purchased used equip/ got questions

[ofl0926]

hey whats up everyone... i recently came across a bunch of gear for sale at a cheap price... Seaquest Balance BCD with SureLock, Aqualung Legend ACD Regulator, Scubapro Twin Jet fins, a set of uwatec 3 gauges, booties, xsscuba bag on wheels... my question is, what should i do with the equipment first. should i get it checked out or go ahead and use it... the person i pruchased from said it had been sitting in their room for about a year and had only used it twice. all input welcome

oscar

 

[Web Monkey]

hey whats up everyone... i recently came across a bunch of gear for sale at a cheap price... Seaquest Balance BCD with SureLock, Aqualung Legend ACD Regulator, Scubapro Twin Jet fins, a set of uwatec 3 gauges, booties, xsscuba bag on wheels... my question is, what should i do with the equipment first. should i get it checked out or go ahead and use it... the person i pruchased from said it had been sitting in their room for about a year and had only used it twice. all input welcome

"Used twice" could mean it's absolutely flawless, or that it was flooded and left to dry in the sun. There's really no way to know over the internet.

At the very least, I'd have a regulator tech take a look at the reg.

Terry

 

[DandyDon]

Well, let's see - you want the Regulator to deliver air under water. Yep, annual service indicated, or at least tested. Something to plan on every year you want to breath from it. The gauges are connected to the Reg, right?

Some say to service the BC annually. I don't, but then I wash mine well. You do want to make sure all the connections are tight (I had a new one fail on the surface from a lose connection once, fortunately in calm seas), and find the owner manual online.

Fins, booties, bag - surely you can examine those well enough before using.

Hope you got a great deal.

 

[MMM]

Try it out in a pool and/or get the reg serviced. You're probably good to go on the rest of it. There is another school of thought on servicing - that is the techs do more harm than good so only send in for service when a problem is detected. I'm not entirely in this camp but have, on at least 2 occasions, had brand new problems arise after "regular" servicing of a perfectly functioning piece of equipment.

 

[redacted]

The good inspection of the regs should reveal any possible problems and indicate whether a full service is warranted. This is the kind of thing a user may be able to do himself or you can have a knowledgeable tech do it. Inspection checklist: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/260452-regulator-checklist-inspection.html

 

[dkktsunami]

hey whats up everyone... i recently came across a bunch of gear for sale at a cheap price... Seaquest Balance BCD with SureLock, Aqualung Legend ACD Regulator, Scubapro Twin Jet fins, a set of uwatec 3 gauges, booties, xsscuba bag on wheels... my question is, what should i do with the equipment first. should i get it checked out or go ahead and use it... the person i pruchased from said it had been sitting in their room for about a year and had only used it twice. all input welcome

oscar

If you were talking about a parachute that a stranger told you had been sitting in a room for a year, would you want to unpack it for a closer examination? Or just jump with it and see what happens?

 

[ofl0926]

thanks for the input guys... the stuff was inspected by me prior to purchase... i know i am not a tech but it did look flawless. i checked to see if the bcd held air and it did. th regs maybe have one or two tiny scratches. i could post pics if you guys want but i am leaning more towards get it checked out

 

[Hoomi]

I would have it checked out by a tech, AND I would plan a pool dive with it prior to any open water trips.

The BC holding air is only part of the story. I bought my BC used, and it held air just fine when I received it. However, when I used it in the pool, I found the inflator valve wasn't shutting off completely, and the BC would slowly inflate itself. While this isn't a major hazard if you're paying attention, it is an annoyance. Additionally, if the inflator is marginal, it is likely just a matter of time until it fails altogether. It wasn't an expensive fix, but if I hadn't used the BC in the pool, I would not have known until our OW dives in a remote location where getting it fixed would have been a problem.

We recently bought our regs from the LDS at their annual used gear sale, and arranged before our dive trip to try everything out in the pool. I don't know if all dive shops with pools work this way, but ours allows such check-out dives when the pool is not otherwise scheduled for classes, and for the cost of a tank rental ($5). Making sure everything not only worked right, but fit the way we wanted BEFORE another trip to a remote dive location only made sense. Having things fit correctly on land is a good start, but you also want to be sure the fit still feels right in the water.

As others have also said, you're trusting your life to this gear, and when it comes to your life, ignorance is not bliss. Getting it checked out is worth the cost.

 

[ofl0926]

I would have it checked out by a tech, AND I would plan a pool dive with it prior to any open water trips.

The BC holding air is only part of the story. I bought my BC used, and it held air just fine when I received it. However, when I used it in the pool, I found the inflator valve wasn't shutting off completely, and the BC would slowly inflate itself. While this isn't a major hazard if you're paying attention, it is an annoyance. Additionally, if the inflator is marginal, it is likely just a matter of time until it fails altogether. It wasn't an expensive fix, but if I hadn't used the BC in the pool, I would not have known until our OW dives in a remote location where getting it fixed would have been a problem.

We recently bought our regs from the LDS at their annual used gear sale, and arranged before our dive trip to try everything out in the pool. I don't know if all dive shops with pools work this way, but ours allows such check-out dives when the pool is not otherwise scheduled for classes, and for the cost of a tank rental ($5). Making sure everything not only worked right, but fit the way we wanted BEFORE another trip to a remote dive location only made sense. Having things fit correctly on land is a good start, but you also want to be sure the fit still feels right in the water.

As others have also said, you're trusting your life to this gear, and when it comes to your life, ignorance is not bliss. Getting it checked out is worth the cost.

thanks for the advise

 

[mts0628]

If you were talking about a parachute that a stranger told you had been sitting in a room for a year, would you want to unpack it for a closer examination? Or just jump with it and see what happens?

A year nothin'. I had my first cutaway after jumping a rig that had been "packed" the night before- I learned after the fact by a student. I don't rent parachute rigs anymore as I have my own but I still even repack it if I haven't jumped in a while!