire necessary parts.
6. Service, adjust, and test my reg.

Sort of a self certification course you might say.

 

[oly5050user]

Its all about accepting liability in todays world. If a manufacturer no longer makes parts for regulator, then it cannot be serviced by a LDS that can possibly be sued for using unauthorized parts.. The store owner is unwilling to take a risk by going ahead and performing service on gear that is considered obsolete by its manufacturer. Not the stores fault here. Not really Dacors fault either as they took the hit and went out of business. Not like they planned on doing that as a mean trick on consumers.Some of the fault lies with the end user of the gear for not diving for something like 12 years. .If he had kept informed he would have been able to trade in the old Dacor gear for new Mares gear and not have this problem.Trade in offer is long gone now.

---------- Post Merged at 04:46 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:40 PM ----------

File received.

Thanks again Knotical. I will keep you in mind for parts Scott but it maybe a little while. I don't take servicing my own regs lightly. Although I have the mecanical skills nesasary being a model builder/machinist as another hobby and a basic understanding of how my reg works I want to research and expand my knowlege base first. Plus I need to get some basic tools necessary for the task at hand.

Here is an outline of how I plan to approach servicing my own gear:

1. Get a copy of all Dacor service manuals and info I can get.
2. Get a copy of "SCUBA Regulator Maintenance and Repair" and "Regulator Savvy".
3. Read and study acquired literature.
4. Machine and/or purchase tools, test gauges and lubricants.
5. Find and acquire necessary parts.
6. Service, adjust, and test my reg.

Sort of a self certification course you might say.

With the time and energy and cost of tools you are going to spend you are better off buying a new regulator that will perform better than a regulator made 20+years ago with its old technology. Mostly all regulators made today perform better than their older counterparts. Technology changes in design and materials make even the most basic of regulators breath and perform better than many of the best of the older ones.

 

[emoreira]

Hello Toliver, Welcome to Scuba Board.

Don't give up hope on your Dacor regs just yet. Contact Dsenloe ​

View Profile: dsenloe - ScubaBoard

He's a Dacor guru and can probably get you pointed in the right direction.

Two years ago I bought a refurbished Dacor 900 1st stage + 2 Pacer 2nds stages to Dsenloe. Not only the deal was great, but also the reg set was perfect and pristine. I am still using it and will do for several years more. Fortunatelly here in Argentina there is no problem to service this regs, as parts are still available. I've sent it to service some months ago, and the service guy could not believe how good the reg set was.
With all this I want to mean that parts are stiill available, those regs are fantastic, rock solid and very dependable, but also Dsenloe is someone I respect and recommend. Unfortunatelly I could not meet Dsenloe and I do not know him personally.

 

[Paladin]

How is your Oldsmobile treating ya? Been to Woolworth's lately? The beauty of Dacors is you can repair them yourself with parts right off the shelf except for diaphragms, and they can be made all day long with a piece of 1/8" buna gasket material that is cloth impregnated and the correct gasket punch. I used to make them all the time when I worked in the Caribbean and Dacor was THE brand for rentals.

My 1998 Oldsmobile Regency is running just fine, thank you. It has less than 60,000 miles on it and looks and runs like new. We had an Edsel when I was a kid. Big, heavy car with terrible gas mileage.

I remember Dacor gear quite well. It was good stuff. If I had not already become hooked on US Divers equipment, I probably would have bought some of the Dacor stuff myself.

@toliver66
Regulator servicing doesn't require the IQ of a genius. Just a little basic mechanical ability. Most regulators aren't complex devices. I service my US Divers/Aqua-Lung regs myself. It's really no big deal. Just take a little care and watch what you're doing.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The other thing you could do is buy something newer but used that you would be able to service and something you can get parts for then run your Dacor 2nd stages on that first stage. It's the second stages that everybody notices and what gives the reg class. It doesn't really matter what the first stage is as long as the IP is stable and tuned to be about the same as the Dacor 1st. nobody really looks at that.

 

[toliver66]

Once again I have to agree to disagree oly5050user. You make some valid points. I completely understand and agree with a shop owners stand point. Like you said it's all about liability. The sad thing of this reality is that society in general is unwilling to accept the responsibility and consiquences of thier own actions and are all to quick to pass the buck and or sue someone else for something that was entirely thier own fault. And no I don't really blame Dacor. It was just a shock to find out that a juggernaut of the scuba industry like Dacor is gone. Just goes to show that a life time warranty could very well mean the life time of the company. As far as not diving for 12 years... what can I say, sometimes life gets in the way of our leisure time activities. Lack of time and or finances, loss of interest, other interest, having a child, and the list goes on and on. And even though this "Mares Upgrade Offer" you spoke of is long gone there is still details of this offer on line and it was hardly a deal at all. It was more like "you give us your perfectly good Dacor gear and we will allow you to buy our bottom of the line gear at a slight discount". Not an offer I would have taken even if I had known about it at the time.

"With the time and energy and cost of tools you are going to spend you are better off buying a new regulator that will perform better than a regulator made 20+years ago with its old technology. Mostly all regulators made today perform better than their older counterparts. Technology changes in design and materials make even the most basic of regulators breath and perform better than many of the best of the older ones."

This is where I strongly disagree with you. As far as the time and energy spent to make tools... this is something I do and enjoy anyway in my hobby machinist activities and I'm actually looking forward to a new machining challenge. And Technically speaking I don't really need any specialty tools other than an IP gauge to get the job done anyway. I'm just a techie nerdy sort of guy and a stinker for details. As far as 20 year old technology... other than the development of the single hose two stage regulator there has been no ground breaking, earth shattering technology developments in the scuba industry since Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his buddy invented scuba back in the early1940s. First stages are still machined out of marine grade chrome plated brass, O-rings are still O-rings, silicone is still silicone, rubber hoses are still rubber hoses, and valve seats are still valve seats. The technology hasn't changed and newer doesn't always mean better. Is a space age plastic second stage better and longer lasting than a chrome plated marine grade brass one? I hardly think so. My 20 year old Dacor reg breathes just as easily at 90 feet as I am sitting here breathing right now. Honestly if it performed any better it would be assisted breathing and that would just be strange at the very least.

Thanks for the heads up emoreira. I can get parts through Trident in the States.

​

Thanks for the advice Paladin. If I had an IP gauge I could easily service my gear following the service manual. I'm just a nerd who likes to read and tinker with my lathe/mill.

I've actually considered this option ZKY. But I think I will end up purchasing another Dacor 360 or Sherwood magnum and using it on a pony bottle.