Buying Online

[LeadTurn_SD]

Meh. If the divers purchased their regs at a good price (new from an online retailer or used on Ebay/Craigslist/etc.) and did DIY servicing when the regs actually needed it, they'd have saved enough money to purchase a backup reg setup (which they'd, of course, service on an as-needed basis).

Bubbletrubble: Shhhhhh!!!!! You are going to substantially raise the prices of regs on Ebay spreading such gossip!

To the OP:

I've been very happy with my online regulator purchases.

To date:

5 new regulator sets.
4 used regulator sets (ebay).

I service all of my own regulators (three brands, 5 different models). Learning to service them was maybe the single most valuable and rewarding thing I've accomplished in almost 35 years of diving.

And it is so easy, I kick myself for waiting so many years to learn how.

Regarding the "It is Life Support" mantra the always raises its spooky head in any conversation regarding regulator service:

Contrary to "Urban Scuba Legend", regulator service is about as mechanically challenging as repairing a running toilet or leaky sink (and a lot more pleasant ). You need to have basic mechanical skills (and I mean BASIC), pay attention to detail, and work carefully.... and you REALLY have to be "hamfisted" to damage a regulator...

Yet, some "techs" lurking in the dark corners of some LDS's seem to manage the impossible time and again :blinking:

And, contrary to the "Life Support Doctrine" and its ugly cousin "Perform Annual Service Or You'll Die!", every catastrophic regulator failure that I have witnessed, read, or been told about by the "survivor" was immediately following service, and or was the result of a defective part installed during said annual service.

The "catastrophic" failures I'm talking about were not the garden variety freeflows that are common after long periods of neglect or improper tuning by the tech.... I'm talking about regulators actually falling apart underwater, hoses falling off, 2nd stage demand levers falling off, purge covers and 2nd stage diaphragms falling off, 2nd stage adjusting knobs and the entire contents of the 2nd stage air barrel blowing off underwater when the diver turns the adjuster knob

That kind of stuff. All related to errors or sloppiness by the tech during routine service of a perfectly-functioning (before service) regulator.

Talk to any group of divers on any boat or at any dive site, or browse the boards, and the same story is repeated over and over... "I took my prefectly-funtioning reg in for its annual service just before my big dream dive trip, and it (fill in the malfunction) on the very first dive!"

The single most vulnerable moment in a regulator's existance comes at the hands of a clusmy, distracted "Certified" but in no way "Qualified" regulator tech with a gleam in his eye as he takes hardened steel tools to the soft marine brass of your regulator.

Rant Mode Off

Best wishes.

 

[redacted]

How often do I really need to get my regs serviced. I only do about 100 dives a year. Not sure if it matters but my regs only touch salt water on vacations. Mabey 2-4 dives a year. Do I really need to get them serviced yearly.

As often as a thorough periodic inspection indicates a need for service. 100 dives may be starting to challenge some designs but other may well go 200. 1 year is usually not the answer. 2, 3, 5 years are all possible if you monitor the health of your regulator. SW does not matter too much if you do a good job of cleaning afterwards.

 

[knowone]

Heh, heh, heh.

I had a REAL CERTIFIED TECH peeping over my shoulder, and breathing on my neck
to see how I was re assembling HIS CUSTOMERS Poseidon Regs because his "shop"
was only accredited for a handful, accepted all of them, and knew sh1t from clay
about any of em.

And to be honest, he was only looking at the progress not the process.

Heh, heh, heh.

 

[Firefishvideo]

I probably know which shops you guys get YOUR regs serviced at! ...since you have no faith in the work!
My shop's tech is a former marine who used to work on jets, and now has many years of experience and training in the service of many brands of regs. I always do shakedown dives on my critical regs, before doing anything deep, but I trust MY shop to do the job ......sorry some of you don't have a good shop around.

I'ts true that I have seen a few problems with serviced regs, and ANYONE can screw up now and then, but It is still - time and use - that are the most damaging to the function of a reg.
You don't have to use a reg. for the rubber parts to age.
I know how you feel about not wanting to pay someone to screw up your gear, I just think it is a better use of time and resources to find a good tech, and let them do the service. ....I have many more , much more enjoyable things to do with my time.
Some of you are too hard headed, and have way too much free time to go along with this , and I would just ask you to be careful, suggesting DIY reg repair to novice divers.

 

[Firefishvideo]

Heh, heh, heh.

I had a REAL CERTIFIED TECH peeping over my shoulder, and breathing on my neck
to see how I was re assembling HIS CUSTOMERS Poseidon Regs because his "shop"
was only accredited for a handful, accepted all of them, and knew sh1t from clay
about any of em.

And to be honest, he was only looking at the progress not the process.

Heh, heh, heh.

