Regulator Servicing

[jgarysmith]

I know this is a toughy subject and some people might not offer opinions because of any liablity issues, but:

Does a regulator that gets about 25 dives per year in salt water no deeper than 130 feet need to be serviced every year? I thouroughly soak and rinse all me regs after each dive. I own a Atomic M1 as my primary, a Aqua Lung Titan XL as my octo, and a Aqua Lung Partner on a pony/stage bottle onm deeper dives.

My issue is, my LDS charged me 120 bucks to annual service me AL Partner(I could have bought a new one), &5 for my Atomic, and 65 for my AL Titan. I understand the M1 has a 2 year service requirment and it was on its second year, but I thought Atomic supplied the parts.

Anyway 330 bucks for a reg, a pony reg and an octo seemed awful expense. Did they see me coming?

I know our sport is gear extensive and is expensive. I have no problem paying for something that my life depends on. I just do not like getting taken advantage of.

Any thoughts or opinionsd would be appreciated.

 

[mike_s]

Aqualung supplies the parts also...

$120 bucks for a regulator service that should include parts warranty is high.

Most shops charge $15 to $20 per stage labor for rebuilt. So if you're in parts warranty, you should be getting out of there for $45 to $60 cost for your main regulator. (Of course pony is an extra charge, but $120 is still high).

The kicker is that even though it might not need rebuilt every year, the warranty requires it to keep it in warranty. So you're damned if you do or don't

 

[divengolf]

I work at a LDS but I'm not a technician. I'm the business mgr.

One option that we offer is a "bench check", which involves an inspection, generally removing the inlet screens, etc., and a functions test to test the intermediate pressure, etc.

If these appear to be OK, we'll call the customer and give them the option of a full annual service.

We charge an average of $25/stage to do annual service, thus $75 for primary/secondary & octo plus parts if not on a parts program. The bench test is about $30 total depending.

We find that relatively few of the regs. bought in by occasional divers need full annual serivicing IF they are properly cared for after each dive. IF not, absolutely. Remember this is live support equipment.

 

[redacted]

IMHO annual serving is justified my the tendency of some divers to take less than good care of their gear. with good care, I expect to get 3 and 5 years between service on my regs. I believe the current regulator warrenties are primarily a scheme to provide income to servicing shops. A one year warrenty to cover manufacturing defects would be quite adequate along with appropriate safety recalls.

 

[Greg Barlow]

One option that we offer is a "bench check", which involves an inspection, generally removing the inlet screens, etc., and a functions test to test the intermediate pressure, etc.

If these appear to be OK, we'll call the customer and give them the option of a full annual service.

This is an excellent idea, and one that other shops should take note of. There are a few manufacturers who follow a policy where the technician can conduct testing of the reg to determine whether or not a rebuild is due. Some say that you can go two years between rebuilds as long as the alternating year's testing indicates that everything is functioning normally.

I service my own regs, and due to the number of different ones that I use, I maintain accurate records of each regs' number/hours of dives. I also check the first and second stage functions after each 10-12 dives. This includes but is not limited to: first stage IP, leakage of any sort, careful hose inspections, second stage approximate cracking effort (tested in water, often while waiting to submerge), and tight connections (by hand or sight). Many times I do these field tests during surface intervals. It passes the time, and allows me to carefully examine my gear. I've done this for many years, and have yet to call a dive from a malfunctioning regulator.

Greg Barlow

 

[Hoosier]

IMHO annual serving is justified my the tendency of some divers to take less than good care of their gear. with good care, I expect to get 3 and 5 years between service on my regs. I believe the current regulator warrenties are primarily a scheme to provide income to servicing shops. A one year warrenty to cover manufacturing defects would be quite adequate along with appropriate safety recalls.

I totally agree with awap..... A good care can last about 4 year service interval.

Yes, I even soak and rinse the regualtor after using at the fresh water.

 

[Richesb]

Simple question. Should period of time or number of dives govern when a regulator should be "serviced"?
I personally agree that the manufacturers are supporting dive shops with a blanket statement of annual service to maintain a warrantee.
I dive a few days a week - some of you dive a few days a year - same requirement????
Fact is for most people if you have a regulator malfunction you are on a vacation somewhere and will get the reg serviced as quickly as possible by any dive shop willing to give you quick turn around.

I doubt you will get the answer to this statement / question from a manufacturer.

 

[redacted]

Simple question. Should period of time or number of dives govern when a regulator should be "serviced"?

Neither. Service should be based on inspection results. Check IP & cracking pressure. Check for leaks, pressure & vacuum. Check for dirt (deposits & corrosion).

But this means you may be waiting for a problem to occur rather than preventing a problem before it occurs. So if you want to insure your dive trip, it would be best to have a spare rig.

And with some service providers, service can create more problems than it prevents.

 

[Eduardo]

Good points from all posters.

I've thought about the question of servicing annually when you only do a limited number of dives (20-30 annually). Does it make sense to pay $50 to $60 to service an OCTO annually that originally cost $80?? Why not just replace it when you get 100 dives or so?


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[SDAnderson]

I've thought about the question of servicing annually when you only do a limited number of dives (20-30 annually). Does it make sense to pay $50 to $60 to service an OCTO annually that originally cost $80?? Why not just replace it when you get 100 dives or so?

Not a bad idea (though, on principle, I'm leery of $80 alternates) but four or five years is too long to go without inspecting a regulator. You lose the chance to detect many problems while they are still small ones and soft parts die, even if unused.