5 years old too old for buying used gear?

[Scuba Lawyer]

I use a 1956 regulator on a set of 1963 tanks. It's all about care and maintenance. Mark

 

[Bubblesong]

As people have been mentioning maintenance, i also suggest learning to repair/service anything on your own with practice enough to have confidence, is the surest way not to ruin a dive trip, since you might not be able to get it serviced where ever you traveled to. This is my goal, not where i am yet, myself.

 

[herman]

I completely agree with the rest, I dive a lot of equipment that is 20 or more years old, it's all about care and maintenance. Now a word of caution. Before you buy, make sure you can get parts for the reg. There are a few regs out there that you can not find parts for- Dacor for example, great regs but no parts to be had, this is a good reason to stick with US Divers/Aqualung or Scubapro. There are a lot of other good regs out there but those 2 brands are the easiest to find parts for, esp older parts. The next thing is shop related. You may run into a less than honest shop that will tell you the reg is dangerous/too old/can't be serviced in an attempt to sell you new gear. A good shop won't but unfortunately, it's not that uncommon to find one that will or worse, they are simply uneducated which gives me pause to use them for service.
Bottom line, some regs that are going on 50 years old are still perfectly safe, OEM parts are still available (plus aftermarket) and are debatably more reliable than a new reg as long as they are properly maintained. Scubapro MK-5/10s and USD Conshelfs come to mind.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Brand, price, condition...all can vary expontially in "5 year old" regs. There is 5 year old scubapro MK25/S600 that were bought new, dove once, rinsed well and put in the back of the closet, and there is the 5 year old prior Cozumel rental regs dove multiple times daily, rinsed maybe, and drug down the street to the dive boat. If they are quality brand, taken care of, recently serviced or price taken into consideration needing servicing, 5 years is nothing.

My 30 year old Dacors breathe as well as my new Scubapro's.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!!
Jay

 

[TrimixToo]

Well, five's a bit young. I didn't start until I was in my 50's. But I own plenty of used gear, and it all works as well as it did when it was new.

 

[Scared Silly]

As mentioned, look for regs that can be maintained over the long term. One reason I have really liked Atomic Aquatics regulators. The basic first stage and second stage have not changed since they made their first reg some 20 years ago. The internals for both are the same across the line up (and the service kits). I have really enjoyed bringing the early version up to date.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

As people have been mentioning maintenance, i also suggest learning to repair/service anything on your own with practice enough to have confidence, is the surest way not to ruin a dive trip, since you might not be able to get it serviced where ever you traveled to.

Well said! Helps at home too, not just in the field. Regulators and tank valves/manifolds are not rocket science. There is a learning curve but once you get it, you get it. I don't feel too bad about cheating dive shops out of a service fee either. It hit home for me when I got my reg back from service at a local dive shop. Took it on a trip to Catalina, put it on my tank, hit the purge button, air came out and all seemed good. (My bad for not taking a breath off it first.) Jumped in the water and was a few feet down when I took my first breath and inhaled nothing but water. The "experts" at the dive shop had left the 2nd stage main diaphragm out. With one exception I never let anyone work on my regs again but me.

My 2psi, Mark.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I completely agree with the rest, I dive a lot of equipment that is 20 or more years old, it's all about care and maintenance. Now a word of caution. Before you buy, make sure you can get parts for the reg. There are a few regs out there that you can not find parts for- Dacor for example, great regs but no parts to be had, this is a good reason to stick with US Divers/Aqualung or Scubapro. There are a lot of other good regs out there but those 2 brands are the easiest to find parts for, esp older parts. The next thing is shop related. You may run into a less than honest shop that will tell you the reg is dangerous/too old/can't be serviced in an attempt to sell you new gear. A good shop won't but unfortunately, it's not that uncommon to find one that will or worse, they are simply uneducated which gives me pause to use them for service.
Bottom line, some regs that are going on 50 years old are still perfectly safe, OEM parts are still available (plus aftermarket) and are debatably more reliable than a new reg as long as they are properly maintained. Scubapro MK-5/10s and USD Conshelfs come to mind.

Just to add to the service problem on old regs by less than honest dive shops: If anyone reading this experiences this phenomenon and really doesn’t care to work on their own regs for whatever reason, there are a number of really good reg gurus here on SB that would be more than glad to help you out and work on your stuff.
They’re just a mail box away from you, send your stuff to them and your worries are over.
The other option is to get into servicing your own stuff. There is a great DIY culture here with support and knowledge. I’ve learned so much and the whole “voodoo” of reg servicing was demystified. My LDS had me so paranoid for years and when I finally got the nerve to tear down one of my regs I realized how stupid simple some regs are to work on.
There is also a great parts locating and obtaining network here too.

 

[Bob DBF]

Five years old are my new regs, correction time flys they are now ten, and going strong. I do like metal seconds so one or both of the seconds on each of those two firsts are 30 or 40 years old.

The pile of vintage regs I have running go back to the Nemrod double hose I learned to dive on back in '62. Thanks to Scubaboard it is a lot easier to keep them running, and restore others I find, than it was when I was trying it with no backup.

Unfortunately, as @Eric Sedletzky mentioned, there a larger than needed number of dive shops that would rather sell you another reg than settle for repair money, or have to refer you to someone who can service the reg. ScubaBoard is a great resource to navigate around less than honest dive shops.


Bob

 

[togatown]

I must again thank the community for all of the great input and advice! The more research I do on the cost of used set-ups and getting them serviced before diving, the more I am now leaning on just purchasing new gear, since it would seem that a good regulator and octo set-up, can be had new for under $ 500, and would suit me for several years.