Not servicing my gear EVER!

[herman]

I had my gear serviced just before i went on a dive trip. & I specifically told the technician my inflator button is sticking a bit, as it happened on a day trip i did, a few days before in preparation for my sardine run in Pescador Island.

During my very first dive on said trip. The button stuck while im at depth, it wouldnt budge, pumping air sooo fast into my wing, i went up! Good, I didnt panic.. dumped air, swam down & disengaged the hose fr the inflator.

Back at the dive shop, the manager/technician took apart my inflator & saw dirt inside & a part of the o-ring out of its groove! I took a picture of it as evidence before he fixed it for me.

Im sooo disappointed w/ the shop who serviced my gears. When i told them what happened & showed them the pics, all they can say is sorry. & they returned the service fee they charged me.

Now Im scared to have my dive gears serviced. What if something more like this happen? Or God forbid, anything worse?? Can i learn how to clean & service my own gears?

The lesson to be learned here is to never get gear serviced then go on vacation. Over the years on this board a general trend has emerged. That is, rapid, major gear failures (major freeflows and the like) almost always happen shortly after service, not after a long time in service. Creeping IP pressures and slight freeflows are pretty much the "normal" problems that pop up after long intervals between services, both fall into the PITA catagory. Get your gear service by a good tech but then do several easy test dive locally before heading off to a remote or advanced dive site.

Learning to do your own gear is not difficult for the mechanically inclined. If you can do brakes and small engine carbs you can do regs. The first step is to learn how they work. I recommend getting both of these 2 books as a starting place. "Regualtor Savvy" by Peter Wolfinger Regulator Savvy (Spiral Bound) and "Scuba Regulator Maintenance And Repair" by Vance Harlow SCUBA REGULATOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR by Vance Harlow
They will give you the background you need to start learning reg repair. Then get yourself an old junk reg to tear apart, clean, lube and adjust.

 

[David_57]

I dive doubles with Apek XTX 200's it was 5 years before I switched to doubles so purchased my second reg 5 years after the first so now I service one reg every 4 to 5 years.

 

[Reef Tank]

I took the post as perfectly legitimate. Some models are more rugged than others but good luck finding useful information on the manufacturers web site.

I was under the impression my Sherwood 1st stage had an inlet spring seal but when I had it serviced it was full of water. The service tech had to replace an obviously corroded adjusting screw.

 

[aquaregia]

The lesson to be learned here is to never get gear serviced then go on vacation. Over the years on this board a general trend has emerged. That is, rapid, major gear failures (major freeflows and the like) almost always happen shortly after service, not after a long time in service. Creeping IP pressures and slight freeflows are pretty much the "normal" problems that pop up after long intervals between services, both fall into the PITA catagory. Get your gear service by a good tech but then do several easy test dive locally before heading off to a remote or advanced dive site.

My gf got her gear serviced then we went and did a test dive to about 40'. Everything seemed fine, but apparently it wasn't so hot at 90' in the Maldives. Guess from now on I'm jumping down the trench to test gear.

 

[aquaregia]

Now Im scared to have my dive gears serviced. What if something more like this happen? Or God forbid, anything worse?? Can i learn how to clean & service my own gears?

That's exactly why I do my stuff myself. a) I have a vested interest in doing it right and b) I'd rather my last thought was "oops" not "wtf".

 

[Akimbo]

There is another option for those who do not want to invest in learning about regulators and don’t trust dive shops to service them. As I understand it, Atomic will perform factory service. I don’t know if they test it at simulated depth on their ANSTI breathing machines like all their production regulators or not.

 

[DwayneJ]

There are a few good techs out there. At my two year service, they found a bad hose which I was not aware of that would have likely blown.

1. Gear will gather dirt and corrosion over time.
2. O-Rings and Hoses are perishable and will fail over time.

 

[robbcayman]

I never service anything, except my wife.

 

[redacted]

There are a few good techs out there. At my two year service, they found a bad hose which I was not aware of that would have likely blown.

1. Gear will gather dirt and corrosion over time.
2. O-Rings and Hoses are perishable and will fail over time.

I am going to get old and die over time. So I guess it is a race.

 

[300bar]

Maybe a mod should take a look at this "member"
(he) has some wierd posts
Looks like a sockpuppet to me