Deep Six Service Kits & Parts?

[madamimadam]

Can anyone suggest a source for service kits and parts (diaphragms), for Deep Six regulators?

While participating in a general/not brand-specific regulator technician (service and repair) course, I used the kits that had been shipped with my Scribble/Excursion First Stage and Signature Second Stage. I've since inquired with Deep Six about purchasing extra kits, and was told they will not sell them unless I take their course.

Living outside the States, it is impractical to travel to GA or FL to take their course at this time (although I am planning a trip to Atlanta for some other technical training, and would like to complete the Deep Six course at the same time). Shipping my regs to and from the States would be ridiculously expensive, would leave me dry far too long, and is a sorry expenditure of carbon to do something I have the training, tools, and experience to do myself.

It looks as though parts in the DGX Gears D6 First Stage and DGX Gears XTRA Second Stage kits are not a match for the similar Deep Six regulators.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[jlcnuke]

Tell that to the OP who can't buy the parts direct and probably can't source them since his regulator mfg. is too small to handle a decent international support network. SP, AL and others have very decent lower price regulators that are high performers, for example the SP MK11/C370 or S270.

Multiple people have already told him how to solve his "problem" by taking the class (virtually if necessary) and then they'll sell him kits and ship them to him.

Guess what, ScubaPro is never going to sell him kits so he can service them so I don't know why you keep bringing them up lol.

 

[BoltSnap]

Multiple people have already told him how to solve his "problem" by taking the class (virtually if necessary) and then they'll sell him kits and ship them to him.

Guess what, ScubaPro is never going to sell him kits so he can service them so I don't know why you keep bringing them up lol.

You can get parts for SP, service and help far easier than the other mfg. outside happy land in the US. Why didn't D6 tell him to take a virtual class to begin with here? Why did they reject selling him anything and yet they never told him about taking virtual class?

 

[jlcnuke]

You can get parts for SP, service and help far easier than the other mfg. outside happy land in the US. Why didn't D6 tell him to take a virtual class to begin with here? Why did they reject selling him anything and yet they never told him about taking virtual class?

You honestly believe I can call SP, ask to buy their service kits, and they'll sell them to me without being a shop/dealer/trained SP tech??

I don't know what his conversation was or who it was with, that's why I and others have told him to talk to Landon.... I don't believe the guy answering the emails about orders is the one teaching classes though, so it may not have been anything he even thinks about.
I do know that I was able to buy D6 kits last time I needed them last year, and HOG kits, and all without any hoops to jump through or the need to pay someone else to do work I'm perfectly capable of. I do know that SP, AL, etc.'s policy is that I can't do that, and they're $$$ markup is massive, so I prefer not to use them.

 

[BoltSnap]

You honestly believe I can call SP, ask to buy their service kits, and they'll sell them to me without being a shop/dealer/trained SP tech??

You can buy the kits indirectly no issues. They shouldn't sell you anything if you aren't a properly trained and qualified tech however.

I don't know what his conversation was or who it was with, that's why I and others have told him to talk to Landon.... I don't believe the guy answering the emails about orders is the one teaching classes though, so it may not have been anything he even thinks about.

So if there is any issue with anything with their products, one has to look for "Landon" to get it resolved? Seriously, is this a way to run a business?

One question for you, how are you related to D6?

 

[jlcnuke]

You can buy the kits indirectly no issues. They shouldn't sell you anything if you aren't a properly trained and qualified tech however.



So if there is any issue with anything with their products, one has to look for "Landon" to get it resolved? Seriously, is this a way to run a business?

One question for you, how are you related to D6?

Ah, so I can go around the company's policies and maybe get someone else who shouldn't sell me parts per the company's policies but they may do so anyway just to make a buck? Yeah... pass.

He could also call and talk to one of a number other people associated with Deep 6. Last time I ordered I called and talked with Chris, though he's not the one to talk to currently.

I'm a customer of Deep 6 because I like a company that puts out quality products without gouging the diving public on prices. Are you a SP retailer or something?? All of my current regs are Deep 6 and HOG regulators, and I'm ecstatic to have not paid the ridiculous SP, AL, etc. prices for regs that I actually enjoy diving as much or more than the SP, AL, etc. regs I've used in the past.

As an instructor, I also feel terrible for the potential divers that are turned off from diving when their "shop instructor" is pushing them to spend $4k+ on SP etc. gear when they could get into the sport for a fraction of that if the shop wasn't selling them gear with such a massive markup.

 

[cerich]

Originally kits were to be available to anyone who ordered one, the not unless you paid up for a course, still not a bad deal or model but being such a narrow supply chain I find the other methods works better for me, they all suck but deep 6 and hog have a good workaround for someone who isn’t or doesn’t want to be associated with a shop.

That is not true.

Kits are free with service, first service free on signature series sent to us, free if you took class, free if you have a local dive shop do (even if not a dealer), free if you have other manufs reg certs.

We provided free kits with every reg.

We will sell kits if forced(we prefer to give away, you pay shipping) but some insist on buying. We still want to know the person servicing them is trained.

We always wanted to facilitate service, including self service but want the person doing to be trained.

That is why we never put service kits as a stand alone product for sale on the web site

 

[BoltSnap]

Are you a SP retailer or something??

No, I am not a SP retailer. I am a dive center (dive school). I can get parts for SP, AL, etc. very easily and I choose to use SP (and Atomic) because of quality, support and extraordinary worldwide dealer network that is second to none. I don't have to find who the president or owner of SP or AL and chase them online to get service.

massive markup

SP has the lowest markup compared with other mfg's for the retailer. Many other mfg's inflate their retail prices so that they appear to be giving their retailers, and consequently the end buyers, a huge discount but it is all theatrics.

