Old Sherwood Annual Service - Reality Check

[Marek K]

I've got an old (circa 1986) Sherwood SRB 2100 Brut regulator that I was handing down to my newly-certified son for shallow- and warm-water diving. I was trying to get it serviced here in Poland through an authorized dealer -- Sherwood dealers are very hard to find in Europe, particularly in this part of Europe.

The dealer found out from the regional rep in Germany that the service kit is still avalable for this reg. But the price for the 1st and 2nd stage kit was roughly equivalent to $100! Plus, he found out that the 1st stage piston needed to be replaced every year, at a cost of 30.30 Euros, or about $40 at the current pitiful exchange rate.

Prices tend to be significantly higher here in Europe than in the U.S., but does all that sound at all realistic? And the piston needs to be replaced annually?? Needless to say, I decided not to continue along that path, and am ordering a new entry-level Mares from ScubaToys. I'm now looking into the possibility of at least salvaging the Brut 2nd stage to use as an alternate... we'll see how much the service kit is just for that.

Again... $140 for an annual service??

--Marek

 

[jumbo]

Don’t buy what the shop has to say. No you do not need to replace the piston once a year, if ever. And the rest of the replacement parts are generic, it only take a few o-rings and a seat. Sherwood regs are some of the simplest and rugged regs available and you could replace the whole thing for $140.

I serviced a reg similar to yours that was used by a commercial diver for 15 years with out servicing and it still worked relatively well.

The only reason for a higher cost would be to replace the spring in the first stage and that is often not the case. All the parts for that reg cost around $3 U.S.

Good luck

JUMBO

 

[Poseidon8118]

Yep, A shop around here would charge $30 USD for labor and $8 USD for parts for your basic rebuild.

 

[DPJ]

Plus, he found out that the 1st stage piston needed to be replaced every year, at a cost of 30.30 Euros, or about $40 at the current pitiful exchange rate.

--Marek

I had two 10 year old Sherwood Maximus' serviced in the fall. Parts were about $10, except for one that needed a piston. The only reason for the piston was due to corrosion. Normal wear and tear should not affect it. The price on the piston in the US was about $30. So that is not far off.

 

[Marek K]

Thanks for your replies, jumbo, Poseidon 8118, and DPJ. That's what I thought, about price for a parts kit and certainly about replacement of the piston.

Don’t buy what the shop has to say.

*sigh* Well, yeah. Problem is, I'm definitely at the far end of the Sherwood pipeline here. The local Polish dealer has to deal through the main Sherwood rep in Poland, a company called Oxygen halfway across the country in Wroclaw; who in turn has to deal with the regional European rep, Balzer GmbH in Germany. I wonder whether everyone is getting their cut on the parts kit?

And I don't doubt the local dealer's honesty regarding the piston replacement. I just think he's getting a story that's being distorted at each step of the information pipeline -- like someone maybe advised that "if such an old piston were corroded, then it would need to be replaced"... which morphed into "the piston will need to be replaced"... which in turn morphed into "the piston will have to be replaced at each annual service."

I hate to sharp-shoot the local dealer, but I've e-mailed Balzer GmbH, the German rep, directly. We'll see what they have to say... Oh, and Sherwood USA has always given me quick answers too; probably worth shooting them an e-mail too.

--Marek

 

[rescuediver009]

The scam with the sherwood pistons is that pistons that old were tapered so the seat could not be replaced. Although, I have replaced this item on occasion, it only needs to be done once with a more recent model (not the current one). As for parts, they would cost absolutely no more than $15 (10 Euro) for the service, and no more than 20 Euro for the new piston. I would put that reg up on ebay or something to get something out of it and move to something that is alot easier to support where you are...

 

[Kim]

Marek - just to make you feel a little better and not so alone in your plight!

In Japan I enquired about getting an Apeks AT50 serviced. They wanted around US$170 plus parts (don't ask me what they would have charged for them!!!)

Suffice to say, I got the parts kit from the US and did it myself!

 

[Marek K]

The scam with the sherwood pistons is that pistons that old were tapered so the seat could not be replaced. Although, I have replaced this item on occasion, it only needs to be done once with a more recent model (not the current one). As for parts, they would cost absolutely no more than $15 (10 Euro) for the service, and no more than 20 Euro for the new piston. I would put that reg up on ebay or something to get something out of it and move to something that is alot easier to support where you are...

Yeah, Sherwood USA did reply to me yesterday (they're always very responsive!), telling me that originally these late-1980's 1st stages had HP seats that were crimped onto the piston. So the piston theoretically had to be replaced at every annual service. Not sure it was a deliberate scam, but it sure was, um, an interesting way to design the equipment!

Since then, Sherwood came up with a new piston (p/n 3107-10) where the seat is replaceable; it's a direct swap for the original one -- the new seat is included in the parts kit.

Hmmm... I wonder when the new piston came out? And whether this old 1st stage maybe already has the new one installed? Its last service -- done by an authorized dealer, anyway -- was in Germany, in 1992. I don't remember how much, but I do remember it was expensive! Maybe the new piston was already installed at that time?

Sherwood USA also tells me that the parts kit retails for US$8.00 in the States. And if, as DPJ thought, the new piston was around US$30.00, the quoted piston price of EUR 30 wouldn't be that far off... I assume that includes the 22% VAT.

I may be naive in assuming that people are honest until proven otherwise, but I really think this is a matter of information distortion as it gets passed down from the manufacturer to the regional rep to the national rep to the local dealer, for a brand that's not that well-know on this side of the Atlantic, and for a old model of that brand.

On the other hand, this same local dealer had at first told me the DIN connector for the 1st stage would cost EUR 170. I challenged that, and he checked again and said it was actually EUR 45. Much more realistic, for a part that's available in the States for $44.95. Hmmm... Maybe the price was supposed to be in Polish Zloty (4:1 to the Euro)?

Oh, and the German rep, Balzer GmbH, e-mailed me and indicated that the quoted price for the service kit was unrealistic too, even for European standards. They said they'd contact the Polish national rep und schtraighten zis out from their end.

We'll see.

I really hesitate to get rid of this whole reg if I can indeed get it serviced reasonably. Especially since labor here is very inexpensive. Sherwood USA says it's certainly still a good reg, keeping in mind its entry-level limitations.

The other option would be, I need one more octo for the family anyway... I could get a new reg, and salvage the Brut 2nd stage as an alternate... assuming I can get that serviced!

--Marek

 

[Marek K]

Marek - just to make you feel a little better and not so alone in your plight!

In Japan I enquired about getting an Apeks AT50 serviced. They wanted around US$170 plus parts (don't ask me what they would have charged for them!!!)

Suffice to say, I got the parts kit from the US and did it myself!

Yeah, but that's in Japan. Where a small Coke is $5.00.

But I'm living in a country where stuff is supposed to be cheaper than farther west.

Not true, particularly for stuff that has to be imported. And it was even worse with imports before Poland's entry into the EU. (On the other hand, food prices have risen since then. *sigh*)

You living in Japan just have to get used to those kinds of prices... Good thing you're probably making the big bucks to compensate!

--Marek

 

[Kim]

Actually I think that you have a few out of date ideas about Japan going on there - especially where I live (nowhere near Tokyo!) Never mind - I was only trying to make you feel a little better.
It does seem to me though that scuba diving isn't really the sport for the penniless anyway - and the manufacturers probably don't really make allowances for "cheaper" countries.
At least I get a good deal on sake!