Repair tech
- Thread starter randytay
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Your best bet is to work for a dive shop. Then they can sign you up for a repair course.
Each manufacturer has a separate course. They are generally only a few hours long, but for most you (or your shop) must be an authorized dealer. If you happen to work at a shop, or have a Divemaster or higher rating, you may be able to take a course or two at DEMA (in Vegas this year).
If you want to repair your own gear, currently HOG is the only brand that has courses in user maintenance. As cerich is the owner of HOG, he is a best person to talk about regarding that course.
If you are more interested in how regulators work look into books from Scuba Tools or Airspeed Press Homepage - Books For Serious Divers
I notice your profile lists you as having Hollis regs, it happens that this year Hollis does not require you to be signed up through a dealer for their course next month at dema (American Underwater Products Regional Seminar Signup ) However, you still need a pro certification or dive shop to sponsor you to get into DEMA and you would have a hard time getting parts without working for a dealer.
Aeris and Aqualung require you to work for a shop that sells their equipment before you can take their class. Some of the dealers offer the classes on-line. I know aqualung is one that does but like i said you have to register through the shop you work for.
OP
My LDS has a full list of people for the DEMA
But I know my LDS can and will sponsor me for the to take the course (they are an Oceanic dealer). Unfortunately, the owner is away on vacation and my LDS will be closed till he returns, which is going to coincide with DEMA If I cannot attend DEMA, will I still be able to sign up for the course?
Anyways. About twenty five years ago I managed to score a 7 series BMW, bit of an old man family car but there it was And the brakes were crap front caliper(s) piston(s) seized or binding or who remembers so I got an original manual for looking and torquing and stuff which specifically stated that calipers were not to be separated. Buy new ones?
So I went to PBR or REPCO or somewhere and bought kits for the splits cleaned and honed and assembled and went driving trying to crash into things but couldn't.
Or maybe it was another car.
It was then, at that time in my life, that I knew, I was ready for regs.
It was like a sign.
This is why you should fill in your log books.
The time had come.
So I went to PBR or REPCO or somewhere and bought kits for the splits cleaned and honed and assembled and went driving trying to crash into things but couldn't.
Or maybe it was another car.
It was then, at that time in my life, that I knew, I was ready for regs.
It was like a sign.
This is why you should fill in your log books.
The time had come.
LeadTurn_SD
Contributor
knowone,
You are entirely over-qualified to work on regulators.
Me own story: I managed, after an hour on my back under the sink, with copious swearing and the odd skinned knuckle, to replace an old, rusted garbage disposal.
Having survived the experience, I moved on to the "toilet that would not stop running", and the "sink that leaked".
Successful completion of these highly demanding, hydrodynamic, and somewhat frightening repairs convinced me that I should fear no regulator.
Regulators are but soft marine brass after all, and I wield hardened steel tools.... The outcome was never in doubt
*******************************************************
To everyone else, (spoiler alert):
Regulator repair is not difficult. If you want to work on regulators professionally, by all means affiliate with a dive shop, go to the official classes, and get certified.
If you simply want to work on your own regs, and have a bit of mechanical ability, there are other paths to enlightenment.
If you have a shop near you that offers the HOG course, by all means take advantage of that training. It would be terrific if all brands follwed HOG's lead on this... until then, HOG gets to be the leader
Best wishes.
You are entirely over-qualified to work on regulators.
Me own story: I managed, after an hour on my back under the sink, with copious swearing and the odd skinned knuckle, to replace an old, rusted garbage disposal.
Having survived the experience, I moved on to the "toilet that would not stop running", and the "sink that leaked".
Successful completion of these highly demanding, hydrodynamic, and somewhat frightening repairs convinced me that I should fear no regulator.
Regulators are but soft marine brass after all, and I wield hardened steel tools.... The outcome was never in doubt
*******************************************************
To everyone else, (spoiler alert):
Regulator repair is not difficult. If you want to work on regulators professionally, by all means affiliate with a dive shop, go to the official classes, and get certified.
