Keep or Sell?

[ScubaNo0b]

Warning: Long post. Please read full thing before commenting.

Hey y'all, scuba noob here (I have 9 dives under my belt to show just how much of a noob I am ) hoping all y'all can help with a dilemma that's tearing me apart. Today I received a mint condition, never touched the water, still had the manufacturer's plastic on them Dacor brand jacket style BCD and regulator from a dive buddy for free. They were just sitting in his closet, and he gave them to me since they were just collecting dust. The original thought before learning exactly what they were was that I'd use them as part of my first dive kit. However after talking with other dive buddies and showing them the pics posted below, I don't know that I want to/should keep them as I wouldn't be able to use them for what I'm gonna get into diving wise (end goal is wrecks, caves, deep, and photography) and I'd most likely have a really hard time finding anybody to service them since Dacor is a thing of the past. My question/dilemma is, do I try to sell these to a collector to get enough money for modern day gear and complete my kit, or do I keep it and then panic when it comes to service time? If I sold these, the money would go to a new regulator, a dive computer, and either a wetsuit or 2 or a BP/W BCD. What do you think I should do, and why? As a side note, my LDS is having a pool night on Friday where I'm trying out another jacket BCD I have (though it doesn't fit nearly as well as the Dacor one), a new dive skin, and working on my buoyancy. I'm super stressed and panicking/agonizing over what to do. Please help a noobie diver out!

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Welcome. They appear to be in great condition. I would run them by your LDS to inspect them. If they’re in good working order...I’d use them for now. Worry about whether or not you can get them serviced later.

Another reason for holding off is that what you want to run out and buy for gear at the moment might not be what you want to dive with a year or so from now.

Ex. My primary regulator set...I bought immediately after my OW checkout. I liked them for a bit, but 30 dives or so later...I wish I’d gone with a different set (going to swap the first and second stage from my pony bottle to be my primary set).

As far as selling old gear goes, you’re not going to get much for it. Certainly not enough to finance the purchase of new gear.

 

[Sam Miller III]

there is a beginning a middle and an end to every thing
~~~~~~~~~~~ also ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

there is new used and useless

your decision ?

sdm

 

[Fishyhead]

I'd also recommend getting the bcd and regulator you were given inspected by your shop to make sure it's in working order. If it is and the bcd fits, use it. As a new driver, having your own gear that fits will take away some variables and let you focus on learning.

For me, I still use a teal green Scubapro stab jacket bcd, US Divers Conshelf regulator, and Beuchat fins I bought 20 years ago as my travel setup. Is it out of style? I guess so but it's safe, it works, and I'm using the money I didn't spend on trips so who cares?

 

[chrisch]

I don't think anyone is 'collecting' this gear - I would use it. The BC should last another 20 years or so.

 

[tbone1004]

I would not recommend going to your LDS for this. The BCD you can check yourself pretty easily. Orally inflate it all the way and just let it sit and see if it leaks. Probably doesn't. Repeat a couple times and happy days. The regulator, I would call someone like AirTech in Raleigh who is more likely to be able to service it vs an LDS who will probably try to tell you that Dacor is long since obsolete and you need to buy new gear for your safety. Option 2 is contact someone like @boulderjohn who is in Boulder if you couldn't tell, and see if he would be able to look them over, check IP and cracking pressure on the regs etc.
With gear like this the LDS is the absolute last place I would recommend people to go

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

I would not recommend going to your LDS for this. The BCD you can check yourself pretty easily. Orally inflate it all the way and just let it sit and see if it leaks. Probably doesn't. Repeat a couple times and happy days. The regulator, I would call someone like AirTech in Raleigh who is more likely to be able to service it vs an LDS who will probably try to tell you that Dacor is long since obsolete and you need to buy new gear for your safety. Option 2 is contact someone like @boulderjohn who is in Boulder if you couldn't tell, and see if he would be able to look them over, check IP and cracking pressure on the regs etc.
With gear like this the LDS is the absolute last place I would recommend people to go

This could also be looked at as an opportunity to test your LDS?

If the LDS just glances at the gear, claims it is obsolete and dangerous and they try to sell you new stuff, then maybe you need a different LDS?

If they give it a quick visual and then say leave it with us for a day and we will test it out (maybe even for free?) then your LDS is a keeper.

 

[kelemvor]

This could also be looked at as an opportunity to test your LDS?

If the LDS just glances at the gear, claims it is obsolete and dangerous and they try to sell you new stuff, then maybe you need a different LDS?

If they give it a quick visual and then say leave it with us for a day and we will test it out (maybe even for free?) then your LDS is a keeper.

The only problem with that is that there may not be an abundance of dive shops so far inland. I recall @boulderjohn complaining about just that.

 

[nippurmagnum]

My two cents: definitely keep the gear, and consider yourself lucky. Dacor didn't really go away, it merged with Mares. There's been a lot of consolidation among dive gear manufacturers. Definitely no reason to consider Dacor gear "obsolete." Also, there's no guarantee that whatever manufacturer you buy "new" gear from won't be merged out of its corporate existence in 6 months time, and that you'll face the same questions with respect to that new gear. Some good advice in the thread above on how to get the gear visually inspected.

 

[JackD342]

Those look to me like they are the "new" Dacor items that were sold by West Marine for the last few years. (Some tighter photos would help)
Looks like that experiment failed and they have been closing out the brand for a year or two.
If I am correct, I would feel totally comfortable with the BCD as I think it is from a commonly used Tawain OEM and very recent. I have no idea how you would ever get service for the regulator, but you could contact West Marine and ask. It is probably a badge engineered copy of another brand such as IST, but that is only a guess. If from West Marine, it is definitely NOT related to the original Dacor or to Mares, the owner of the name.
(I think Mares cut a licensing deal with WM, probably chiefly to maintain the Dacor trademark)