Regulator Annual Service & Maintenance, Sport’s Biggest Scam???

[halocline]

These regs are your lifeline, in short without them you die, this isnt the time to be cheap.

Also quoted moneysavr "Dive safe, spend the money"


Okay guys, lets hear an ACTUAL story of someone dying because they did not service their reg at an authorized dealer on an annual basis. The kneejerk response "It's my life, it's worth.. (insert titanium reg, fancy computer, anything else the LDS wants you to spend money on) IS a big scam in the dive equipment industry.

Now, with regards to service, I agree that good servicing, when needed, is critical to keeping regs working their best and most reliably, and I know that you both posted with that sentiment in mind. But I couldn't resist another chance to call someone on the general twisting of "safety" and money in this hobby.

In the case of my local SP dealer, having them annually service my reg would undoubtedly increase the risk of reg failure! (My favorite line from the tech there: "SP only makes piston regs, they've never made a diaphragm reg.")

 

[Meng_Tze]

Okay guys, lets hear an ACTUAL story of someone dying because they did not service their reg at an authorized dealer on an annual basis.

While I agree that there is the 'instill fear of death' mentality that sometimes comes through...

I am not sure that there are instances of where someone died because they did not service at an authorized dealer. I am sure we can find many malfunctions of regs due to the fact that they were NOT serviced in time.

I think we need to go back to the premise of the original subject of this thread:

'Is a regular service of regs a scam' Somehow this got translated/morphed into something else.

For me servicing regs regularly (I am not saying annual, every 6 months, by an authorized dealer/LDS) is crucial to its continued performance. Lilke with any piece of equipment that works with high pressures in a hostile environment.... it needs to be checked and serviced to ensure it does what it needs to do.....

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

I am not sure that there are instances of where someone died because they did not service at an authorized dealer. I am sure we can find many malfunctions of regs due to the fact that they were NOT serviced in time.

....

I am also sure that you could find many malfunctions that were caused by service. The industry would have you believe that annual service enhances your safety. My experience is that good service technicians are the exception.

For example I had one tech tell me that most of the annual service items were not replaced during the annual service he performed. That left me wondering what part of annual was unclear. At an other shop they decided that silicone grease was good enough even though the service manual very explicitly said to use Cristolube only. And at a third shop the tech destroyed the second stage diaphragm while taking the cover off. After causing this damage he congratulated him self for finding this "latent flaw". If service was not so consistently poor it might make more sense to avail ones self of it.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Look at post #6.... last paragraph..... I agree 100%

But my point is not whether to do the service adequately. This to me is without a doubt the most important thing.

My point is to DO the service at regular intervals and on top of that the manufacturers want you to do it with one of their 'authorized service centers' (read dealer/technician etc).

To me it is not a scam to request that regs are serviced at regular intervals, not even to request to have this done by 'authorized technicians'.

Now do I trust each and every technician out there to do what they need to do at the best possible level of attention and care? No.

 

[Grey_Wulff]

I agree you need to get a regulator serviced regularly but the problem my buddy and I are having is finding an LDS that does a good job. Now we have plenty of LDS in our area but the two we have tried for service/adjustment in the last year are 0-3 on successfully completing a regulator service/adjustment without something going wrong

On my regulator the LDS cracked a part and when they serviced my buddy's regulator it literally fell apart several weeks later. That's the last time we will be going there! More recently my buddy had his regulator adjusted at a different store and its back in for readjustment after it would not stop free flowing.

It's sort of frustrating!

Grey_Wulff

 

[Bobbin-along]

You can skip oil and filter changes until the engine starts running rough, too... a new car will probably last several years before it starts giving you any problems.
Have at it!
No one seems to whine about paying a mechanic $30 for the 15 - 20 minutes it takes to change the oil; why whine about paying a reg tech $30 for twice the time at the LDS? It never ceases to amaze me how many people think other people should work for nothing, especially in the dive industry.
Sheesh!
Rick

So what is the pain point? My LDS charges 125 for the annual maintenance labor fee for a scubapro mk25/600, and tells people it's a good thing that the parts are covered it saves them 50$ Since they take about half an hour to do the work, that equates to 200-250/hr!

 

[PhilEllis]

...............EVERY customer thinks they are one of those that take extra precautions and are particularily careful with their equipment. Of course, this is not the case............

It's ironic that this regulator comes in at this time, but it certainly proves my case in my original post. These second stages come in for a tune up prior to a big trip. Of course, the customer says "I don't think these regulator need much, because I take really good care of my equipment".

Take a look at what we found when we opened the second stages. Who can guess what caused this? Thanks.

Phil Ellis

 

[Damselfish]

My LDS charges 125 for the annual maintenance labor fee for a scubapro mk25/600,

uh, wow!

 

[rockjock3]

If you open a reg after a year or whatever you will find: corrosion, moisture, green gunk etc. Even if you take good care of your reg, this stuff makes it in there... in ALL of them.

I agree with most of what you said, but you might not want to be soooooo inclusive with the above comment. I just had both of my regs rebuilt and with over 100 dives in 9 months on them and they looked like new inside. All the replace parts also in as good condition as the new parts going in. I know this because I actually looked at them very closely under magnification. I dive saltwater and soak/rinse my gear every dive.

That being said. I agree 110% with the fact that any equipment that supports my life will be maintained often. I will continue that process of maintaining my gear. with annual rebuilds and routine maintenance.

 

[Bobbin-along]

uh, wow!

Yeah no kidding! A great big sign in the svc. department with the prices listed in black, bold, arial font. And to make it even better, the poor buggers who didn't buy from them pay a 50% upcharge on all services. Yeah, like what we are being charged is a bargain.

I swear we are putting that guys kids, grandkids, and entire neighborhood through college.