"disposable regulators" vs servicing?

[davehicks]

No, I was paying about ~$200-$250 per reg every 3 years. My question was that for about that much I could by a reg, 2 second stages, plus a whole hose kit for ~$500 and sell the old reg kit for ~$250. So buy for $500, 3 years later buy new for $500 and sell used for $250, thus breaking even and always having new.

I question your math, and i think you have a bad plan. You want to buy inferior regulators and add by the overhead of buying and selling on eBay. A serviced regulator is "new" in most important ways.

 

[rjack321]

No, I was paying about ~$200-$250 per reg every 3 years. My question was that for about that much I could by a reg, 2 second stages, plus a whole hose kit for ~$500 and sell the old reg kit for ~$250. So buy for $500, 3 years later buy new for $500 and sell used for $250, thus breaking even and always having new.

You won't sell those $550 regs for 1/2 new after 3 years on fleabay.

 

[lexvil]

While it sounds good, the disposable thing, there are factors you can’t control like what will the cost be 3 years from now? Will anything even be available in the lower price point in the future?

If you buy good quality Regs now such as those ATOMICS you have, learn to service them yourself and only service them when they need it you actually stay way ahead, even if you pay to have them serviced and only service when actually needed you’ll be ahead.

 

[johndiver999]

My advice:

• Buy an IP gage for $20 and learn how to use it. (5 min of time)
• Figure out - or have someone teach you how to adjust the seat in your second stage regulator (5-10 min)
• Buy several spools for your mechanical spg (if you have them) and learn how to replace them $20 (3 minutes)
• Buy a second stage that it easy to unscrew by hand so you can examine the diaphragm and exhaust valve and learn how to do it (3 min).
• Learn how to replace a regulator hose (and figure out where to buy them on line) (5 min and a $25 when you need it).
• Buy a cheap generic low pressure (BC) inflator and keep as a spare ($30).

For everything else, have the professionals fix it for you. If you do good maintenance and can handle the simple cheap stuff above, you should be able to do several hundred dives without getting "professional" help.

 

[Green Frog]

I reactivated my membership here almost exactly a year ago (and have probably been a major annoyance ever since!) The initial reason was because I no longer could get my Conshelf 14 regs serviced locally. First, I had to have my lead set serviced, and now that I’ve done that, I’ve looked into parts and instructions for DIY maintenance. It looks like once I know I’m starting from good solid base, I should be able to do the routine stuff.

If I were going to start on this road again, I’d mix and match the old metal 1085 second stages with the later Con 22 or SEA firsts. That’s where I am right now. Otherwise, I’d get the equivalent in ScubaPro. From what I’ve seen on here either of these would be relatively inexpensive to purchase and have initial service done, then parts are pretty widely available. I plan on using my original 1085 as my primary 2nd on my final dives, hopefully far into the future!

 

[DrWilliam]

So to service a single tank setup you’re paying 750? For 1 first stage and 2 second stages?

Sorry, i communicated poorly. I meant $250 for 1 single tank setup (1 primary, 2 secondary).

 

[rjack321]

Sorry, i communicated poorly. I meant $250 for 1 single tank setup (1 primary, 2 secondary).

I dunno mate but this seems pretty steep. I'd expect to pay in the $150-165 range for parts and labor for a single reg set. Of this $250 what was parts and what was labor?

 

[lowwall]

Sorry, i communicated poorly. I meant $250 for 1 single tank setup (1 primary, 2 secondary).

That's just nuts. The last time I had my reg serviced it cost half that and it still drove me to learn how to do it myself

I was curious about how badly you were getting gouged by the shop so I looked at a place that's known for reasonable mail-in pricing. It turns out most of the gouging is from Atomic which has what the Brits would call "taking the piss" prices on its service kits.

The second stage kits are a little more reasonable, but it's almost $130 just for the kits. You could find cheaper labor elsewhere, but add in shipping in both directions and the cost for the convenience of an LDS is pretty small.

 

[Fibonacci]

That's just nuts. The last time I had my reg serviced it cost half that and it still drove me to learn how to do it myself

I was curious about how badly you were getting gouged by the shop so I looked at a place that's known for reasonable mail-in pricing. It turns out most of the gouging is from Atomic which has what the Brits would call "taking the piss" prices on its service kits.
~snip~
The second stage kits are a little more reasonable, but it's almost $130 just for the kits. You could find cheaper labor elsewhere, but add in shipping in both directions and the cost for the convenience of an LDS is pretty small.

In Australia its even worse that US$48 service kit is AU$73 plus you can add AU$90 for Christolube for the environmental sealing on a B2-T2-T3.
Plus a LDS Ti tax (they actually admitted if you owned a Ti T2/T3 you could afford whatever they charged to service it), after all life support systems etc etc. This particular LDS went out of business not long after!
Local Atomic distributor won't sell kits to non-accredited dive shops let alone DIY'ers.... and won't recognise overseas qualifications like Rob's service tech courses, even though you would be vastly better trained than the clowns that I encountered here over the years.

 

[runsongas]

its still a viable option with the palantic regs since they are dirt cheap. they aren't as well built as apeks/scubapro/atomic/etc, but for recreational diving they work fine after some tuning. just don't expect to get much back for them used once they need service when you do the math.

palantic