Regulator service - Do you get what you pay for?

[arew+4]

I just dropped my regs off at North East scuba supply. Was going to send them to divers supply but the shipping cost!! I have five HOG set ups to service and a trip scheduled in june, so no time to take the class screw things up and redo. Plan to take the course after the trip, then tear down and rebuild one unit repeatedly until I'm sure I'm solid.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I just dropped my regs off at North East scuba supply. Was going to send them to divers supply but the shipping cost!! I have five HOG set ups to service and a trip scheduled in june, so no time to take the class screw things up and redo. Plan to take the course after the trip, then tear down and rebuild one unit repeatedly until I'm sure I'm solid.

They have done good work for others. I trained the NES techs.

 

[ontdiver]

If you can assemble Ikea after drinking a bottle of wine, you can service your own regulators.

Good one....

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you can assemble Ikea after drinking a bottle of wine, you can service your own regulators.

If Ikea assembly required you to use a torque wrench.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

If Ikea assembly required you to use a torque wrench.

you use a torque wrench on your regs? tighten until it breaks and then back off 1/4 turn. duh.

 

[MrVegas]

I've had good luck with the Sea Elite Covert regulators, and have had them serviced by Diver's Supply without any trouble.

 

[stretchthepenn]

I haven't had others service my regs in the past five or six years, but the last time I did, I had a local branch of Divers Supply service my HOG regs. Cost back then for a first stage and two second stages, including parts kits, was about $115. I believe they did a poor job, likely not breaking the regs in properly, as I had to have them readjusted in the field. I should have sent them to Lapenta, but instead I took the HOG service course and learned to do it myself. A few hundred dollars worth of tools was needed, but I recouped that quickly in service costs saved, and moreover, it gives me peace of mind.

I hear you, and I ran into similar troubles with the ATL location, but I think the problems were due to the now-departed staff. Right now (March 2021), I trust the service from Divers Supply ATL implicitly. It's one of my LDS-es, and the staff working there is top-notch.

A few years ago, under the previous management that you and I both experienced, I had two separate reg failures (one LP hose came unscrewed from the 2nd stage; one 1st stage's DIN post came loose) underwater. I got annoyed and swore never to go back, but by the time I returned to check out the situation, the staff had turned over 100%.

Right now, Divers Supply ATL has a great manager and beyond-competent support staff. They have their act together in a big way.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .

Right now, Divers Supply ATL has a great manager and beyond-competent support staff. They have their act together in a big way.

Good to know. Somewhat ironically, following my experience with inept service on my HOG regs at that store, I took the HOG reg service course--at that store--with Jack Schmidt instructing, so I suppose I never completely lost faith in them.

 

[oly5050user]

I have 3 sets of Aqualung Regs that need service before an upcoming Cozumel dive trip. For the last service I used Jack at Frogg Pond dive service who was a frequent contributor here but it appears he has gone out of business so I have been looking at various options online. I used DRIS several years ago and was pleased with their service but looking at the web site today it shows that the cost for for a first, second and octo service is $105 plus parts. A quick internet search shows Diver's Supply performs the same service for $62.95 plus parts. Is one service superior to the other? Obviously many other choices available but using these as an example. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Local dive shop may have a pool onsite and you can test out service done in water. We have a pool in our facility and offer this type of customer service. All regulators done by our tech who does hundreds of them every year. Parts replaced are shown to customer when item is picked up

 

[Couv]

If you can assemble Ikea after drinking a bottle of wine, you can service your own regulators.

I can't assemble Ikea properly regardless of how many bottles of wine I've had.

Regulator service: I like @Jim Lapenta 's approach. However on the average, paying $30 or less per stage (plus parts) is a steal. Think about it. One gets a regulator in for service. Pre-test it, breaks it down, cleans, drys, lubricate, rebuilds, tunes, and re-test every stage. To me, the cost of parts is where the thievery comes in. Not necessarily from the entity servicing your regs, but from the manufacturer who sells $2 worth of parts for $35.