Gorillas Torqued my Razor!

[FritzCat66]

To the good folks at Zeagle:

I assembled a pony bailout system around September of this year from various parts, some new, some used, but after much research I purchased a new Razor first stage for it from ScubaToys. I loved the streamlined valve/first stage.

Anyway, I had my local dive shop tech assemble and test all the pieces and used it for some 20 or so dives without a problem.

In November I went on a dive vacation to Cozumel and took my trusty pony system along (now that I have it, I try and ALWAYS dive with my pony). Of course, for transportation purposes I had to remove the valve from the bottle, and have the dive tech (who was in our group) reassemble it for me there. I used it for 11 dives in Coz, then disassembled it again for transport back.

Once back, I gave the parts back to my tech again to inspect, clean, and reassemble, hoping to take it back out on my next dive this weekend.

So yesterday I get a call from my tech, saying, "Fritz, you better come look at this." Uh-oh, this can't be good.

So I stop by the shop and he shows me: the valve knob turns all the way around with only a clunking sound coming from inside the Razor! Looking more closely, it's obvious that some baggage inspector has taken a WRENCH to the valve knob and torqued the thing so hard that the valve is broke, and the valve knob is all scraped up!

Mexican security? TSA? Who knows? ...but something tells me this was not a TSA job, since they had no problem with it going down there. In any case, whoever did this was a MORON, and they had put it back into the plastic baggie I had for it without any notice anything was done.

It also looks like they partially uncrewed the LP hose to my second stage with the same heavy-handed wrench, but it's otherwise OK.

So now my beloved Razor has been torqued to death by some gorilla with a pair of vice grips or something!

Obviously, even though the unit is new, this isn't exactly a warranty repair.

So my question for you is: What should I do? Is this something you're likely to be able to repair for less than the cost of a new Razor? Is it likely even repairable at all?

Totally bummed about this,

>*< Fritz

 

[jupitermermaid]

Wow, that really sucks, Fritz! Good luck in trying to get this situation resolved!

 

[charlesml3]

Too late now, but:

-Always carry-on your regs, computer and even BC. I carry-on everything except my fins...

-Charles

 

[deepstops]

Too late now, but:

-Always carry-on your regs, computer and even BC. I carry-on everything except my fins...

-Charles

Me too. I can always buy clothes at my destination but trying to replace my regs, backplate, wing, canister light, etc. is nearly impossible or very high priced in most dive destinations. I have a Travelpro carry-on roller bag that will hold everything except my jetfins.

 

[Jimmer]

Hey Fritz, my shop has a couple of those, and we disassembled the valve knob on one to install a prototype longer knob. Anyway we found that the valve internals are just standard valve parts. Have your tech pull it apart, and see if he can rebuild it with Thermo or Sherwood valve bits.

Good luck!

Jim

 

[ScottZeagle]

Fritz -

If the shop doesn't have a plan to fix it, have them call Jim Fox here at Zeagle. I'm sure he has a simple explanation on repairing it...

Thanks,

Scott

 

[FritzCat66]

Thanks, Scott - I passed that info to my tech, hopefully he'll be able to rebuild the valve assembly.

Meanwhile I'm having him put a regular DIN valve on the tank and borrowing a buddy's DIN reg so I can use the pony.

I'll tell ya, once you get used to diving with a bailout pony, it's tough to go without it, like driving a car knowing it doesn't have a spare tire.

>*< Fritz

 

[FritzCat66]

I realized after posting a link to this on another thread that I never updated my status here.

Well, happy to say, with the help of a call to the good folks at Zeagle, my LDS was able to order the replacement parts and rebuild my valve, which has been working fine ever since (over two years now).

I had them save the broken parts, so here's a picture of the gory damage. It's hard to tell exactly what it used to look like, and forgive my ignorance of correct technical valve terminology, but the long bolt thing used to have kind of the inverse of a slotted head on it (that is, instead of a slot, it had a ridge piece sticking out), but the gorillas torqued the valve knob so hard that the whole head cracked and split down the side. Next to the bolt you can see what used to be the ridge piece, and the side piece as well.

So, my lesson learned is that, even if I put my pony bottle in my checked bag, I will henceforth always keep my Razor in my carry-on!