Sorry for your loss.
My tech actually watched what I was doing, and I asked questions!
....And I would NOT work on OTHER PEOPLES REGS, just MINE.
What you are describing is one reason the people on this thread don't trust their dive shop.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Firefishvideo,

This is not directed (directly ) at you, just wanted to discuss some of the ideas your posts brought up.

Here is a biggie: It takes years of experience and extensive training to finally become a "Certified Tech". The licensing and continuing education requirements are strict, and penalties for not meeting the industry mandated "Standards of Care and Quality Assuarance" are severe.....

Oooops, sorry, none of the above is actually true

There are extremely skilled regulator techs out there. Lots of them. The ex-Marine with aviation mechanic training who is now your regulator tech is a great example. He is about as over-qualified as they come, and there are lots of good techs with prior mechanical experience that they brought with them when they discovered scuba diving and decided to own or work in a dive shop.

But, there are more than a few really "scary" techs out there too.

If you attend the factory-sanctioned training course, often held at dive shows, you are a "Factory Trained and Certified Technician". If you have prior mechanical training and apptitude before attending the training course, it is all good. Regs are very simple mechanical devices, and anyone with mechanical ability will not have any issues after watching an instructor service a few regs then doing a few yourself with an instructor watching.

But, what is the Failure Rate of these regulator tech courses?

1.) Is the attrition around 20% or so, like you'd expect in military mechanical / technical courses? Where candidates are highly motivated, try hard and really want to succeed, but in the harsh light of reality are judged by the instructors to not really have the necessary ability and are failed?

2.) Or is it: "You pays your money, You gets your ticket"? Everyone passes? No prior mechanical training necessary? Sit through the course, learn the basic functions of the first and second stage, watch the instructor service some regs, do a couple yourself.... in other words, learn how to be a "parts swapper", and then return to the shop a "Certified Tech"?

I'd say it is number 2.

That is what us "hard-headed" guys are trying to explain. Be careful who you let work on your regulator. "Certfied" and "Qualified" are often two very different things when it comes to regulator techs.

Not everyone should work on their own regs. Not everyone who takes a factory-sponsored regulator tech course should either.

Food for thought.

 

[Firefishvideo]

Great points Leadturn, I have to agree with all of that.
I just got lucky and stumbled into a shop that knows what the hell they are doing, and I've had some great instructors as well.....but not every experience is like that.
Sadly, there are some people in the industry, that should not be in charge of human lives. If I found myself with little choice but to rely on one of these shops, I too would be forced to do all my own service, which would be a major pain in the A#$.
I will not spam for the shop here, but if anyone needs a dependable shop - that Will match online prices, send me a pm and I'll get you headed in the right direction.

 

[ScoobaSam]

Look, Here is the deal... You pay the "extra" 2 hundred dollars for what, exactly? Parts kits for life that equal $200.00 in the first 4 years easily. Warranted parts other than service parts as long as the regs are serviced, for life. The added bonus that the local dive shop will go to bat for you over the warranted items... they will handle all of the communications with the manufacturer... all you have to do is pick up your serviced reg... $200.00 is starting to seem like a deal. Beleive me, the guy at the local dive shop that does all the work is an unsung hero when it comed to saving you money in the long run. Don't dismiss the service you get from your shop too quickly...
Maybe, I'm just lucky in not having experienced crappy shops with crappy techs. It seams like Leadturn is at the opposite end of the spectrum in his experience. All I can say is that incompetent people work in every field... Get to know your Dive shop. Let them get to know you... If they seem crappy, find another dive shop, just find a good one. There are competent people working on your regulators. Get to know them... Discover their level of competency for yourself... If they do know what they are doing, then they should not be offended at your investigation... Good luck to all of you. I hope you can all find as good a relationship with an LDS as I have found.

 

[Garth]

Scoobasam you are either nuts or you have a good LDS. Here is why. My LDS will charge 130 for servicing at least. 30 for each stage plus octo and hoses. You add 130 plus 200 and well I can buy another reg for that! If you go with a good company like HOG you might actually enjoy talking with the manufacturer because you can talk to the owner of the company directly.
You've taken what they said at your LDS and drank the koolaid.
Sorry bro.

 

[BoltSnap]

Scoobasam you are either nuts or you have a good LDS. Here is why. My LDS will charge 130 for servicing at least. 30 for each stage plus octo and hoses. You add 130 plus 200 and well I can buy another reg for that! If you go with a good company like HOG you might actually enjoy talking with the manufacturer because you can talk to the owner of the company directly.
You've taken what they said at your LDS and drank the koolaid.
Sorry bro.

He/she will talk to you now since they are small, just wait when they get bigger (if they do) and he/she won't have the time of day to even listen to you.

I don't want to talk to the owner or anyone else, I just want great reliable products with good warranty and a company that has the resources and staying power to support its products and its reseller channel.

I don't understand why you belittle a person when he/she has found a good LDS that they trust and like?? Are you assuming that they are stupid and you know better? Or could it be envy?