Low, mid, or high range regulator?

[runsongas]

atomic makes good piston regs. but they require to be packed with grease for cold water diving which makes them messy to deal with. that is why diaphragm regs are more common with cold water divers and scubapro sells the mk17 even though all their other regs are piston. for huish, their reg offerings are split with zeagle selling diaphragm regs and atomic selling pistons.

 

[filmguy123]

Update: FWIW, Just called two local shops that service DiveRite. One sounded unconfident and said to call back tomorrow when their head tech was back in to confirm. The second was familiar, no problem, but then goes "oh, you haven't bought it yet? I would discourage that if you haven't invested already" and filled me in that the murmurs are they may not be around too much longer in the standard reg business. Good for right now... but long term prospects aren't as promising. He said the part kits are getting harder, and some they no longer supply, and he hears they may be focusing more on rebreathers, etc. in the future He recommended I pull the trigger on something like APEKs instead which will be around for a long time and is just going to be a lot easier for me.

Granted, this is just one guy. But still.

Before we say there was a vested interest on his end, I should make clear: I told him there were no DiveRite shops in Portland so I'd be making a special trip to his store. By telling me to go with a different brand, it was a business loss situation from him as he indicated I could also find someone close to home to service me.

Sooo... I'll call around a bit more locally, but those first 2 calls were not terribly encouraging.

 

[runsongas]

just mail it in if there are no shops near you. i know dive rite switched oem's from the rg series to the xt, which is why the old regs got dropped. but it would be news to me that the xt series would get discontinued.

 

[filmguy123]

doesn't the servicing cost go up a bit when you start mailing it in? and the convenience of getting it back in a couple of days?

DiveRite warranty invalidated with self service as it turns out.. so is there any difference if an Apeks was self serviced via part kits on ebay which seem to be easily obtained?

The DR kit still looks like a fantastic value. Correct me if I am wrong, but the Apeks is seeming like an overall better kit - *IF* one wants to spend the extra coin to get that... which isn't insignificant...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Depends on who services it. I got regs in last month from Guam. Marine stationed there. Service turnaround was 2 days. Took 6 days to get back to him from the time it left my bench. USPS makes shipping fast and reasonably priced. Priority in the US is 3 days max. My rates are 45 an hour plus parts and I can turn around a cared for set in about an hour and a quarter.
Parts cost depend on what actually needs rebuilt. If it doesn't need it I don't tear it apart just to tear it apart and make money on it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . the convenience of getting it back in a couple of days?

Edit: Okay, okay, if Jim Lapenta services them, maybe you can get 2-day turnaround. The local dive shops I have patronized all seem to think two weeks is reasonable. And then after two weeks I call, and they're still not ready because their tech was out sick or whatever.

 

[Caveeagle]

I get pretty pi$$ed off when I hear storys like this of shops bashing one brand vs another. If there was any substantive reason to doubt Dive Rite's long term viability, you can bet it would be discussed here long before some shop on the west coast.

I have also been in a shop and hear that: brand X is "obsolete" or bad for some other reason. I have also heard the arguments for a shops "Favorite" brand because of how long they have been in business and characterizing other brands as being "fly by night" type of operation. I just don't buy it.

I am sure it must be hard for some shops. They are financially strapped into pushing the brand(s) they are allied with.

So I certainly understand, and empathize right up until they start lying and selling to customers with false statements. I simply refuse to do business with a dive shop that is willing to put me into a bad deal by lying to me.

Going with the Apeks option is not a bad idea. You are just paying an extra few hundred dollars based on a fear that one of the smaller companies might not be around in 10 years.

Ever hear of Dacor? They were a long established brand that is now dead. So that can happen with any of these suppliers.

 

[filmguy123]

Expound? Maybe I'm lucky, but multiple shops here in Portland said they could have it done for me within 1-2 HOURS if I called and scheduled ahead with them. 2-3 days otherwise. No shipping costs.

 

[filmguy123]

I get pretty pi$$ed off when I hear storys like this of shops bashing one brand vs another. If there was any substantive reason to doubt Dive Rite long term viability, you can bet it would be discussed here long before some shop on the west coast.

I have also been in a shop and hear that: brand X is "obsolete" or bad for some other reason. I have also heard the arguments for a shops "Favorite" brand because of how long they have been in business and characterizing other brands as being "fly by night" type of operation. I just don't buy it.

I am sure it must be hard for some shops. They are financially strapped into pushing the brand(s) they are allied with.

So I certainly understand, and empathize right up until they start lying and selling to customers with false statements. I simply refuse to do business with a dive shop that is willing to put me into a bad deal by lying to me.

Going with the Apeks option is not a bad idea. You are just paying an extra few hundred dollars based on a fear that one of the smaller companies might not be around in 10 years.

Ever hear of Dacor? They were a long established brand that is now dead. So that can happen with any of these suppliers.

All well and good but if you read my whole thread you would have realized there was a financial incentive for them to tell me to STAY with DiveRite. They lost my business by telling me this and encouraging another brand. Did you read that part? BTW, I was the one to ask about Apeks. They did not bring up any other brand, and they were one of my only service options for DiveRite and told me I'd probably be best served elsewhere even though it meant probably never seeing me set foot in their shop.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Expound? Maybe I'm lucky, but multiple shops here in Portland said they could have it done for me within 1-2 HOURS if I called and scheduled ahead with them. 2-3 days otherwise. No shipping costs.

That's amazing. I wish I could find service like that. Dive shops here seem to have trouble with staffing techs. And for the record, the dive shop I have used most recently and gotten such lax service is none other than the Marietta, GA branch of Diver's Supply--HOG's major dealer. My suspicion is that the Marietta Diver's Supply had no tech on staff at the time and sent my regs to another store.