To service or not to service

[firedogut]

I have 2 Viper Tec (viper america) regs and 2 viper tec octos. They are almost a year old and i need to decide if i should get them serviced or not.

Last time i used them was about 6 months ago. I know one place i can ship them to and pay about $50.00 to get 1st stage, 2nd stage, octopus, and pressure gauge worked on. Its Diversdirect.com, any use them, they are in florida.

I don't know of a good dive shop in Houston or Austin that services Dacor.


The big questions is with me only diving 10 times a year right now should i just wait untill i have a problem and then just pay for parts. Does letting the regs just sit for a long time do damage?

any place i can buy the parts and aguide on doing it my self?

thanks for your input.

 

[matt_unique]

I have 2 Viper Tec (viper america) regs and 2 viper tec octos. They are almost a year old and i need to decide if i should get them serviced or not.

Last time i used them was about 6 months ago. I know one place i can ship them to and pay about $50.00 to get 1st stage, 2nd stage, octopus, and pressure gauge worked on. Its Diversdirect.com, any use them, they are in florida.

I don't know of a good dive shop in Houston or Austin that services Dacor.


The big questions is with me only diving 10 times a year right now should i just wait untill i have a problem and then just pay for parts. Does letting the regs just sit for a long time do damage?

any place i can buy the parts and aguide on doing it my self?

thanks for your input.

You should get your gear serviced once a year no matter how often you use it. It's not likely to break while sitting in your gear bag my friend, if you have problems it will happen when you're using it. That is not the time to decide to get it serviced.

--Matt

 

[SDAnderson]

There are a number of small bits inside your regulator that need changing/lubricating/adjusting every so often, even if you don't use the regulator. Sometimes lack of use can mean they need service more often, not less.

As with leaving a car sitting unused in the driveway, problems can accumulate unbeknownst to you: the battery can die, the tires go flat, the gas gels, the seals leak, etc. Maybe nothing give out but the only way to find out is to use fire the thing up and take it for a spin...mostly a bad idea for life support gear. The once a year service thing isn't the word of god but it's still a good idea.

Anyone with half a brain and some mechanical aptitude can fix their own regulators. You'll want to start by acquiring the proper tools (there are some doozies) and training, then you need parts and, finally, you need practice. It's far more expensive than having the work done unless you have a whole fleet of regulators and working on one or two regulators a year just isn't enough to keep skills fresh.

Here's a link to a guy that worked for Dacor as a regulator tech for years before striking out on his own - he's been servicing their stuff for something like 20 years now and will work on yours if you mail it to him.

 

[rescuediver009]

There are a number of small bits inside your regulator that need changing/lubricating/adjusting every so often, even if you don't use the regulator. Sometimes lack of use can mean they need service more often, not less.

As with leaving a car sitting unused in the driveway, problems can accumulate unbeknownst to you: the battery can die, the tires go flat, the gas gels, the seals leak, etc. Maybe nothing give out but the only way to find out is to use fire the thing up and take it for a spin...mostly a bad idea for life support gear. The once a year service thing isn't the word of god but it's still a good idea.

Anyone with half a brain and some mechanical aptitude can fix their own regulators. You'll want to start by acquiring the proper tools (there are some doozies) and training, then you need parts and, finally, you need practice. It's far more expensive than having the work done unless you have a whole fleet of regulators and working on one or two regulators a year just isn't enough to keep skills fresh.

Here's a link to a guy that worked for Dacor as a regulator tech for years before striking out on his own - he's been servicing their stuff for something like 20 years now and will work on yours if you mail it to him.

Aside from how much intelligence it takes to do it, it counts how much you know to begin with and what should be done and what shouldn't. If you only have 10 dives on your regs, and there is no parts warranty to maintain (not sure with dacor), I would just have them adjusted (its alot cheaper) and have them serviced every other year. As for leaving your car in the driveway and still having to maintain it, if you pack it away properly and store it out of harms way it will not dgrade any more.

 

[Scottri]

I would have them serviced. I'm funny that way with life support. O-rings can dry out, seats may need to be replaced, there may be silt or salt in some parts of the reg. I rebuild mine every year regardless of how much I've used them. It's really a small price to pay.

It's true that anyone with mechanical skills can rebuild them but the tools can be very specialized and expensive and kits will be unavailable unless you are trained by Dacor. No shop will sell them to you unless you can prove that you have the proper training.


Scott

 

[redacted]

No shop will sell them to you unless you can prove that you have the proper training.

Mostly true as a general statement, but not the kind of thing you'd want to bet much money on. If you shop around enough and can demonstrate some knowledge, you will find shops that will provide kits & other parts.

 

[Hank49]

Does letting the regs just sit for a long time do damage?

thanks for your input.

When I was diving every day I serviced my reg about every 100 dives or so. When I came to Belize I didn't dive very much for the first few months (new job) and when I opened my reg it looked more corroded after no use than it did when I was diving a lot. And I serviced it right before I came here and dived only about 5 times (in seawater) If I haven't used a reg for over six months I would have someone open it (if you can't do it) and check it out before I dive with it. Hank

 

[scubatoys]

Just sitting, you can have o-rings get flattened, if any moisture got in, corrosion can attack, pressure on springs can groove seats, etc.

Our standard service price is 59.95 plus parts, but if someone buys from us, we make it 39.95 and parts are free for life... And do we demand every year... no. We have a bunch of regs like Atomic, and some of the Mares, that don't even require annual service for their warranty stuff... but when it comes down to it, we just hate to have to crack open a reg that hasn't been opened in 5 years, and looks like it's spent half it's life underwater with the dust cap off.

So as a dive shop owner, with insurance premiums and attorneys, I'm going to tell you to follow the manufacturers recomendations.

As Larry the diver, I'll admit, that if my reg has not seen a bunch of dives, and I look at the dust cap and there is no sign of corrosion (either green or white) - nice and shiney metal looking, and I check it on a tank and see that the IP is holding, (without a gauge, basically hook up and see if you get any leaking after a minute or so, making sure I cycle each 2nd stage about 20 times)...

Anyway... if it passes all those "inspection tests", there is a small chance that I'd trust it for a dive, even if it did not have it's "annual rebuild".

But maybe that's just me... I just had the "Service Engine Soon" light come on in my car... so as soon as it says "Service Engine Now", I think I'll take it in....

 

[chrisch]

Its a complex subject - the answer is not clear. This is why an annual service is suggested to make sure you get a regular service. That said a poor service is a waste of time and money and poor servicing is very common. Many dive shops haven't a clue.

O rings can degrade over time. This is true. The manufacturers say 5 years shelf life. Of course you now need to know if the ones the LDS put in last service were new or 5 yrs old (or older!!).

There shouldn't be corrosion because you soak and clean your regs after each (saltwater) dive then dry them and store them in a warm dry place don't you ?

FWIW I have mine serviced about every three years and yes I do soak and dry them after saltware use. I have never had a problem. The wife and I have just bought the same Dacor Viper regs. They are Italian made Mares AFAIK and shouldn't be a problem. If you bought them new and from somewhere with a high turnover and you have looked after them you should be OK.

I would be dubious of advice from someone trying to sell you something!

Chris

 

[oversea]

As for leaving your car in the driveway and still having to maintain it, if you pack it away properly and store it out of harms way it will not dgrade any more.

I know its irrelevant on a scuba board but I beg to differ. Short of storing a car in a climate controlled, clean garage, it will degrade. Used oil becomes acidic eating away at bearings, seals become hard, rubber will dryrot. Proper use is the only way to maintain the integrity of a car.