Buying Rental Gear

[mike_s]

one more bit....

why buy a set of mid level or entry level Aqualung, Sherwood, etc. regs for $250 bucks or so when I can buy a new Hog D1 for about the same price and get a better performing regulator ?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

one more bit....

why buy a set of mid level or entry level Aqualung, Sherwood, etc. regs for $250 bucks or so when I can buy a new Hog D1 for about the same price and get a better performing regulator ?

Good point.

That is the regulator I would buy new in a heartbeat... especially as a DIY guy. Thanks for mentioning it, I had gotten wrapped up in the whole used vs new discussion

Best wishes.

 

[Teller]

Regs can last forever even if they are rarely serviced. But you probably will not be able to dive them until they are serviced. But where are you finding a rental S600 or A700?

Scubaland in Austin is selling MK25 S600 regs. They told me I could get two for 300 each. They also had MK11 with 555 second stages. Not sure on the price of those.

 

[BoltSnap]

A lot of dive shops would sell their rental regulators before they have to O/H them since they don't want to invest in servicing these regs. and would rather sell them first. I would NOT buy a rental regulator if it weren't serviced just before it was sold AND the LDS would give at least a 3 month warranty with it (make sure that you use it heavily during the warranty period). You also need to make sure that it is NOT an EoL regulator where service and parts may become an issue.

As some have pointed out, typically, the rental regulators are low to med level regulators and unless you are getting it for almost free, you should buy new. In my store we used top of the line regulators for our rental fleet (MK20/G250) but we were the exception.

 

[herman]

1. Firstly all materials do corrode and degrade over time including stainless and brass.
2. Secondly, internal parts will wear over time. If this was not the case why service them?
3. All of the above

Lastly parts that need replacement (your first post) is not going to be a 1/4 of the price as you describe. If this was the case everyone would buy brand new parts an have regs assembled cheaply.

1.Not if reasonable taken care of them other wise I would not have a collection of 30 to 50 yo regs in prefect working order. The insides of my 1958 DAAM look like new. I restore vintage regs as a hobby so I spend a good bit of time with very old regs.
2. Right, and these are replaced during a normal (proper) service.
3. You still have not told me what parts go bad that are not replaced during service. Yokes don't bad, main bodies don't, end caps don't, pistons don't, springs don't, balance chambers don't.....what am I missing that wears but is not replaced as part of a normal service???

Maybe I was a little unclear, what I ment was if I can get a used car (in that case but it holds for regs as well) that had all the major operating equipment replaced in it and it was being sold for 1/4 the price of a new car I would buy it. Scrathes on the paint or stains on the seats do not keep it from running, same holds true for regs.

 

[redacted]

The metal internal parts of properly cared-for regulators do not corrode significantly enough to cause any worries. The marine brass and stainless steel parts will last, well, until all of us are long gone... and our children... and theirs... seriously.

The "soft" parts, that are designed to wear out are the parts that are changed each service, which in effect "renews" the regulator, bringing it to "like-new" status internally.

That is the beauty of regulator design! The "soft parts" can be considered like the sacrificial anodes on boats..... they wear out, sparing the the expensive metal parts... the "soft seats" are replaced, the o-rings are replaced, diaphragms.... pistons can wear and be replaced, more current diaphragm regs have hard seats that are also replaceable.....

The last 4 regulator I bought were used. It will take an awful lot to convince me to buy a new regulator again, when I can buy a great used one at 25% the cost, spend about $30 on parts, and service it myself.....

Best wishes.

Basically agree. The only exception I can think of off hand is the Scubapro Mk20/25. Scubapro saw fit to use a composite piston in those regulators. It is basically a plastic piston head sandwiched between a SS piston stem and a SS cap. All those parts will last about forever. But such sandwich is does not seal so they used an internal o-ring that is not designed to be serviced. When it fails, the Scubapro solution is to replace the piston.

I am diving regs from the '70s and have no doubt that the metal and plastic parts will outlive me. And probably the next guy if he gives them just reasonable care. Soft parts, including valves, diaphragms, seats, and o-rings will eventually fail.

 

[redacted]

Scubaland in Austin is selling MK25 S600 regs. They told me I could get two for 300 each. They also had MK11 with 555 second stages. Not sure on the price of those.

That is top of the line current model regs.

I have a couple Mk20/S600s. I bought them new almost 10 years ago. One from Leisurepro for about $430. The other from Scubastore for about $330. I would guess that Scubaland paid $300 or less for them. It is not a bad price, but not a great one either. Plus I'll bet that is working condition but without a current annual service. Still could be good for a couple years before it requires the "annual" service.

My wife is still diving one but I sent mine to the ready reserves in favor of older models like a Mk5 (or Mk10) and a Balanced Adjustable. Hard to discern any performance difference and they are simpler and more durable. And less expensive.

 

[halocline]

I would guess that the shop is selling the MK25/S600 rebuilt and ready to go, it just does not make sense for a dive shop to do otherwise. I could be wrong....anyhow, if the reg is in good shape with hoses in good shape, etc, $300 for a MK25/S600 at a walk in dive shop that's also a SP dealer is a very good price IMO.

 

[c5diver]

i recently got a rental set mk17 s600 with s600 octo and new miflex hoses and fresh service for $690. been great. i have to buy parts but the lds gives me 1/2 off labor(they do this with any reg bought at there shop)

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I have to agree that typical rental regs are not what I care to use.

Most rental first stages I see have two of the hoses going "up" at 30-45 degrees (standing tank) causing the hoses to make loops above your shoulders for snagging and excessive drag.

If I found a rental first stage that routs the hoses similar to an Oceanic CDX5 I would take a closer look.

Most rental primary second stages are mostly plastic and have no adjustment knob; the Oceanic Delta 8 is such light weight plastic that it often floats above the first stage when not in mouth or attached (alternate). I would not consider this as much of a problem as an alternate second stage.

If I found something similar to or better than a Delta 3 as the primary second stage I would take a closer look.

Finally, if you are in a region with "seasons" and the rental reg sale is "now" then including a 6 month guarantee is not much of a guarantee. If I were buying an old rental reg set as my first reg set, I would want to make a lot of dives with it while it was guaranteed.