Service for "Newer" SPs (SoCal vs ship)

[redt1de]

We relocated from the Northeast to Southern California (Newport Beach/Laguna, to be specific). My shop in NJ was truly passionate about service and did top grade work (they let me "participate in service" - essentially watch, ask tons of dumb questions and fetch stuff - which I enjoyed). I miss that place. So now I'm "new" in town, and the regs need service. I'm posting here rather than the specific SoCal forum because the topic is multi-tiered.

The Gear: We have three reg sets, all relatively new. All first's are Mk25s and seconds are either G260s or S600s, so all should be very familiar to techs. All are in good condition without any visible corrosion or any noticeable performance issues - always cared for.

Problem: Our stuff needs an overhaul (pushing 18 months and 50+ dives) and I haven't yet found someone that I trust (granted, I haven't pounded through the shops yet either). While I really want to learn to service my own gear, I am not in the position to take the time to learn the full process right now due to work and don't have a local "mentor/shop to attach to." So, I can't get SP parts and I'm not "qualified" at the moment. So, it looks like I have two options...

Option A: I can get it serviced somewhere local. Essentially, one shop (with 5 locations), Beach Cities has a monopoly along the coast. Other shop Dive & Photo is close, but seems to be without much acclaim on the interwebs.

Option B: Ship it away. I've heard rave review about Scuba Toys and also Malibu Dive Repair (yes, it is in SoCal but total driving would be 3+ hrs with no traffic so I would ship it to save my time).

Constraints: To make some friends and to get in the water more, I'm joining a local club. As such, I'd like a turnaround no longer than 2-3 weeks. I dont want to rush it and get awful work, but I need to scratch the itch as its painful to look at the water every day and not be beneath it as much as possible.

Questions:
- Does anyone have any experience with Beach Cities and them servicing regs? Or Dive & Photo in Irvine?
- Any other recommendations for shops in Socal that are a reasonable drive from Newport/Laguna for service?
- What are the benefits/drawbacks on shipping gear? In the past, it was nice to have a local tech to do some quick minor adjustments.
- If I do ship the gear, any other reputable shops to consider?

Thanks all.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Pacific Wilderness in San Pedro has the greater experience AND together with a faster turn-around time of any other SoCal local dive shop. They sell and have service contracts for all the bulk annual maintenance & repair of ScubaPro Regs for LA County Sheriff, Fire and Port Police dive teams, as well as the Univ of Southern Calif/Wrigley Marine Science Center dive operations on Catalina Island.

 

[tbone1004]

shipping-Air Tech Scuba Services in Raleigh is very good, has full time repair techs, will have all of the parts in stock, and has a quick turn around. Many shops ship their regulators to Rex and his team for service, and Scubapro is arguably their specialty.

now, my personal opinion on this, is you need to buy an IP gauge and just dive the regs until they ask for service. If they start breathing weird, free flowing, or the IP starts creeping, then send them in for service. If they don't, then just keep diving them until they ask for it. Scubapro makes very good regulators, and I have seen them go for 5+ years with many hundreds of dives before they really need to be serviced, so as long as you take care of them and rinse/soak them properly, there is no reason they need to get done after 50 dives or 18 months unless something starts going wrong with them

@cool_hardware52 may have some recommendations for shops in the area. He dives Scubapros as well and DIY services, but he may know of some reputable shops in your neck of the woods

 

[diversteve]

I don't think Scubatoys services Sciubapro.

Closer to you, Robert teaches the HOG reg repair classes at Scuba Show so if he knows as much about Scubapro he'd be an option. They're an Authorized Dealer.

Scubatude

What is Valencia - 90 mins. with no traffic? - like that ever happens on the 5..lol

 

[buddhasummer]

18 months and 50 dives isn't a lot, does it need servicing? Or is it "required" ?