If you simply want to work on your own regs, and have a bit of mechanical ability, there are other paths to enlightenment.
If you have a shop near you that offers the HOG course, by all means take advantage of that training. It would be terrific if all brands follwed HOG's lead on this... until then, HOG gets to be the leader
Best wishes.
rcs9250
Contributor
Regulator service is not encouraged in the dive industry. Primarily of course because it is life support. Having been around this world for 55 years i can tell you there are adults out there that should be observed when they are changing batteries in a flashlight not to mention their use of power tools. The stuff I've seen people that supposedly know what's going on or should be is flat out scary.
It's kind of funny that absolutely anyone of any age can walk into any auto parts store and buy every component necessary to rebuild the brakes on his car or anything up to a tractor trailer or school bus with zero training and put it on the road with know DOT inspection and drive that 3000 to 30,000 pound vehicle down a freeway any where in America. But you can't buy a $30 rebuild kit for your regulator that can kill only you if you do it wrong. Oh well rules are rules.
Another obvious deterent for manufacturers to make rebuild kits available for the general public is our litigious society that we live in. HOG really has to be commended for doing what they are doing. They obviously have spent many hours with their lawyers before releasing the class to the general population that's why they have several unwaiverable stipulations for attendance in their class. As mentioned , reg repair is not difficult. There are factory repair/rebuild manuals commonly available on the web for many models.
The HOG class sounds thorough. Click on the link to read about the class. be sure to click on the link for the tool list. You will spend a good amount of money on tools and equipment. http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44947&highlight=hog+regulator+repair+class
You need to ask yourself , how much will I save by doing it myself with respect to the investment in training and tools and how long will you be diving /
One thing for sure as we pretty much all know for used sports equipment for any outdoor sport is ... that you can easily turn that $5000 dollar investment into $50 cash. The price you get for used stuff is just incredibly low.
All that being said. I built myself a way more than necessary air flow bench because I am an addict to tinkering with any sport I'm into. I have to live it, eat it , breathe it, sleep it. If you do a search on my stats you will see some pictures of the extremes I have gone to. I work in a machine shop so I can really get ridiculous. That was one of the things that was a negative when I was skydiving, there was nothing I could build to satisfy my addiction while not jumping.
There is a good school in Florida that is a week long that teaches theory and also has you on the repair bench for several days . It has gotten great reviews from friends that have gone to it and the factory schools. They were not impressed with the factory schools at all. I have been to a few of the factory schools and the really are lame. Most of the classes don't even have an IP gauge or magnahelic with them. They sorta mention it but nothing for hands on. I guess it satisfys the lawyers that you have been "trained". Scubapro has started making some repair videos that are very thorough for some of their models. Videos are expensive to professionally produce. Aqualung used to have most all manuals on the tech section of the Deales Section of their website. They are slowly eliminating them. What they are doing is charging you to take a online class on each specific stage i.e. first stage, second stage to be able to get the specific repair manual. Another way to generate revenue. I suppose you can't blame them. The cost of insurance for any manufacture of any product is staggering so they have to do what they can. The course costs aren't high but for a shop to buy them all for a product line could be costly.
Granted a lot of regulators are very very similar, but in court when the attorney asks if you took that products course "or one similar" you are really jepordizing your case. Unfortunately the shops have to be concerned about that as well. The chances of an experienced reg tech doing something wrong is slim. But stuff happens. It's easy to get distracted and forget to tighten something etc.
Good luck. Think about the cost. If it's a matter of the annual fees for the rebuild it may just be smarter to get a part time job here and there just to pay for reg service.
I do it myself because I don't like anyone touching anything of mine. In the last two homes I've owned the only person that has come into my house is the A/C guy. Only because I have not taken an HVAC course. I have all the tools to do it but need the training. There again, for as seldom as I need A/C service it's hard to justify getting the training. With the exception of the A/C whenever a company would call me to sell me an extended contract for a product , my reply was and is " I can fix anything, from a lead pencil to a space shuttle. Your product falls somewhere in between".
