Ebay regulator

[RonFrank]

I dont think you understand "buying online" NEW versus "buying EBAY" USED.. who knows where that reg (LIFE SUPPORT) has been or how it's been .. sorry just dont think someone that is "ANAL" about his safety would be buying used life support equipment from an unknown source.. but do what you want.. my buddies and I have knowledge of the life of our life support..

HEY!! HEY!!! I'm OOA...... Sorry cant help you, my ebay Reg just failed...


Please help me out here... I dont get it....

I purchased my Reg new for that reason, just to be more comfortable with the history. However with a solid reg like the 50D, I think service, or a check from a authorized tech is all that is necessary.

Unless one services their own stuff, one is NEVER quite sure if the service being done is the service expected......

Wow, now I'm making myself paranoid!

 

[djanni]

Ron:

If someone's "anal" about safety doesn't it seem a bit contradictary for them to buy the piece of equipment they're going to breath from from and unknown person on e-bay for a dirt cheap price???? What's anal about that?

Don

What does price or where someone makes a purchase have to do with caring about the maintenance of the gear? RU suggesting that somehow a used 50-D is somehow OK if purchased from someone locally, or at an LDS, but just BAD if purchased on Ebay?

Ohhh, I get it, the brainwashed masses... Online BAD... LDS.. Good.... Online... Dangerous... LDS... Safe...

Chant along shall we?

 

[halocline]

So I bought a Zeagle tech 50-D for dirt cheap on Ebay, it is used, about four years old, but has zero signs of wear to the first of second stage. It was from a dive shop in Texas, and they said it would serviced by a Zeagle technician to be as new as factory, with up to 40% nitrox. I'm what you would call anal when it comes to gear and my safety, so I am going to bite the bullet and just get it serviced again, simply because I bought it on Ebay, but how many of you in my case would take their word for it, given the condition of the reg. and the dive shops reputation?

I bought a G250 and a balanced adjustable (both 2nd stages) from 2 people both claimng to be SP techs and had "just rebuilt" the regs. When I sent them to a tech who's work I trust, he found them both to be in need of immediate service; wrong parts installed, poor cleaning, etc... so probably I wouldn't take the word of anyone selling a used reg, unless you've had prior experience with the seller and know the quality of the work they do.

Having said that, though, I have no regrets about buying the regs; just get 'em looked over by someone not involved in the sale and you'll be fine. Even with the service it can be a real money saver to buy used, and in my case I got regs that I wanted that are not available new.

 

[colsonn]

The shop is sending me the service records since the reg. was purchased new from them in 2001. Also, before I bought the reg. off of Ebay, I checked with the dive shop about its history, and they said that the regulator was owned by one of their instructors, who had it serviced every year and only used it to dive fresh water for the OW class, I would say that it was a very safe buy, even from Ebay.

Thanks for those of you giving feedback.

 

[colsonn]

And maybe my wording was a little off, dirt cheap means half the retail value on a similar reg model today, since zeagle and apeks are no longer together, my reg. model isn't made.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Hey, it was probably a rental reg, so at least we know it was used 5000 times with no failures.......haha.

 

[redacted]

Ron:

If someone's "anal" about safety doesn't it seem a bit contradictary for them to buy the piece of equipment they're going to breath from from and unknown person on e-bay for a dirt cheap price???? What's anal about that?

Don

If you know the hardware and how to inspect it, it doesn't matter much who you buy from or how little you pay. If you don't then you will just have to deal with a "trustworthy" seller and pay his prices.

In the name of safety, you would probably be better off knowing the gear than the seller.

 

[Tom Winters]

I didn't read these posts, but I saw the words "eBay" and "regulator". I love eBay, but I would not buy a regulator on it unless it was for parts. Top notch regulaotors are relatively cheap, especially when you factor in how many years they last and how much you value your life.
If a fin tears at 200', or a mask leaks, or a drysuit seal gives way, well that's too bad - you'll have something to crab about in the boat. If your regulator fails, well, if I'm in the area, I'll risk getting bent to recover your body.
When you buy a top-notch reg, you buy it ONCE. When you buy something marginal, you get to keep paying for it - maybe with your life. Anything on eBay like a float, a light, a mask, a bc, a plate - ok... a reg...think about it.

 

[redacted]

I didn't read these posts, but I saw the words "eBay" and "regulator". I love eBay, but I would not buy a regulator on it unless it was for parts. Top notch regulaotors are relatively cheap, especially when you factor in how many years they last and how much you value your life.
If a fin tears at 200', or a mask leaks, or a drysuit seal gives way, well that's too bad - you'll have something to crab about in the boat. If your regulator fails, well, if I'm in the area, I'll risk getting bent to recover your body.
When you buy a top-notch reg, you buy it ONCE. When you buy something marginal, you get to keep paying for it - maybe with your life. Anything on eBay like a float, a light, a mask, a bc, a plate - ok... a reg...think about it.

If you really believe that a serious regulator failure at depth will lead to the lose of life, why do you dive? Do you just figure that you can take a .001 risk but when it hits .01 that's just too much? Add all the zeros you want, the logic is the same. I retired all my new regs and dive nothing but old regs I got on ebay. I believe those old regs are every bit as reliable as new regs - probably more reliable. I do not expect a regulator failure to result in a death. That is why we have redundent gas supplies.

 

[jonnythan]

Regulator failure = body recovery.

That's some brilliant logic, Tom.