Regulators and corrosion: more fleabay misery

[Bigbella]

Thanks very much for all the replies.
I guess I'll wait until I can ask eBay to get involved as it's probably a waste of my energy to try to reason with the guy when I've explained my case pretty clearly (with the photos I posted).

Do it. Don't bother with the seller any longer. eBay and PayPal went to bat for my friend in a similar position; and everything was settled within a week or so . . .

 

[poisonorange]

Whoops premature posting

Can you post the actual ebay description. If the pictures in your original post came from the ebay listing I would say the seller did a fairly honest job of showing the actual condition. I always say " look at pictures for best description " when I list something.

*edit* Really? You think the photos in the original posting show the corrosion that's evident in the 2nd posting? I guess my eyesight's not as good as I thought...

The pictures you took certainly show corrosion on the regulator on the outside. It may have been serviced but not serviced/cleaned properly.

You are/should have them serviced from scratch anyways and if you got a dirt cheap deal on them, then I'd just bite it and have them serviced and not worry about it. The issue here isn't them being serviced or not but is if there are more serious issues with the regulator that would require service and parts replacement going beyond what annual service requires. In this case you may have to pay much more than regular service and the benefit of buying cheap would be gone and worse. These issues can include cracked second stage case, irreparable issues with the first stage body and other similar defects rendering the regulator useless or having to pay what it would cost to buy new. It is a gamble.

I would definitely have anything bought second hand serviced, but like you mention, it flags up all kinds of worries about more serious and internal problems. That's why I want to return them - that, and I hate liars. It wasn't a dirt cheap deal

I have worked on regs since my college days; and there is no way in hell that I would allow anything to leave my bench in that condition. Was there any documentation of when it was previously serviced? If there is that much verdIgris on the surface, you can just bank on some internal corrosion.

I store a good amount of equipment that is used on a seasonal or irregular basis -- and there is absolutely zero corrosion on them, upon unpacking -- or that would entirely on me. The regulator below was stored, properly, well over a year.

You do have protection through eBay and Paypal; it's built into the transaction. If you had followed my recent thread on the same subject, refunds can be had, even if the seller offered no returns in his or her listings.

More often than not, the seller is well aware of the existing issues and won't even bother with the expense of having the equipment returned, as was the case with a friend who recently found himself in a similar position -- who, surprisingly enough, found himself buying items from overseas . . .

Nope - should have insisted on documentation. But I guess it just seems absurd to lie about something like that. Whether or not they had been serviced wouldn't make any difference as to whether I would get them serviced. But it would make me question how well they'd been cared for! Yeah - I'll have to wait for eBay intervention time and leave it to them.

What did you expect?

It's ebay. You buy regs there, and then you service them, and during the service you clean off any accumulated corrosion.

If you want a reg that's been serviced, and you're going to dive it without doing anything to it, then buy it from a dealer or a diver who you trust.

Thanks..

unless if the seller provides a written service record from a dive shop, i always assume regs on ebay/craigslist are unserviced and bid accordingly. only gotten burned once following that rule (internal corrosion, externally was in good shape).

Yeah - you're too right there.

I think you have a case. Regulators that have been serviced should not have signs of corrosion. Even if stored for 18 months. Servicing means removing the corrosion.

Basically the photos provided by the seller do not show the "defects" As such, the item is not as described. My suggestion is to take the reg to you local shop with a 6 pack of beer and ask the tech to provide a quick inspection evaluation. If that were brought to be my evaluation would be something to the affect of regulator shows signs of exterior corrosion which indicates that a full service should be conducted.

That's a good call. If a tech says the damage is more extensive then that should add weight to my argument.

You will probably never know for sure, but one likely possibility is they were serviced about 18 months ago, then used once or a few times more with a poor job of post-dive rinsing, and then put away for 18 months.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, I did use them once after I had them serviced...."

Aye. So true. But there's just no need - I find that if I'm dead honest about the condition the gear is in, it still sells just fine. And I *know* everyone is meant to have everything 2nd hand looked at by a professional, but if someone didn't, I still wouldn't want it on my conscience that my being misleading helped them to a foolish death...

 

[rsingler]

To be honest, I really wouldn't worry about the amount of verdigris corrosion I see in your pictures. The first stage is unlikely to be similarly affected Inside, since it's a diaphragm. I would just take it in for a regular service (as you should anyway with eBay regs) and enjoy your new toys!
I'm guessing you won't find much wrong Inside that the standard annual service won't take care of.
Now, if you find that the first stage is corroded inside, that might indicate a flooding. Then it's true - you really would have a reg that's not been sold as advertised.

 

[Bigbella]

Diaphragm or not, I frequently see internal corrosion, from water intrusion, from regulators, whose dust caps, almost to a one, are not water tight, when the gear is either rinsed or soaked . . .

 

[ffdiver]

I personally wouldn't worry about it too much. Get them serviced by a reputable shop and that should clean up fine, and if you really got a good deal on them you should still be far ahead of the game.

 

[Bob DBF]

I have disputed a few items from ebay, and the dispute is on the description posted. Under specifics if it has condition for the unit, definitions are at the following link: Condition.

If the description says used it means it is functional. Now if it isn't, it may be an honest mistake as the owner hasn't used it for years, but regardless of the reason it did not show up as advertised he is responsible to make it right by adjusting the price or accepting the return. I always go for the return through ebay, hoping they learn a lesson, as most I've been involved in had to know the unit was defective. Most don't even want the merchandise back, which tells me a lot.

Of course pulling them apart makes your case worse rather than better since they are not in shipped condition.

On regs, I slap them on a tank, or if a second on a first, and do a check. Since I only buy cheap, they don't have to pass a very high bar for me to be good.



Bob

 

[Bigbella]

I personally wouldn't worry about it too much. Get them serviced by a reputable shop and that should clean up fine, and if you really got a good deal on them you should still be far ahead of the game.

Perhaps so: but the photo below, illustrates just how much corrosion can be found within a first stage whose exterior appeared otherwise immaculate. The part was completely pitted; had to be replaced / upgraded; and was no cheap fix -- far more than an annual rebuild would have cost, even in pot-addled San Francisco . . .

 

[DanSinks]

I recently bought a great regulator from ebay, even my dive shop said it's like new, got it for a song. I didn't need it, it can be a backup or I might sell it on ebay for twice as much, just need to take excellent photos for the listing.

But it's a crap shoot, I've gotton screwed on a couple things, you need to be a little bit of a gambler, don't let it get to you. I wouldn't pay top dollar or even market value on ebay, it needs to be a great deal and the seller should have impeccable reputation and easy return policy. If you service the reg will you be happy with the result? then keep it. It cost something to ship it back then you still might need to buy another regulator.

 

[DanSinks]

Perhaps so: but the photo below, illustrates just how much corrosion can be found within a first stage whose exterior appeared otherwise immaculate. The part was completely pitted; had to be replaced / upgraded; and was no cheap fix -- far more than an annual rebuild would have cost, even in pot-addled San Francisco . . .

Holy S**T! That part looks like it was under water for a year!!

 

[rsingler]

Perhaps so: but the photo below, illustrates just how much corrosion can be found within a first stage whose exterior appeared otherwise immaculate.

I'd guess that the sintered metal filter should have showed significant verdigris to suggest moisture in what should be a dry chamber. If the sintered filter was indeed immaculate, then that suggests deliberate deception re: the flooding that likely caused that corrosion.