Regulator servicing

[stevewirl]

i personally would not condone a 5 year service period . esspicaly with the amount of diving you have done .

not picking a fight .

 

[redacted]

I know I'm playing both sides here in this debate, but again, I'm trying to pick the brains of all the experts here and gain knowledge as to exactly what are we truely trying to accomplish with an "annual" tear down of a reg setup.

S. Nagel

I believe the primary good thing that annual service may do is give the diver who does not take good care of his/her gear the opportunity to be corrected and hopefully avoid future problems.

It also provides the servicing shop a small but steady stream of income. In return they will give you back a reg in good condition that should support another year of trouble free diving. Unfortunately, some will occasionally return a regulator that is not fit to dive or with hidden service induced faults (generally things that are over or under torqued) that could become a serious threat mto your well-being.

If you take good care of your gear, servicing every other year should be quite adequate to maintain reliable performance. If you learn to identify and correct many simple problems, that could be extended substancially. The only potential downside is the loss of a warranty. I really don't have much use for regulator warranties so I don't see that as any reason for concern. However, that is the kind of decision best made before you pay the inflated prices that some dealers charge for regulators with mfgr warranties. Servicing a regulator every other year and paying for both parts and labor will probably be less expensive in the long run than paying labor charges annually and receiving "free" parts.

The only time I might be a little concerned about my buddy's service routine is if he had just gotten it back from service by some unknown shop tech. Unfortunately, I think there is more attention payed to a barber's qualifications than to a regulator techs.:11:

 

[RadRob]

you are supposed to get regs serviced? I knew I should have listened more closely when I bought them. That explains the dry hoses, dry seats, bubbles flowing, and why it is not as easy to breath from.

Just curious... as a resort / liveabord owner / employee, why the question? Do you have the equipment at your shop serviced regularly? Hope so.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Garrobo - Tank inspections are a DOT requirement, not the dive shops. Like Jim said
maybe you need to get out and dive more often. As for regulators, some people like
to get them serviced annually to fulfill their free parts for life warranty, and for those
that don't have a warranty, I usually recommend every other year. Our regulator
tech is an independent contractor, so we don't actually make bucket loads of money
off this service we provide, so quite frankly, if you don't want to service your life support equipment, or you want to do it yourself, I could give a rats ***.:mooner:

Jim - I love your sig line!

Terri

Thanks Terri!

But hey isn't it the truth? Why should we as DM's/AI's be expected to provide what could be a critical service, maintain insurance, keep current on all standards, practices, new gear, and new trends for nothing. Maybe all those who use the services of a DM or AI, including the shops and instructors, should go to the hospital and say they don't want a paid nurse. They want someone who has no reason to be there other than it's something to do. Sorry for the hijack. Before the board went down I had a whole thread started on the idea of an association/organization/ whatever to get better treatment, recognition, and yes pay for those of us who choose not to go instructor right now for whatever reason. I think I'll start it back up here in a day or so.

Anyway it is again ultimately up to the individual to determine how much his life is worth as far as gear servicing. It can also depend on the conditions which you normally dive under. Saltwater can be harder on gear than fresh. Yet those of us who sometimes dive in low vis quarries and lakes with lots of sediment need to pay close attention to these issues as well. Maybe if I only dove the springs I would not feel the need to service as often as I do? Inspect yes. But if your gear has what looks like old crud around the hoses, you have freeflow problems, your BC inflator sticks "sometimes" and you choose not to do annual or some type of regular maintenance do not ask to dive with me.

 

[letsgodiving]

We service ours once a year on roughly the anniversary of the date of purchase. They have free parts for life if we stick to the annual service. The LDS run a bunch of pressure tests on the 1st and 2nd stages, and provides us with a print our of any work carried out.

 

[redacted]

Maybe all those who use the services of a DM or AI, including the shops and instructors, should go to the hospital and say they don't want a paid nurse. They want someone who has no reason to be there other than it's something to do. Sorry for the hijack. Before the board went down I had a whole thread started on the idea of an association/organization/ whatever to get better treatment, recognition, and yes pay for those of us who choose not to go instructor right now for whatever reason. I think I'll start it back up here in a day or so.
.

Take a look in your local paper in the "help wanted" section. Notice how many openings there are for health care workers. Now count the the DM/instructor wanted ads.

It might make an interesting discussion.

I also appologize for the detour.

 

[Richesb]

We dive 15 - 25 times a week. Year round.
Visually inspect regs. 1 time a month. Replace hard parts every 3 months.
Cheap life insurance.

 

[DiverBizz]

I have my reg. serviced annually, needs it now so no diving until it is done. I plan on purchasing a new reg. and making current reg my pony bottle reg.

 

[Stu S.]

Oceanic Alpha 7 is simple and robust. Two years and 100 dives is fine for that one. The top-model Mares regs appear fairly complicated. I get that one serviced on-time annually to keep the warranty going. If it needed help out-of-warranty, it could be expensive.

Happy diving.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I get them serviced in enough time that I can get some local diving before a trip. I think this is probably the most likely time for failure is right after they have been worked on.