just got my gear "serviced"

[Thalassamania]

It depends on whom they ship their repairs out to. As I noted earlier, there are places that lots of shops ship to (like PSR) that I'd much prefer over having a shop do the service.

 

[Bigd2722]

I hate having an LDS do service on my equipment. The only failures I have ever experienced are post service. My solution for the bcd inflater was to buy the Zeagle type that unscrews and has a regular water hose fitting for rinsing. I have a spare of that type that can easily be replaced on a dive trip if needed. However, I've found that taking it off allows me to do a much better job of rinsing the bc and the inflater.

 

[keyshunter]

My own shop will replace the entire inflator rather than repair a broken one.

I can't really understand that since a non-octo inflator is such a simple device. Any tech worthy of the name should be able to rebuild one in a few minutes.

 

[rx7diver]

My uncle, who has done a few thousand dives and is technically inclined does not get his regulators serviced. When he has, they break. He used one for 9 years with no problems and did not have it serviced. He said the key was to take care of it.

Diverzach,

"Taking care of" a regulator includes performing periodic preventive (preventative?) maintenance, imho. I personally wouldn't be comfortable diving a regulator that hasn't been periodically serviced, on any dive other than an extremely shallow open water dive in benign conditions.

The good news is, given the right regulator, DIY maintenance is extremely simple. For example, my Scubapro Mk 10 + Balanced Adjustable and Mk 10 + G250 regulators are examples of very high-performing, highly reliable, extremely easily serviced regulators. The US Divers Conshelf 14 is another example. (BTW, a young friend of mine who is currently going through US Navy dive training just told me they still use the Conshelf 14!) I'm sure there are other examples.

My recommendation is to, rather than forego periodic preventive maintenance, acquire one of these regulators, learn to DIY service it, and service it periodically.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver