Best rental regulators in NoCal?

[Ouvea]

Goodness... 10 weeks to service a regulator? Do you know if a back-ordered part has caused this? The aforementioned AL Core regulators breathe very nicely. I had a chance to breathe from one some years ago.

Regarding servicing your regulator, DeepSix & Hog will sell you service kits in addition to holding Regulator Service courses. Don't know if any other manufacturer offer these. I manage to source service kits for my Atomic regulators and purchased the necessary tools from Scuba Tools. It's fun the first time around, much less, when you have to service multiple regulators.

 

[happy-diver]

What a shame, hey at least you've found the right people here

 

[Cthippo]

I'm 4 months plus out on getting mine serviced, so I feel your pain.

Apparently there was only 1 parts kit for my regs in all of North America and the manufacturer is supposed to be shipping another kit from Italy, along with instructions for how to service that model because it's not on their service center website.

 

[Marie13]

If the OP’s regs are AL, I’ve heard other people say there is a delay in getting service kits.

 

[Mr. Dooley]

Oof that's a bummer. Economic factors probably encourage dive shops to comprise their rental fleet of durable, low-cost and simple regulators to serve newer or casual divers who don't have their own regs. 10 WEEKS is wild, though.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

ETA: where is NOCal?

There’s Socal, Mocal, Norcal, Cencal, and now Nocal.
Just say NO to cal, ha ha ha ha.

 

[Raacerx]

What regulator? Both 1st and 2nd? I'm an apeks and scubapro tech, although I don't work for a shop, it's just a hobby. Parts are generally available, may require some different sourcing, but 10 weeks is pretty egregious.

What do shops charge for a regulator rental for that long? I'm pretty sure you would be approaching the cost of a full new reg set.

I would recommend that you look for a backup setup if this is something that you do often, or simply pay for the parts as they are rarely more than $30 for a service kit and generally turn around in a few days.

I've got a TUSA R1000 reg set that's recently rebuilt, it's my backup for students, you're welcome to borrow it in exchange for something like a bottle of wine or a nice 6 pack of beer.

 

[wnissen]

What regulator? Both 1st and 2nd? I'm an apeks and scubapro tech, although I don't work for a shop, it's just a hobby. Parts are generally available, may require some different sourcing, but 10 weeks is pretty egregious.

What do shops charge for a regulator rental for that long? I'm pretty sure you would be approaching the cost of a full new reg set.

I would recommend that you look for a backup setup if this is something that you do often, or simply pay for the parts as they are rarely more than $30 for a service kit and generally turn around in a few days.

I've got a TUSA R1000 reg set that's recently rebuilt, it's my backup for students, you're welcome to borrow it in exchange for something like a bottle of wine or a nice 6 pack of beer.

It's an Apeks DS4 first stage and XTX50 seconds. Luckily (or unluckily, I guess), I haven't been diving since Labor Day. So I haven't needed it until now. But your point is taken, for the price of a rental Aqualung Titan for that long, you'd be looking at a decent set.

When I get it back I will be doing my own services in the future. If I can replace a toilet or sweat copper pipe, pretty sure I can learn to service them at least as well as a "tech" who's just taken a quick course at DEMA. The money for the parts is really the smallest part of it, now.

I also thank you for your kind offer. Truly, the community is the best part of diving. (Also sometimes the worst, but let's not get into that now.) My shop is lending me a rental set for the week gratis, which is fine. At least it has a Venturi adjustment.

 

[Raacerx]

Yes, Apeks are very easy to work on and with a set of instructions to reference, there is nothing special. Get an intermediate flow meter, they're cheap, and everything else is likely tools you already have.

 

[pauldw]

ETA: where is NOCal?

Everything north of Bohemian Grove.