Old Gear? Worth trying to service?

[daven1985]

Morning,

I have recently gotten into diving and a mate gave me some gear he had. They are older gear and wondering if they are worth getting serviced to use or not.

The Regs are Sherwood Brut and connecting them to a tank they work and have no leaks.

The BCD needs a new corrugated tube as it is broken though the connection from the regs to the control does not leak.

My hope is that I can use these gear for a year or so and slowly replace items with new gear as I can more into diving... instead of outlaying $1500+ on gear up front.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Pictures to follow.

 

[pdhenry]

Bruts are still sold new, so your LDS should have no issues with whatever service may be required.

 

[keyshunter]

It is unlikely that Daven's Brut is one of the new style ones. It is probably one of the old barrel first stage Brutes of which thousands are in use in rental. Not the best breather, but it is about as simple as a brick, and most internal parts are readily available.

 

[tbone1004]

reg is no problem. BC might be risky because if the inflator is broken, the odds are fairly high that the bladder also has issues...

 

[phoenix31tt]

just get quotes before you service the reg and see it's feasible...

you can also replace the corrugated hose on the bcd and do some tests yourself... check to see that the bladder doesn't leak, check out the inflator etc... i wouldn't run out to buy new gear

btw... a new reg set and bcd should not be costing you $1500

 

[tbone1004]

Brand new top of the line BC: $500
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?page=rigs

Brand new, best value single tank setup: $700
Cave Adventurers - Dive Rite XT Regulator Backmount Package - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
Comes with an extra first stage for a spare or if you have intent to go to doubles, dive with a pony bottle, etc etc.

All in for $1200, which is close to $1500, but it's a lot better gear than what you were likely looking at for $1500

Reg service for a Brut should be somewhere around the $120 mark, $25/stage for labor, $15/stage for parts, 3 total stages. That's assuming you don't need new hoses at $20 each, or anything else. They should be replaced every 5 years or so because the rubber can become brittle. You can save quite a bit of you DIY service. Northeast Scuba Supply has all the parts and stuff you need. Frogkick has all of the manuals.

Corrugated hose and inflator replacement is somewhere between $30 and $40 that you can DIY, but if the bladder is leaking, it's basically trash since most recreational BC's don't have replaceable bladders.
https://www.divegearexpress.com/corrugated-hoses
https://www.divegearexpress.com/45-degree-oral-power-inflator

 

[phoenix31tt]

or he can save $200 with a hog single tank package...

but as you say... he can save some and get quality gear for under $1500

 

[tbone1004]

or he can save $200 with a hog single tank package...

but as you say... he can save some and get quality gear for under $1500

in Australia, damn. Ok yeah, so $1500aus is like $1k USD, so you're pretty close with that. With where you are, I'd try to find one of the Dive Rite dealers around you. Much better value than the recreational stuff.

 

[mselenaous]

OP is down under in Oz so factor shipping/customs to your recommendations.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[diversteve]

Unscrew the inflator mechanism and check the fitting where the inflator mounts to the bladder. On one that old it could be cracked/crumbled and really isn't repairable.

Also once you get the Brut serviced a small bubble will be released steadily while diving occasionally. Perfectly normal as it's an air-bleed. In fact if it doesn't, there's a problem.