Is Dacor dead?

[atsenaotie]

As for not buying from Mares due to this: If you do not like us for the errors we made with Dacor, all I can say is I am sorry you feel this way. However many would disagree about not buying from us because there are better, competively priced products on the market.
Phil

Count me as one who will switch after finding today that I cannot get repair parts for my Dacor Pacer bought in 1994.

My Dacor Pacer XLE was my first non-Mares regulator after a my MR-12, and the MR-12II I still dive. I also have a Mares Sharpshooter I still hunt with. These are all older moldels, and I appreciate their reliability, and the technology of their design. I also use Mares fins for my U/W hockey play. As you may note from these models, I have been using Mares a longtime.

Yep, I missed the trade in. I do not subscribe to any dive magaizines (quit after the first 10 - 15 years of reading them). The store I bought the regulator from was two states ago, and went out of business sometime ago. I dive with my family off of my boat so I am not in the stores much.

The feeling of being left holding the bag on a regulator for the need of a seat and diaphragm is frustraiting. If I cannot find parts that "fit", I will make my next purchase from another vendor. With two youngsters coming into diving, I do have some dollars to vote with.

I encourage others to think carefully about the Mares track record on supporting equipment that should last decades before spending hundreds of dollars.

Lewis

 

[Phil Mintz]

Lewis,

As you state, you don't read the magazines, you don't frequent shops, your new to this board (this particular thread is from 2005 and there have been many other times this subject has been addressed) and you do like your Mares equipment. So rather than condem us for not being able to service a reg that was produced by a company 5-6 years before we purchased them and they were going out of business, why not give us a call and see if we can help you out?

Yes the trade in program expired after 13 months, but the few who have called us after the deadline have not been turned away. I can certainly understand your frustration, but the reg you own would not have parts availible even if we did not purchase Dacor in 1999.

Hope you will reconsider as we do value our customers.

Phil

 

[Puffer Fish]

Lewis,

As you state, you don't read the magazines, you don't frequent shops, your new to this board (this particular thread is from 2005 and there have been many other times this subject has been addressed) and you do like your Mares equipment. So rather than condem us for not being able to service a reg that was produced by a company 5-6 years before we purchased them and they were going out of business, why not give us a call and see if we can help you out?

Yes the trade in program expired after 13 months, but the few who have called us after the deadline have not been turned away. I can certainly understand your frustration, but the reg you own would not have parts availible even if we did not purchase Dacor in 1999.

Hope you will reconsider as we do value our customers.

Phil

Thanks for posting that.. I hope he calls and there is a real human to talk to that can help him..

Difficult economic issue associated with this.. and a hot button for a lot of good people...I understand the need for a time limit, as well as not doing trades for stuff someone bought for pennies on Ebay, but it would help, if those long time users could still get something - after all, they were not the reason the company went under (was most likely me, as I never bought a single dacor item).

I have a lot of Mares stuff, and will continue to buy.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

All most all of my diving gear is Mares. If I need some new gear, I with see if Mares makes it before I look for other brands.

As for service, I think it depends on your local lds (the only place to buy gear) and I have had nothing but great service from Travel Sports Equipment in London, Ont.

 

[scubapro50]

It's funny that so many divers rag on Mares about how they handle the Dacor line of equipment after the buyout. Dacor is not the first line of equipment they have taken over. There was VOIT/SWIMASTER ...... nobody is complaining they can't find parts for the VOIT/SWIMASTER stuff ...... I still own 4 of their regulators and thanks to Chuck at Texas Divers in Nederland he has keep them running with generic parts. He has done the same for many Dacor regulators too .... but even he is saying replacement parts are becomming harder to find for that stuff.

 

[james croft]

I just am curious if there are parts available for my Dacor Dart? Would be nice to dive it again.

 

[scubapro50]

I just am curious if there are parts available for my Dacor Dart? Would be nice to dive it again.

Just about any regulator can be rebuilt it just depends on how much you want to spend. You can't get parts from Dacor for the Dart anymore ...... you must use generic parts (O-rings, seats, rings, popits, hoses, ect.) to rebuild it. You might find another Dacor regulator you can cannibalize. Many regulators used the same parts and you might get lucky finding parts from another brand like U.S. Divers. You need to get a layout drawing showing the different parts used and find someone who will take the time to do it. I own a VOIT Lil Gem that is very much like the Dart. It works but the performance is so low I would never use it diving anywhere but the pool. It also lacks the LP and HP ports that are needed to run stuff unless you plum it out with T and Y adaptors. Besides if you spend several hundred bucks to rebuilt that Dart do you really want to use it in saltwater and screw up the rebuilding job. Take my advice and if the regulator looks good on the outside (excellent chrome and decals) then hang it on the wall as a conversation piece. ( PS : I did spent several hundred $$$ to rebuild a Dacor R-4 doublehose regulator that looks so good you swear it just came out of the box. I used this vintage regulator several times last year in fresh water and all the "Newbie" divers wanted to try it out.)

 

[james croft]

Yeah, right now my Dart is in a display case with some other vintage gear. Hard to beat the looks of a chrome reg. I will try to overhaul it for sentimental reasons as it is the first reg I ever used. I will strip it down and ultrasonically clean it. I have a small leak in the second stage, probably from crud in the poppet. Could use a more supple diaphram. I think it will be a good project this winter.

 

[atsenaotie]

Yes the trade in program expired after 13 months, but the few who have called us after the deadline have not been turned away.

I called Head USA (203 855-0631) and spoke with Lee. I explained my situation and asked if there were exceptions to the end date on the trade-in or anything he could do to help me out. He told me there were no exceptions and had not been any once the offer expired in September. According to Lee there was nothing he could do to help me out.

 

[daniel f aleman]

And HEAD stock flounders at $3.50 a share - run by boobs...