Rental equipment failure in Belize

[cgvmer]

I purchased 4 new regs setups this past summer for myself and 3 kids. My wife convinced me that using rental gear in mexico that other's had in there mouth during the H1N1 scare wasn't prudent..I was ecstatic since we had ALL our other gear but regs and tanks. So we go to Tulum Mexico with all our gear, get on a boat and both my older son and I had leaks in the tanks. Not from the O rings, but from valve thread area. When traveling most of us are dependent on the local operators for some gear (my tanks) or boats or something, the best we can do is continue to report on a forum like this when we have a problem and let the operators know we will use their names. Of course the opposite should also be done, let people know when an operator is good.

 

[OldNSalty]

2 people diving on one gauge is not an ideal situation, especially given that you couldnt even say for sure that the one gauge was working correctly HOWEVER, I understand the situation you were in and if it was a guided tour, you were probably OK. I would have been tempted to do the same thing.

 

[drdaddy]

Last January, my husband and I dove the Turnoff Atoll in Belize. We booked thru a cruise excursion and dove with a well known respected dive company in the area. We do not have equipment of our own so we rented. On our first dive, my depth gauge malfunctioned and was reading 10ft when we were at 80. When I realized this, I alerted my buddy(hubby) and stayed close to him for the rest of the dive instead of ending it. We used his gauge for both of us and all was fine. At the surface interval, I alerted my divemaster and asked him if he had a replacement gauge. He informed me that they had no extra equipment on board and he then tapped my gauge (which was stuck at 10ft) and the needle dislodged and went back to zero. He gleefully stated, "problem solved". Well, that problem was solved, but a new one transpired with my hubby's equipment on the next dive. This time, his deptha gauge was stuck on zero so we were forced to use mine. We tried tapping his, but to no avail. Once again, at the surface we alerted the divemaster and he did not seem to care. We returned the equpment hoping that it would be fixed before it is used again. Needless to say, the experience was a wake up call and has now made us hesitant to rent again.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is this common? Was it acceptable safety measures to finish the dive with a buddy's working gauge in very close range? Any suggestions on knowing what to look for when renting equipment?

Now I know one solution to this problem is have your own equipment and keep it well maintained. However, equipment is currently not in our budget and we only get to dive about once a year. In addition to that, we are currently in our child bearing stage of life, so we can only dive between pregnancies, which sometimes makes intervals between diving over a year. Needless to say, equipment is not a wise investment at this time. However, safety is a huge concern. Is it unwise to rent? Basically, at this point it is either rent or not dive. Which is wiser/better? We obviously say renting. Any opinions?

Contact your cruise company and report these shoddy practices and equipment. Contact the certifying agency (PADI, NAUI, ect) of this dive shop and report the divemaster. Contact the dive shop and report the shoddy equipment and unprofessional practices of the divemaster. You may save someone's life.

Concerning equipment. I fly with my own (in carry-on) regulator, computer, wrist gauges, and mask. Last 2 times I even put my BCD into checked luggage. Boy, does it make a difference diving with your own equipment - both here and abroad.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

At minimal you want to get yourself a bottom timer ( depth gauge and Bottom timer ). I dive one as a backup to my computer regardless of the dive so its something you are going to always use in the future. And its a great travel companion when your diving.

however as others suggested, You really want to ensure you have your own set of travel regs and computer/bottom timer.

 

[LoboMX]

My wife convinced me that using rental gear in mexico that other's had in there mouth during the H1N1 scare wasn't prudent..

It's odd how everyone was scared of H1N1 in Mexico and the USA had 3 times more cases before the WHO stopped keeping track. Although you're wife is also correct in that you don't always know how shops cleans their gear. A fresh water rinse isn't really cleaning, it just washes the salt off.

Contact your cruise company and report these shoddy practices and equipment. Contact the certifying agency (PADI, NAUI, ect) of this dive shop and report the divemaster. Contact the dive shop and report the shoddy equipment and unprofessional practices of the divemaster. You may save someone's life.

This is the #1 thing that people should be doing that they don't because it takes time. Agencies don't know that companies they're working with are doing bad unless you tell them. There's several hotels in our area that had to stop working with other businesses because of the experiences their guests were receiving.

You can also sometimes tell a shop by it's rental equipment. Some of the "best" shops have the worst rental equipment. Does the equipment get used a lot? Probably. Should it be taken care of and reported problems fixed? Yes. I had an experience renting at another shop lately where the BCD had a problem. After about 10 minutes of being slighly positive-bouyant and thinking the BCD was empty because it wouldn't purge, I put a little air IN then hit the purge and sunk like a rock. I've never seen it happen but the BCD wouldn't purge unless I put a little air in first.

