Annual on barely used gear

[DrysuitFanatic]

I just bought my first set of gear last year in January and now it’s getting to the one year point where it’s typically recommended to get an annual. The thing is I only dove it four times in shallow freshwater quarries last summer. The dive shop quoted my annual for everything at 700 dollars and I think thats crazy for the little use it got. Would it be safe to dive it one more year before getting the annual inspection?

 

[MB NZ]

Yes

 

[IslandDiversHI]

yes, and if you read your manaul you may see that an inspection is all that is recommended now.

worse comes to worse you can mail it to us, we are not cheap but we cost less that half of that for a normal reg set.

 

[rhwestfall]

Did that quote include the tub of Vaseline?

How much gear is being serviced? What work is being performed? What brand(s)?

I'd suggest first obtaining a $20 IP gauge, and locate the "Regulator Checklist" here on SB in the DIY section. It is highly unlikely you need anything done at this dive count on the equipment, and that it was used in freshwater....

 

[Boarderguy]

Use it until you're comfortable making the decision to not have it serviced at every whim of the LDS. If it was rinsed while attached to a tank after your dives and allowed to dry before storage then you're fine. My gear gets serviced when it begins to not behave properly. Sometimes that's only 30-40 dives, sometimes it's 100s.

 

[cfberry]

I just bought my first set of gear last year in January and now it’s getting to the one year point where it’s typically recommended to get an annual. The thing is I only dove it four times in shallow freshwater quarries last summer. The dive shop quoted my annual for everything at 700 dollars and I think thats crazy for the little use it got. Would it be safe to dive it one more year before getting the annual inspection?

that sounds like a lot of money just for an annual inspection

 

[Mike_4635]

I paid $175.00 in December for my annual reg service (primary and octo) plus battery replacement on my dive computer. My annual service is required to maintain my life time warranty on my reg. My local dive shop is great. You might want to contact someone else like scuba.com to see if they might be a better cost.

 

[Belzelbub]

The dive shop quoted my annual for everything at 700 dollars and I think thats crazy for the little use it got.

Assuming we are talking about one standard regulator set (1 1st stage, 2 seconds), I think that's crazy regardless of how much use it had. It would be crazy for one dive or 300.

Would it be safe to dive it one more year before getting the annual inspection?

Yes, most likely it would.

But, I'd also start looking around for another dive shop, as $700 for service is nuts.

And this brings up a question. Was this for inspection, or full service/overhaul? Regardless of the answer, $700 is still ridiculous. Even getting a full overhaul for my three regs, I still pay less than half of what you were told.

 

[rhwestfall]

Expanding on this a bit: Roughing things out, $40.00/hr labor x3 stages, max 1 hr each (prep, access, tear down, clean, reassemble & tune, + 3 parts kits at $30 (prices are all over the place for service kits) each is $210.... Practically what some are saying... Labor & OH/P may be more...

That was why I asked what was being done for $700.00......

 

[Lorenzoid]

As others have pointed out, there is "servicing," where the reg is fully disassembled and cleaned and parts that are subject to wear--mainly o-rings and valve seats--are replaced. And then there is mere "inspection," where the reg might be subjected to some tests and visual inspection to see if all is good.

Manufacturers' recommended service intervals may differ by manufacturer. The manufacturer of my regs recommends servicing every two years or 200 dives, whichever comes first, and inspecting them more frequently than that. Don't interpret this as my advice, as each of us needs to do what we're comfortable with, but I try to keep in mind that regs are regs--the basic architecture doesn't differ by manufacturer--yet some recommend annual service and others two years. My conclusion is that manufacturers don't tend to determine their recommended service intervals with great scientific precision.

And then there are the people who choose to go much longer intervals without servicing, though I would like to believe they are inspecting their regs often.