My mistake in buying online

[ratherbefishin]

KG, rstofer, and Herman,
so I can get the tools I need at a Lowe's Hardware? If that's the case, I wouldn't mind going ahead and investing in them so I will have them in the future, in case I want to upgrade my SPG or something. Since graduating college, I've been trying to accumulate a good set of Kobalt tools, but I don't have any hex wrenches though, so I'll go look for those tomorrow.

 

[ratherbefishin]

Martzak,
I'll try to remember that in the future for gear purchases. Thanks for the tip.

 

[herman]

Sure, if you have the hand wrenches you got the expensive part already. You can get allen wrenches either as loose ones or in small folding units, kinda like a Swiss army knife. Those work fine and I lose them less. If your looking for dive buddies you just missed the NC Divers New Years dive and get together at Roleville. We have a very active bunch of divers around here. New divers and new buddies are alway welcome.

 

[redacted]

Allen wrenches are quite cheap. This SAE set should do the job: Kobalt at Lowe's: 10-Piece Flat End Hex-Torx Key

 

[firstdive2005]

Hi ratherbefishin- Go on scubatoys.com and they sell a folding scuba tool, it does a good job. It is like a swiss army knife. You really should take the regs in and ask if they will show you how to put them on. Knowing the correct tightness is very important. Also they may have the tool there. I bought mine at my lds. I did not buy my regs there. they service them and I try to buy stuff there. Ask them what type of save a dive kit you should have. Also there are lots of thread on diver too kits here. I have one that I travel with, has saved the day several times. have fun collecting. By kit I mean stuff that I need to quick service my gear. I did not buy a kit that was all put together They are available

 

[garyfotodiver]

Yes, the folding scuba tool is great. I keep one with each equipment bag. There have been a couple of times I had to make an emergency repair either before the boat left the dock (assemble your gear then; if there is a problem, you might have time to go to a dive shop) or out on the ocean. Buy or make yourself an emergency kit with straps, cable ties, o-rings, mouthpiece, etc., and keep it with your gear. I also keep a LP hose with me.

 

[Diver0001]

So, after reading a lot of threads and reviews and having experienced Sherwood regulators in my OW class, certification dives, on a charter boat in Cozumel, and then renting a few times, I bought a Sherwood regulator package off of LeisurePro. The price was good and I had some post-holiday money to spend.

The package arrived today and I realized what an idiot I am. I don't have the tools to assemble the octo and the SPG into the first stage. Is this something I should take it to an LDS for? I don't see them being thrilled to service my regs since I obviously bought it online, even if they can charge me for the service.

Advice? Thanks

You can get the plugs out of the 1st stage using one of those little hex wrenches you get with Ikea stuff. Most people have a few of those kicking around somewhere. They're exactly the size you need.

The bits you need to screw in can be made tight with a small adjustable wrench. Don't use too much force, remember the 1st stage is made of brass.

If you don't have the tools, your neighbour problably does. You can take it to the LDS if you want but they'll probably snarl at you.... LOL

R..

 

[BDSC]

BDSC,
I actually went by Water World today to look for wetsuit hangers. I left mine on a cruise ship months ago. The guy that was working was very polite and helpful, not pushy like I've seen in other LDS. I took his card and was looking at their website, maybe doing AOW with them when I have less going on at work (although hopefully not by being laid off as we found out yesterday was coming). Does the club meet every Thursday or whats the schedule like?

Starting this year (2009) we are going to be meeting on the second Thursday of the month. A few of the months during the year instead of a meeting we have things like a big spring party at the shop with a pig over the coals, chicken, grilled salmon, etc. We also do a big hot dog/ hamburger cookout one month in the summer at the quarry. So check out the website and you should see links to the meeting schedule, when, and where.

Hope you will be able to make some/many/all of the meetings.

 

[herman]

I for one don't care much for the scuba tools- I own 2 of them. They are OK in a pinch but the wrenchs are very poorly designed and if your hoses are too tight you can do a good bit of damage to the hose ends if you are not very careful. A good set of allen wrenches, a good quality adjustable wrench and a multi bit screw driver are better investments.

 

[keyshunter]

For the reasons herman stated, except for an absolute emergency, I do not like the scubatool. Interestingly, last summer a trip leader who had a scubatool (he sells them) borrowed my 2 adjustable wrenches when he needed to get into a group member's reg.

A caveat on adjustable wrenches: Even high quality ones need to be adjusted exactly to the flats of the fitting. A brass fitting can be easily damaged by a poorly adjusted wrench.