Do NOT rent regulators

[Ardy]

I was not making this statement on the hygiene of the regs but more on the use of them and having a reg that you are comfortable with and will breath well at depth.

My LDS loaned me a reg when my own reg had a problem and that was fine but I was happy to have my own back. There are some great shops out there and some very basic ones and I dont want to take that chance. A rental reg almost killed me when I first started diving.

My belief is that it is about being responsible for yourself and having your own reg and BC is part of that belief.

My first 2 regs were bought second hand and the first one lasted me over 10 years and I wish I had kept it as it worked well and was simple to service but the lure of the newer got to me.

Buying on ebay is a bit of a lottery but so is buying new. My scubapro reg was a nightmare until they found out where it was leaking from (the body) and a US divers BC I had in the 80's early 90's had a non stainless steel cable in it and failed after 6 months at 140ft.

This is a statement of belief and not an attack on good dive shops who keep good gear and clean it.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

This is a statement of belief and not an attack on good dive shops who keep good gear and clean it.

Do NOT rent regulators
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I have been reading threads on this site for the last few months and I'm shocked by the number of divers who rent regs and BC's.

A regulator is so critical to a safe and comfortable dive why would you leave it up to somebody else to provide this for you? A BC isn't quite so bad but I would still suggest that all divers own theirs, particularly if they have to change hoses to fit your reg because this is another point of potential failure.

A second hand, good quality reg, can be bought on ebay for $100 why wouldn't you get one. BTW get it serviced before you use it and then get used to it.

This is a statement of belief?

 

[Darnold9999]

I don't get it. If I was a vacation diver, which I used to be, I am diving 3 - 6 times a year on average. So I am going to purchase a reg, that will sit in a closet unused for a year (possibly two if my vacation is to a non diving destination one year) toss it in my carry on - pack it to a dive site and trust that it will work, and that somehow because I used it 12 or 24 months ago that it will somehow be better than a rental reg.

Don't think so. Would much rather have a reg that was much newer, in regular use, serviced regularly and that I didn't have to store. In this curcumstance (the majority of divers) I would trust the rental more than my own.

In fact when I was vacation diving I did have an old scubapro reg in my basement I purchased used that worked perfectly for the 20 local dives I did when I took up the sport. However once I quit local diving, finding it in the basement, and then relying on it after being in a kit bag for a year or two or three was just not on. Rather rent a modern reg that I know is working than dust off a reg that has been sitting unused for a year or more and trust that it is going to work - and I am certainly not going to get it serviced every year for just a few dives.

In this situation renting makes sense - purchasing does not.

Now that I dive regularly I can't imagine not owning my own. But for a diver that just dives a few times a year why would you buy? Doesn't make sense.

 

[odinsfrigg]

Don't you stand a big chance of buying a former rental reg when you buy off ebay?

 

[sunkmail]

A rental reg almost killed me when I first started diving.

Could you explain this a little more?
(I'll assume you were diving with a buddy and not doing any deco, since you stated it was when you 'first started' diving.)

Did it free flow? If so, why not just breath from the reg as you ascended to the surface?

Did it stop providing gas? If so, where was your buddy, or why not just do an emergency acsent?

Did it break/fly off the tank and wack you in the head?

Did it pull a knife on you?

Given a recreational dive, the only ones I'd consider dangerous enough to 'Almost kill me' would be the last two, which are probably very improbable.

 

[Gen San Chris]

I have 8 sets of rental gear which is serviced regularly and I do not get complaints from the users!
Many people rent as their baggage allowance on an aircraft will not cover their dive gear and excess baggage is too expensive! Please do not say, DO NOT Rent as thats not a correct statement!

 

[Damselfish]

I prefer to dive with my own regs and pretty much always have. But rental gear has it's place. While it may not be as good as your own and will sometimes have issues, this can be dealt with in many ways.

 

[Hoomi]

I don't know about all dive shops, but our LDS has their own pool for training. If the pool is not otherwise scheduled for a class, a diver can rent a filled tank for $5, and use the pool for a pre-trip or pre-season check-out of their equipment. Sure, it's not going to be a deep dive, but if something has developed a leak from a seal drying out, or if the regulator is sticky, or the BC inflator or exhausts aren't working quite right, etc., you can know before it's going to potentially impact the dive trip.

Even if the diver knows how to repair his or her own equipment, it's a heck of a lot better to do so at home before the trip, than to spend time at the dive location doing it.

Simple point, but it so often gets overlooked: The primary person responsible for our own safety is ourselves. If we're going to spend a decent chunk of change to drive or fly to a dive location, it just makes sense to invest a small amount ahead of time and check out our equipment before the trip.

 

[Darnold9999]

I don't know about all dive shops, but our LDS has their own pool for training. If the pool is not otherwise scheduled for a class, a diver can rent a filled tank for $5, and use the pool for a pre-trip or pre-season check-out of their equipment. Sure, it's not going to be a deep dive, but if something has developed a leak from a seal drying out, or if the regulator is sticky, or the BC inflator or exhausts aren't working quite right, etc., you can know before it's going to potentially impact the dive trip.

Even if the diver knows how to repair his or her own equipment, it's a heck of a lot better to do so at home before the trip, than to spend time at the dive location doing it.

Simple point, but it so often gets overlooked: The primary person responsible for our own safety is ourselves. If we're going to spend a decent chunk of change to drive or fly to a dive location, it just makes sense to invest a small amount ahead of time and check out our equipment before the trip.

Again I don't get it. For a casual diver you are recommending spending half a day or an evening preparing for the dive portion of a vacation. The dive portion might only be half a day for a couple of dives and just not that important in the scheme of things. Just doesn't make sense to spend that kind of time preparing for what is essentially a casual adventure. I don't have that kind of time in my life - particularly just before a vacation. In the days of vacation diving I wasn't travelling to a dive location I was travelling to a vacation destination and if there was diving available I might go diving. Spending money to purchase regs and spending time making sure that they work (in the casual vacation dive situation) just does not make sense to me.

On a side note the only reg I have ever had a problem with was one that I own and rarely use.

Never had a problem with rentals in almost 20 years of casual vacation diving all over the world. The rentals were in much better shape then the old scubapro reg and horsecollar BC I had sitting in my basement.

 

[Gombessa]

I rented all my gear for the first year after I was certified. I've never had a problem with a regulator, but I've seen some pretty gnarly gear come across the counter!

One of the things I learned early was to show up with plenty of time to test the gear before you take it. Ask for a spare tank, breathe the regs, turn off the tank and watch the SPG as you breath it down, make sure the hoses don't just unscrew with hand twisting, inflate the BC and test for leaks and functioning of dump valves, etc. It only takes a few minutes, gives you peace of mind and eliminates a number of obvious problems that you don't want to first discover when you jump in the water.

In nearly all of my rentals (locally and on vacation), there's always a separate wash bin for regulators (and maybe masks and snorkels). Wetsuits, BCs, etc. go in a separate wash bin. I've never witnessed a shop put any rental gear directly back on a drying/inventory rack upon return (who knows, maybe the ones that do are too smart to do so right in front of you).