Not all dive shops carry spares with them. If I was renting from a shop and something went wrong with their equipment, and they didn't have a spare then I'd refuse to pay. If something happened with my equipment and they didn't have a spare, I'm SOL. I've had a dive saved because my first stage blew out and one of the DM's had a spare personal reg that he let me use. Not to mention a spare tank on board because the blowout drained most of the tank that was on my back. To me, that was a high level of service and some great DM's.

I would suggest at least buying a computer. My personal one is an orca skinny dipper that I've been using since I got certified. 14 years and it still works. A diving computer is also the smallest thing you can pack that may be the biggest dive saver you have. Personal mask and fins are great too, so you always know you'll have a good fit. The purchase is usually required by most shops when you go through your training, but still a relatively cheap investment and it's free snorkeling also. Regs would be the only other thing I'd suggest. BCD's are a little bulky to travel with these days. Although if you get one you REALLY like it could last a lifetime depending on how much diving you do. I've read that the BP:W's are small and easy to travel with, but I haven't used one myself.

If you do need to rent try to contact the shop you'll be renting from before hand. Find out what kind of regs and gear they have. Ask about maintenance schedules and if they bring spare equipment on a dive. Be a little proactive to ensure that you have a good experience. If they can't answer the questions or you don't like the answers then go to a LDS and rent gear that you trust. Not all resorts that rent have bad gear, but it is a crap shoot.

LoboMX

 

[Jax]

You can pick up a used computer for somewhere in the $100 range. You would have to shop this used, and know what you want and what it is worth, but it is VERY worthwhile doing.

I'd look at an Aeris Atoms II, or something similar. That computer was discontinued a couple years ago, and I see them on Ebay for in the $100 range.

TomSueLaw -- I agree completely with buying used . . . However, even though I am a HUGE fan of Uwatec, Do NOT purchase a Uwatec Aladin "Air" series - neither the Air Z nor the Air X. Due to design flaws, they do not seal well after a battery change. Uwatec will offer you an upgrade deal instead of supporting this series. You'll find a bunch on eBay.

 

[cgvmer]

Hey I wasn't worried about the H1NI but I didn't have to justify purchasing 4 reg setups for my kids and self (Mares Voltrex with MR22 First Stage) so I didn't argue that much.

 

[BarryTX]

I picked up wetsuit (new), regs (used), gauges (new), BP/W (used / used), dive light (used) & dive computer (new) over the summer - the new items were all bought as closeouts at a deep discount from Scubatoys. I saved a ton of money and the customer service was great. You can buy some great equipment on closeout at huge savings as new models come out, and as others have already pointed out, buying used can also be a good way to go. Just figure out what you want and start patiently watching classifieds and the websites.

BTW, Scubatoys will also match another site's price, so I kept going back to them as I was ready to buy the next item. Twice they already had the best deal on what I was looking for and the other time they matched the best deal found elsewhere. Great company IMHO.

 

[Waterskier1]

A wrist computer was the first thing I got after the normal "mask, snorkel, and fins". I chose a wrist computer because I planned on using rented regs. Most dive ops don't take kindly to you removing their hose SPG to install your computer. I am very happy with that decision since I've since started diving more "tec" and consoles with computers/depth gauges, SPGs and compasses are not allowed. I soon found that I loved diving so much that I would easily spend the cost of a BC and Regs in rental fees, so I bought my own equipment shortly thereafter.

I just dove with whom I suspect is the same dive op last month (Sep 09) off a cruise ship in Belize. They still had some equipment issues, but did have backup gear on board.

Regarding not having a reliable depth gauge, I don't think over half the divers on the boat checked their depth any time throughout the dive - or bottom time. That said, there were many "vacation divers - those that dive every year or two" and it is a "follow-me" dive. The divemasters don't let you get separated from the group, and they are making sure (?) that your profile(s) are acceptable. I saw two people with computers the had no idea how to read them, under water or out.

I'm not sure if this is how all diving is off Belize (re: follow-me dm lead like in Cozumel) or not.

I was quite disappointed in what I saw (or didn't see). :depressed:

 

[bcaderunr]

Although I purchased my own equipment right after certification, I have seen enough of my non-equipped buddies rental gear to assume that what you describe is a fairly common occurence. And that, for the most part, folks using faulty guages don't even realize that the readings are innacurate until they do their safety stops or compare max depths after the dive.

That said, as long as you adhere to the basic rule of guided diving: "Don't get ahead of or below the divemaster" who is going to take you through a conservative profile anyway -- you're probably better off staying with the group than aborting the dive without them. I think you did the right thing. Good luck in your hunt for good, inexpensive gear. This ain't a cheap sport!