Anybody else having issues with Atomic warranty service?

[The Scuba Steve]

Anything can fail at any time, even if it just came out of the box or was serviced by the guy who invented the technology. Even the Space Shuttle has equipment failures. You need to be ready for them. .

Agreed. But if there were failure on the Space Shuttle, I guarantee you that there will be reams of paperwork on when and why it failed and details on the repair and the testing of the part.


---------- Post added January 24th, 2014 at 02:04 PM ----------

I spoke to Ryan at Atomic who detaild the repairs and said he will email me with the test results. Thank you Ryan!

 

[redacted]

Agreed. But if there were failure on the Space Shuttle, I guarantee you that there will be reams of paperwork on when and why it failed and details on the repair and the testing of the part.

---------- Post added January 24th, 2014 at 02:02 PM ----------

Spoke to Ryan at Atomic who detailed the repairs and said he will e-mail me the repair and test results. Thank you Ryan!

What kind of a failure did you have that your local shop tech was unable to repair and you now can't tell if it was repaired or not? They really are quite simple devices.

I don't understand why you would sound the "life support" alarm when you must obviously be diving with a fully redundant breathing system.

 

[The Scuba Steve]

What kind of a failure did you have that your local shop tech was unable to repair and you now can't tell if it was repaired or not? They really are quite simple devices.

I don't understand why you would sound the "life support" alarm when you must obviously be diving with a fully redundant breathing system.

SS1 started free flowing at 900psi and only able to stop by disconnecting from air supply which in turn caused me to lose auto air inflation on BCD.

Atomic dealer/LDS said that warranty repairs have to be sent to Atomic, that they aren't reimbursed for the repairs by Atomic. He did adjust it so that it would stop free flowing by adjusting the cracking pressure, but it made it harder to breathe. Now LDS needs to test it to see if it has been adjusted back to proper cracking pressure.

Not "sounding an alarm" it is a life support device. Of all the equipment to fail, your supply of air is the last thing you want to lose.

 

[redacted]

SS1 started free flowing at 900psi and only able to stop by disconnecting from air supply which in turn caused me to lose auto air inflation on BCD.

Atomic dealer/LDS said that warranty repairs have to be sent to Atomic, that they aren't reimbursed for the repairs by Atomic. He did adjust it so that it would stop free flowing by adjusting the cracking pressure, but it made it harder to breathe. Now LDS needs to test it to see if it has been adjusted back to proper cracking pressure.

Not "sounding an alarm" it is a life support device. Of all the equipment to fail, your supply of air is the last thing you want to lose.

If you really believe it "is a life support device" then you might want to see what it would be worth in a trade-in for a set of golf clubs. My regulators are simply devices that let me comfortably stay UW for extended periods. Should one fail, it would be an inconvenience; but hardly a life threatening episode.

Your LDS has served you (and Atomic) poorly. I assume you did not purchase the gear from them. If this is the way they support the gear they sell, then they do all their customers a disservice.

 

[Superlyte27]

Hmm, I was 4000' in the back of a cave last week. I'm pretty much convinced that my reg is a life support device. Without them, my life ceases to exist. It supports my ability to live. Do you not see it that way?

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Hmm, I was 4000' in the back of a cave last week. I'm pretty much convinced that my reg is a life support device. Without them, my life ceases to exist. It supports my ability to live. Do you not see it that way?

Something tells me the OP is not diving in an overhead, nor using the kind of redundancy necessary for that kind of diving. Which is not to say his SS1 shouldn't have been promptly fixed right and sent back to him with a statement of the work done and breathing results obtained--it should have been and shame on AA for making him ask for basic paperwork--but calling it "life support" is hyperbolic.

It's still "really important equipment that could cause you to have an extremely bad day while increasing your risk factor for DCS, embolism, and/or drowning when you have to perform an emergency ascent because your non-redundant system failed" gear, though, and deserves to be treated as such by service techs.

 

[flots am]

SS1 started free flowing at 900psi and only able to stop by disconnecting from air supply which in turn caused me to lose auto air inflation on BCD.

Atomic dealer/LDS said that warranty repairs have to be sent to Atomic, that they aren't reimbursed for the repairs by Atomic. He did adjust it so that it would stop free flowing by adjusting the cracking pressure, but it made it harder to breathe. Now LDS needs to test it to see if it has been adjusted back to proper cracking pressure.

Not "sounding an alarm" it is a life support device. Of all the equipment to fail, your supply of air is the last thing you want to lose.

The solution for that problem is to maintain good skills and buddy contact. You can share air with your buddy and orally inflate your BC at the surface. You can also orally inflate your BC underwater if necessary. These skills are all required for Open Water certification.

You can become Out of Air at any moment regardless of your current tank pressure and need to be able to deal with it, without anxiety or excessive risk.

If your regulator is truly "life support" as in "you'll die or incur significant risk if it fails", then you are diving unsafely and should reconsider your procedures and dive plan.

According to all mainstream Open Water classes, the procedure for handling any out-of-air situation is to share air with your buddy, surface normally and achieve positive buoyancy at the surface. This is an extremely low risk procedure when done according to standards.

flots.

 

[Superlyte27]

If your regulator is truly "life support" as in "you'll die or incur significant risk if it fails", then you are diving unsafely and should reconsider your procedures and dive plan.

You guys really feel this way? LOL.
While I won't die if ONE reg fails, or even two on most dives.... If regulators were not present, life would cease to exist (at least on the dives I do anyway). So it IS life support.

 

[redacted]

Hmm, I was 4000' in the back of a cave last week. I'm pretty much convinced that my reg is a life support device. Without them, my life ceases to exist. It supports my ability to live. Do you not see it that way?

So how many regulator failures would you have had to experience before they would have had to do a recovery?

 

[Superlyte27]

Not the point. One, two or five...life doesn't exist without them underwater in a cave.