Good luck.
It's kind of funny that absolutely anyone of any age can walk into any auto parts store and buy every component necessary to rebuild the brakes on his car or anything up to a tractor trailer or school bus with zero training and put it on the road with know DOT inspection and drive that 3000 to 30,000 pound vehicle down a freeway any where in America. But you can't buy a $30 rebuild kit for your regulator that can kill only you if you do it wrong. Oh well rules are rules.
Another obvious deterent for manufacturers to make rebuild kits available for the general public is our litigious society that we live in. HOG really has to be commended for doing what they are doing. They obviously have spent many hours with their lawyers before releasing the class to the general population that's why they have several unwaiverable stipulations for attendance in their class. As mentioned , reg repair is not difficult. There are factory repair/rebuild manuals commonly available on the web for many models.
The HOG class sounds thorough. Click on the link to read about the class. be sure to click on the link for the tool list. You will spend a good amount of money on tools and equipment. http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44947&highlight=hog+regulator+repair+class
You need to ask yourself , how much will I save by doing it myself with respect to the investment in training and tools and how long will you be diving /
One thing for sure as we pretty much all know for used sports equipment for any outdoor sport is ... that you can easily turn that $5000 dollar investment into $50 cash. The price you get for used stuff is just incredibly low.
All that being said. I built myself a way more than necessary air flow bench because I am an addict to tinkering with any sport I'm into. I have to live it, eat it , breathe it, sleep it. If you do a search on my stats you will see some pictures of the extremes I have gone to. I work in a machine shop so I can really get ridiculous. That was one of the things that was a negative when I was skydiving, there was nothing I could build to satisfy my addiction while not jumping.
There is a good school in Florida that is a week long that teaches theory and also has you on the repair bench for several days . It has gotten great reviews from friends that have gone to it and the factory schools. They were not impressed with the factory schools at all. I have been to a few of the factory schools and the really are lame. Most of the classes don't even have an IP gauge or magnahelic with them. They sorta mention it but nothing for hands on. I guess it satisfys the lawyers that you have been "trained". Scubapro has started making some repair videos that are very thorough for some of their models. Videos are expensive to professionally produce. Aqualung used to have most all manuals on the tech section of the Deales Section of their website. They are slowly eliminating them. What they are doing is charging you to take a online class on each specific stage i.e. first stage, second stage to be able to get the specific repair manual. Another way to generate revenue. I suppose you can't blame them. The cost of insurance for any manufacture of any product is staggering so they have to do what they can. The course costs aren't high but for a shop to buy them all for a product line could be costly.
Granted a lot of regulators are very very similar, but in court when the attorney asks if you took that products course "or one similar" you are really jepordizing your case. Unfortunately the shops have to be concerned about that as well. The chances of an experienced reg tech doing something wrong is slim. But stuff happens. It's easy to get distracted and forget to tighten something etc.
Good luck. Think about the cost. If it's a matter of the annual fees for the rebuild it may just be smarter to get a part time job here and there just to pay for reg service.
I do it myself because I don't like anyone touching anything of mine. In the last two homes I've owned the only person that has come into my house is the A/C guy. Only because I have not taken an HVAC course. I have all the tools to do it but need the training. There again, for as seldom as I need A/C service it's hard to justify getting the training. With the exception of the A/C whenever a company would call me to sell me an extended contract for a product , my reply was and is " I can fix anything, from a lead pencil to a space shuttle. Your product falls somewhere in between".
Good luck.
Scared Silly
Contributor
As was said, get these books:
Then go buy few used regs and rebuild them. Rebuilding them is not hard but the tuning and/or trouble shooting can be. That is where a course can help or having a good relationship with your local shop tech.
Then go buy few used regs and rebuild them. Rebuilding them is not hard but the tuning and/or trouble shooting can be. That is where a course can help or having a good relationship with your local shop tech.
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