 

[redt1de]

Pacific Wilderness in San Pedro has the greater experience AND together with a faster turn-around time of any other SoCal local dive shop. They sell and have service contracts for all the bulk annual maintenance & repair of ScubaPro Regs for LA County Sheriff, Fire and Port Police dive teams, as well as the Univ of Southern Calif/Wrigley Marine Science Center dive operations on Catalina Island.

Great suggestion, thanks. I'm going to swing up here when I get back in town!

now, my personal opinion on this, is you need to buy an IP gauge and just dive the regs until they ask for service. If they start breathing weird, free flowing, or the IP starts creeping, then send them in for service. If they don't, then just keep diving them until they ask for it.

I agree here. I've just always been on the "its been awhile" schedule which is notably moronic. My next DGX order, I'm going to grab an IP gauge as you mentioned and also need to order the Harlow book for some reading (any other reading that would be useful?). Notably, these regs have sat for awhile. I used to live in NYC in a 1bed/1bath apt so cleaning and maintaining gear was a headache. Now I have a garage, some buckets and a hose (big life win for me, btw...also have my very own thermostat in the house - NYC people will get the joke)! Irrationally, I think would just feel better getting an overhaul, starting "clean" knowing I can actually soak something for the proper time, then go to the "plan" you mentioned.

I don't think Scubatoys services Sciubapro.

Closer to you, Robert teaches the HOG reg repair classes at Scuba Show so if he knows as much about Scubapro he'd be an option. They're an Authorized Dealer.

Scubatude

What is Valencia - 90 mins. with no traffic? - like that ever happens on the 5..lol

No traffic, yah. That like never, ever happens. I would get the joy of getting owned on the 5 alone, or the 405 and 5!! Choices, choices...class is of interest though. Noted, thank you!

18 months and 50 dives isn't a lot, does it need servicing? Or is it "required" ?

I gave up on the required garbage along time ago. SP really frustrated me with the buy more and more stuff to get parts for life. At this point, I dont really care about their warranty, as its going to be near impossible to prove any part that has a material expense attached to it failed due to a manu defect years down the road. I would like to "start fresh" as noted above as I've done a decent job maintaining but not a good enough job. I did notice some of the inhalation adjustments have been getting sticky, and one was seized. I've soaked in hot water as per suggestions here to get them to free up, which they have. Previously, I was an infrequent local diver, with most diving on trips. I serviced frequently because I never wanted a failure on a trip (expensive and disappointing). Now that I can dive locally just about any weekend and easily maintain (soak something without having to skip a few showers), my plans are a bit different. Going to the "t-bone method" above makes sense.

 

[buddhasummer]

Absolutely, if it ain't broke and all that.

 

[noj3333]

I don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but I wanted to ask @tbone1004 and @buddhasummer about their use of a IP Gauge.
I bought one awhile ago, and when I use it I connect in to the LP hose, and breath off my 2nd stage... the pressure drops from something like 140psi (just guessing, I haven't used it in awhile) to maybe 120psi (again just a guess). Then the pressure should return very close to the initial reading, so a few psi above or below 140psi in this example.

My questions are:

Service would be required if the initial pressure continued to climb as soon as the valve was opened and the regs pressurized (this would be like, "Get these regs serviced NOW, and don't dive them until they're looked at)? I believe someone just trashed/ tested a deep6 reg set and this is how they knew the regs needed a rebuild...

Service would also be required if the IP kept changing after a breath or air from the 2nd... ie 140psi, breath of air 135psi, breath of air, 155psi, breath of air, 125psi...ect, ect...

Is my understanding of using an IP Gaugue correct????

 

[cool_hardware52]

Talk to Glynn.

Malibu Dive Repair

Tobin

 

[buddhasummer]

If ip is creeping by more than a few PSI you have an hp leak and reg needs servicing, If after each breath its jumping all over the place, it needs servicing. It will drop after each breath but that drop should be fairly consistant and should then return to original setting. If my reg was acting like yours/your example I'd service/have it serviced. I'm no expert, I'm sure one of the resident gurus will be along shortly.