Fixing your own gear

[OldNSalty]

You're going to have a hard time rebuilding a regulator if you don't bring one to the course.

Yea-I guess so. I was just thinking that if a shop had them in their rental selection they might let you rebuilt one of those but now that I think about it-probably not a good idea

 

[spectrum]

There have been a few recent threads about leaking power inflators. Several responders have described taking the inflator apart and putting it back together. Others have also servicing other gear as well such as regulators.

Is there a specific course divers learn to take care of equipment like the PADI equipment specialist course, or did someone or somebody show you the ropes?

Just curious.

I think most ease into it with simple stuff and go from there. It need not be an all or nothing proposition.

Changing hoses, SPG spool o-rings, failing mouthpiece, cylinder o-rings, re-webbing a harness or upgrading cam bands are examples of fairly easy tasks that the novice home handyman can ease into.

There are other things like cleaning and re-balling a QD connector, servicing an inflater valve, replacing the shraeder valve in a QD hose, replacing computer batteries and wetsuit repair that you can pick up as needed.

The far extreme is regulator repair. Here some level of skill, parts and tools need to come together and you need to decide if you can make them meet. Parts can be the biggest gate. Some brands make parts readily available while others guard them like Colonel Sanders secret recipe. You may find a gray market source like eBay or befriend a local shop to sell parts. There are good books and if you can rebuild a small engine carburetor you are already overqualified. It's mostly take it apart, clean the parts, replace the renewable items inspect for damaged parts and put it back together them make some minor adjustments and test it. It's not rocket science but you need attention to detail and some aptitude. Training is available but most requires affiliation and/or a stiff fee. Mentoring is a great way to learn finer points.

Scubatools and Deep Sea Supply come to mind as 2 sources of nice to have tools. Many are inexpensive stocking stuffer items.

Pete

 

[ams511]

And you tube videos. Great stuff there. There is in fact one on rebuilding the inflator found on many BC's. It's in german but the video is good and it is a simple fix.

Deep Sea Supply has an excellent video on inflator repair on their website. The say it is only for the one they sell but I would assume that most inflators are pretty similar. Also I think Dive Gear Express and Northeast Scuba Supply have some instructions on their websites.

 

[freewillie]

I think if I ever start tinkering with my gear I might try to do so just before I take it in for servicing. That way if I really do something it will get fixed despite my curiosity. Thanks for the input.

 

[mathauck0814]

Yea-I guess so. I was just thinking that if a shop had them in their rental selection they might let you rebuilt one of those but now that I think about it-probably not a good idea

The way that it was phrased to us in the HOG class that I took is that the TDI HOG Service Specialist course certifies you to repair/rebuild/service your own regulators and does not certify you to work on someone else's. I haven't seen anything in writing from TDI or in coursework that supports that, so I don't know if that was the instructors' personal opinion or one of HOG. Perhaps Rich could chime in here and clarify that...

 

[herman]

A good way to cheaply and easily start doing your own service is to buy an older reg off ebay or Craigslist, then dissamble, clean, lube and reassemble it. While this is not a complete rebuild by any means since you don't replace any of the parts, the process is exactly the same. Find a source of parts (most of the parts are common orings or can be purchased at vintage double hose ) and you can complete the rebuild. Most of the older piston regs are very similar- SP MK-2/3, USD Aquaruis, many Dacors and a host of others. For diaphgram regs, the older Conshelfs are exactly the same internally as the later Titans and Legends. The later 70s Mares MR-12 are very similar to the Conshelfs inside and make nice regs as well. The second stages of all of them are basically the same as the low end second stages sold today....although IMO better built. Many of these regs can be had for under $20 and you can end up with a good backup reg in the process. With the exception of a one tool I can think of (and it's just nice to have) none of these regs require any reg specific tools although circlip pliers and oring picks are maybe not in everyones tool kit.

 

[cerich]

That is in fact the case and is in the TDI Standards and also EDGE/HOG company policy.

The way that it was phrased to us in the HOG class that I took is that the TDI HOG Service Specialist course certifies you to repair/rebuild/service your own regulators and does not certify you to work on someone else's. I haven't seen anything in writing from TDI or in coursework that supports that, so I don't know if that was the instructors' personal opinion or one of HOG. Perhaps Rich could chime in here and clarify that...

 

[henryrendleman]

On this note I was talking to some instructors here who include some of the more basic fix-its in the Equipment Specialty courses. Fixing wetsuits, Leaky BCD like I had, and other smaller things. They don't teach how to fix regulators because in a technicians words that I talked to "they are all different and some have small quirks you need to know about".

Befriend a technician and you might get some chances to learn as they fix their gear too.