Self servicing gear

[roakey]

Quote: PADI offers an Equipment Specialist class that provides an overview of gear maintenance but in no way will train you to fully service your own gear. Done properly, you will leave the class with a good layman's knowledge of how to take care of your equipment."​

A class for "layman" knowledge. Now that's an oxymoron. PADI could sell someone both a metric and SAE crescent wrench if they put their minds to it.

Roak​

 

[roakey]

The regulator maintenance book (that DOES teach you how to maintain your regulators) here is excellent:

http://www.airspeedpress.com/

Roak

Ps. Only work on regulators if you're comfortable working on other life support equipment. Like your car's brakes.

 

[Hoyden]

SDI/TDI offers a service class for Aeris regulators - it covers basic regulator theory, general regulator repair and specific service procedures for Aeris regulators. I know that anyone can sign up for it if you have a shop offering it in your area. My LDS,Virginia Scuba in Manasas, VA offers it. You finish the class as an SDI certified Aeris Regulator repair technician. Even if you don't have Aeris regulators, you learn to service both piston and diaphram 1sts and multiple types of second stages.

Jackie

 

[DEEPTEK]

Do any of the agencies teach a course in servicing your own dive gear? Can one buy th necessary rebuild kits to service his/her own regulator? Do any manufacturers teach gear servicing courses to the end user?
What normal type gear needs annual servicing besides regulators and BCDs?

Several facilities teach a generic Scuba Technician Course. Most will offer 1 or more offical Manufacturer certificates along with it. This is just job training. No shop, or manufacturer will sell you parts, warranty products or tools.

It along with other job training courses, VIP Technician, Oxygen cleaning and Gas blending are out there.

I used to run the programs every month back up in VA. Too busy down here in FL, would rather dive than sit around the repair bench.

 

[Meng_Tze]

I even learned how to service my wn gear....so anyone can. You don't need a course, just get your self some toold and spare parts, and don't be afraid to open things up and look into them to see how they work. If you can take it apart, you can put it back together again. the mechanics are pretty simple, so get in there.

What she said

 

[MikeFerrara]

Several facilities teach a generic Scuba Technician Course. Most will offer 1 or more offical Manufacturer certificates along with it. This is just job training. No shop, or manufacturer will sell you parts, warranty products or tools.

Several manufacturers now sell parts, Diverite and Zeagle for sure and they can be purchased from several places that I know of.

It along with other job training courses, VIP Technician, Oxygen cleaning and Gas blending are out there.

I wouldn't consider VIP tech or gas blending to be "job training". Tank inspection courses, gas blending and O2 technician courses are offered to the general public by several agencies.

 

[Nemrod]

Roakey says:

"A class for "layman" knowledge. Now that's an oxymoron. PADI could sell someone both a metric and SAE crescent wrench if they put their minds to it."

Yeah, that is funny but it would not be a crescent wrench. It would be an adjustable wrenching expandable bolt grabbing DEVICE or a AWEBGD. Special training required and supplied in both metric and SAE sizes.

I service all of my gear, have since I was a child.

Reefraff, if you teach the course, after the students take the course will you or the LDS sell them the parts and supplies to service the gear?

N

 

[deepblueme]

Just opening up your 1st stage can cause more problems that you started with.

Depending on the seating surfaces some of them have a sharp "knife" edge that forms a groove in the seating surface and there is no way you can replace the seat to match that groove.
So now you have creeping IP pressure and a 2nd stage that might start "seeping".

Same with taking out the 2nd stage seat and seal.

Remember it is called life support equipment for a reason.
If you cant get or don't have replacement parts I wouldn't just start taking things apart.

I use to "love" the person comming in whit his reg system in parts in a bag "Can you put this back together for me?"

 

[Meng_Tze]

Just opening up your 1st stage can cause more problems that you started with.

Depending on the seating surfaces some of them have a sharp "knife" edge that forms a groove in the seating surface and there is no way you can replace the seat to match that groove.

I am not goint into a 'whether you should or not' the equipment being life support etc...

But there are some regs that are far simpler put together than others, choose wisely and tread carefully the first time. If anybody can take the technician course, you can do it yourself as well. It's not that this is rocket science with advanced science, trajectory planning.

anyone with basic understanding of mechanics, has sound motoric movement of hands can overhaul a reg in 1 hour (including cleaning), tuning another 20 mins and you are done for a year.

hint: take pictures while disassembling if you are not sure, this way you can track back and never have to go with all parts to a technician to put back together.

 

[SDAnderson]

Reefraff, if you teach the course, after the students take the course will you or the LDS sell them the parts and supplies to service the gear?

You already know the answer, so why ask? My guess is that being able to beat a dead horse and troll at the same time isn't a particularly useful life skill but it's still kinda fun to watch you at work, so let me play along...

Like most shops, some parts and supplies we sell to the public, some we don't. Need to replace a fin or mask strap? We'll do it for you or sell you the parts, no problem. Want to de-mung your BCD? We'll do it for you or sell you the stuff you need to clean and condition it, inside and out. Looking to carry some spare parts for minor breakdowns? We've got kits with a bunch of little parts that commonly have to be replaced in the field. Etc., etc. We won't even make you take a class to buy this stuff.

For a number of reasons, we don't sell regulator service kits to the public. Of course, the Equipment Specialist class won't provide you with the knowledge or skills needed to be able to service a regulator, either. Amongst other things, the Equipment Specialist class is designed to provide an overview of how gear works, how to perform routine maintenance, and how to handle some common problems. Though it covers a wide range of equipment, it is not a repair clinic. A good repair clinic takes a couple of long days and will only cover a fraction of one manufacturers line. Most people who complete one are barely qualified to do the work and require support and assistance from the manufacturers technical department or a more experienced technician - a lot of practice is still required to get good at it. Like diving, fixing regulators is something that is relatively easy to do but much harder to do well, especially when things go wrong. I know, some folks disagree with me on this but, with all due respect, those folks are generally better as polemical iconoclasts than they are as repair technicians. I've seen enough regulators come in the shop that were hacked up by folks who decided that self-service was the way to go to: (a) keep us busy, and; (b) make me pretty comfortable with the decision to keep the parts out of their hands.

I know, I know - you're an uber-DIY guy and this stuff makes you crazy and I'm sorry for that. If it makes you feel any better, though I wasn't included in the meeting where the decision was made to prohibit sales of service kits to the public, I'm confident that your name never came up.