As an instructor, I also feel terrible for the potential divers that are turned off from diving when their "shop instructor" is pushing them to spend $4k+ on SP etc. gear when they could get into the sport for a fraction of that

This is a grossly inflate statement. You make it sound that as if one has to spend that much to buy SP products which is very not true. You can spend $4k and even more but you can spend much, much less. It all depends on where you want to spend your money. SP, and other mainstream mfgs, have products at different price points and you can buy what suits your budget. Your statement is a mere emotional highly exaggerated statement.

 

[cerich]

I don't know what's going on with Deep Six and kits. I could never get kits and I'm a Deep Six instructor and I actually wrote the manual for Signature series. It was supposed to be you take the class from a Deep Six instructor and you can order the kits.
When I was writing the manual I was aware that there was a supply issue and they didn't want to run out of kits for people sending them in to get done.
I understand that you took a general course. Virtual I guess? Had you taken the Deep Six course you could have bought the kits. I am aware that there are instructors teaching the class virtually.
Personally I won't because I can't check the work and last time I talked to TDI they required that. And in an in-person class, many instructors have class regs for you to work on. Did your regs actually need serviced. In the classes I taught that's the first thing we determined and if not, students used classroom regs I had on hand.
They did not break the contract with kits. You could be see to have done that by going outside the terms of it.
HOG allows any dealer to sell kits to anyone. Deep Six does not.
The going with a major to avoid this is neither here nor there because the big names at least in the US suck because they don't allow anyone to sell kits to the user. The dealer has to service them. On their schedule, not yours. I will never buy a reg I can't service myself.
Message Landon and see if he will do a virtual course and the problem will be solved.

Well Jim, you could have called.
I would have made it happen, even after you decided to join the pile on of saying we were offering hookers to people that buy our product because Cave Adv posted a picture of our model on their facebook and some people decided that our model was too whatever and we were all just sexist pigs for using her for pictures.
Considering how long we had been friends, and that I thought you knew me, that was a pretty nasty attack on me.
Plus, your assertion that Deep 6 doesn't allow dealers to sell kits to whoever they want is untrue. Keep on trying pal.

 

[LandonL]

I've since inquired with Deep Six about purchasing extra kits, and was told they will not sell them unless I take their course.

Hi @madamimadam, I would really like to help you get this resolved, so if you can send me the support ticket number and/or your name I would like to catch up on the conversation.

Just to clarify, we don't require our course as the only way to acquire kits from us. We are pretty reasonable and try to make it as easy as possible.

You can acquire FREE kits in these ways:
1.) All new regulator orders ship with a free set of kits.
2.) Certified technicians who have taken our service course receive free kits every 2 yrs for personal regs.
3.) You can send them to us for a first free service.
4.) You can have the LDS doing your service call us (even if not a dealer) and we will send your free first set to them.
5.) Or... we are reasonable so give us a honest and compelling reason why you need them.

You can purchase kits directly from us in these ways:
1.) Show us you are certified on ANY other balanced diaphragm system.
2.) Prove to us that you have ample experience servicing regulators.
3.) Register for a service technician course.
4.) Have a mentor contact us to vouch for helping you.
5.) Or... we are reasonable so give us a honest and compelling reason why you need them.

In all honesty, we just want to know that you are capable of servicing the regs or have help to do so.

Our criteria set a relatively low bar meant to weed out those who should not be doing this alone. If you can't meet the minimum, you probably shouldn't be doing this, we don't want someone to just 'wing-it' for the first time.

FWIW, to the OP, you have what I would consider a compelling reason, so lets get this resolved for you.

Now......

So if there is any issue with anything with their products, one has to look for "Landon" to get it resolved? Seriously, is this a way to run a business?

Yes, we call it "customer service". Try to contact the Owner/President/Leadership at any other brand and see how successful you are. We provide an unprecedented level of access to both Chris and myself, and work to resolve issues directly.

However, as always, you have found a way to try to twist this exceptional service into a defect. I mostly just ignore what you write, as it is generally false, deliberately inaccurate, intentionally misleading, or some other emotionally charged disparagement. You contradict yourself frequently, even within the same post. The lack of self awareness is astounding. Fortunately most see through you and see you for what you are. Congratulations on becoming a running joke on Scubaboard.


Cheers and happy diving!

Landon Lasseter MD MS MBA
President - Deep 6 Gear
404.800.5967 x 2 (office)

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Yes, it is called customer service. Try to contact the Owner/President/Leadership at any other brand and see how successful you are. We provide an unprecedented level of access to both Chris and myself. However, as always, you have found a way to try to twist that into a defect. I mostly just ignore what you write, as it is generally false, intentionally misleading, some other emotionally charged disparagement. You contradict yourself frequently, even within the same post. The lack of self awareness is astounding. Congratulations on becoming a running joke on Scubaboard.

Facts.

Some people like paying for bloated infrastructure. I like that Deep 6 is lean and mean. That means lower costs and lower prices for me.

It is a real shame that your wetsuits didn't take off, as they were superior in features and quality (love all the reinforcements at tension points).

A bloated company could never have released such a product.

And the worst product I've ever purchases was a ScubaPro dry suit. I keep it for teaching/practicing dry suit repair. I also use it as an example of what not to buy when shopping for a dry suit.