Outrageous cost to service reg

[BoltSnap]

It is rarely catastrophic failure if you are paying attention...

Yeah right, "if you are paying attention" and everyone does that and knows how to do that and it works every time.

"Catastrophic" isn't always the issue with the regulator, it is the reaction of the diver to the "non-catastrophic" issue that can be catastrophic.

A regulator will exhibit signs of needing service as well as simple checks will verify proper operating conditions...

Not true all the time and it "will exhibit signs of needing service" at the least opportune time like right in the middle of expensive dive vacation.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Start servicing them yourself.
Prices of everything have gone up with inflation.
Wages go up, shop rates have to go up, parts go up, that syringe full of Christolube ‘ain’t cheap and has probably gone up.

 

[BoltSnap]

I still hold that Atomic is taking the piss with its service kit pricing. Really all the manufacturers are to some extent, but Atomic is the worst.

Yes, I am "certain" that you know their manufacturing costs and things are they are. AGAIN, you have to do service MUCH LESS frequently than other brands so their amortized cost of ownership is actually much less than other brands (especially Mares, Cressi and others).

 

[BoltSnap]

You guys are crying about a regulator $200 service bill that only happens once every several years. I am sure that you spend much more on dinner and drinks that only manages to stay inside your body for only few hours.

Get over it please. You're pissssing and moaning about nothing for the sake of nothing.

 

[inquis]

Another vote for "on condition" maintenance. I'll check the IP a couple weeks before a trip and service if it's acting up. I take a spare with me but haven't needed it.

ETA: my last M1 service was $80 for the first stage, including sealing. I expected higher.

 

[lowwall]

Yes, I am "certain" that you know their manufacturing costs and things are they are.

Your loyalty often blinds you to reality. Here are the contents of the Atomic first stage kit. Does this look like $50?

 

[tridacna]

Your loyalty often blinds you to reality. Here are the contents of the Atomic first stage kit. Does this look like $50?

Looks about 50c worth of bits and bobbles.

 

[tridacna]

Another vote for "on condition" maintenance. I'll check the IP a couple weeks before a trip and service if it's acting up. I take a spare with me but haven't needed it.

ETA: my last M1 service was $80 for the first stage, including sealing. I expected higher.

$80. Sheesh. Wonder if they used Christolube?

 

[GF99/99]

Another vote for "on condition" maintenance. I'll check the IP a couple weeks before a trip and service if it's acting up. I take a spare with me but haven't needed it.

ETA: my last M1 service was $80 for the first stage, including sealing. I expected higher.

Add my vote as well. For regs I dive the redneck quote "if it aint broke dont fix it". When you look at a reg in the grand scheme of things it is a very very basic piece of mechanical equipment. And 99% of the time I would say when a reg does start acting up you get a warning, like IP creep and your 2nd stage is always bubbling a little, or Champaign bubbles coming out the body when the diaphragm is going, etc. or just the usually small bubbles from a hose o-ring that needs to be changed. Its not like your reg just blow completely apart and you have not gas and die. But even then that is why in dive planning we have contingency plans for gas failures/loss of a gas.

I have found that most industry professional and pretty much all of my friends dive this same way too. And the type of diving my freinds and I are doing we really count on our regs as were doing lots of sub 100m diving and long cave penetrations. I run Apeks regs and have found 3 years to kind of be the magical number when they need servicing (but between that lots and lots of SPG and DIN o-rings) and if you service regs your self its pretty cheap. I am getting Apeks 1st stage service kits of €30 and only need to spend that every 3 years.

 

[GF99/99]

This is TOTALLY out of context, not even close. Atomic regulators have the LOWEST "Total Cost of Ownership" than any other name brand regulators I have ever used. Atomics go on for years and years without needing service yet perform like new. My rec. diving ST1 was serviced 5 years ago and I won't service it until end of this year. Nothing wrong with it but I believe in preventive maintenance. I do NOT wait until something goes wrong as others have suggested above, that is TOTALLY irresponsible.

I have other Atomic regulators that go for longer time between needing servicing since I use them less frequently. Compare that with other brands of regulators, they are the best value over their lifetime.

Not to get to far off topic but I run Apeks name brand and it cost me about €30 every 3 years to service a reg set. So that would be about €10/year if you put it in annual terms. Pretty low ownership cost. Part of the reason why I run Apeks regs since I own about 15 of them.
Just wondering what is the cost for Atomic?

And I would think that Deep 6 might be the lowest of them all.