uneasy about my dacor purchase

[scubafire]

I just went out and purchased a dacor viper reg and octo. Something tells me (after just now reading all the negative comments) that I should have researched it a lot better. Should I return it promptly? I going to be a pretty casual diver but I want a reliable reg. What should I do?

 

[triton013]

Which Viper did you get? I got the Viper America and so far its been good to me. Of course I don't really use it on really deep dives. I use for shallow dives, like 40-50 feet. If your not comfortable with reg and haven't use it then return it.

 

[tiburon72157]

i had the same setup some 3 years ago. got rid of it all. at best they are average regs, and work best imo at 60 ft. or less. i experienced delivery issues both at depth, and also when placing heavy demand on the reg in shallow water while working hard to grab bugs from between some rocks. reg simply couldn't meet the demand i was placing on it. there are better units out there for the same amount of money...i'd take them back if i were you, but ultimately it's your decision.

 

[Lake Mead Tony]

I replaced my Viper with a Zeagle Envoy Deluxe. I was impressed. I have taken it to 155 in 50 deg water and I am confident that it will serve me well for a long time. Sure they make better and more expensive, but I try to keep as much money in the bank as possible. As for your decision, nobody can make that for you. Dacor has been around for a long time and I have owned a lot of their gear. I think it's a money thing, most of the time, the more you spend, the better quality and features. If you are not happy with your decission, by all means, return it. You have to be able to trust your life to the gear you use!

 

[scubafire]

Hmmm....well the problem is that I purchased my reg from Divers-supply. They don't have all that great of selection....at least I didn't think so. (At least not with my price range.) I will probably return it but I don't know what to go with. They sell Oceanic, Tusa, Cressi, and Mares. Which (make and model) reg would be best to go with. Honestly from my research, I have come up empty handed. I would love that Zeagle...I have heard a lot about it. Is there a way for me to trade my unused reg in somewhere and upgrade?

 

[Laser]

Hmmm....well the problem is that I purchased my reg from Divers-supply. They don't have all that great of selection....at least I didn't think so. (At least not with my price range.) I will probably return it but I don't know what to go with. They sell Oceanic, Tusa, Cressi, and Mares. Which (make and model) reg would be best to go with. Honestly from my research, I have come up empty handed. I would love that Zeagle...I have heard a lot about it. Is there a way for me to trade my unused reg in somewhere and upgrade?

Are you locked in to only shopping there for some reason?

Of the brands listed, Oceanic and Mares would be the prefferred.

I'm partial to Apeks myself, but there are plenty of good regs. Dive Rite has good regs at reasonable cost.

 

[Divedoggie]

I have purchased from divers-supply in the past, and they were very reliable, and even took care of a warranty issue on a fin for me, where they replaced the broken fin with an upgraded fin at no extra cost.

The regulator selection looks decent. The two that I am familier with and have some advantages over the Viper, in an inexpensive price range, are:

http://www.divers-supply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=17670
http://www.divers-supply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=16824


I have 2 sets of Vipers, as well as Apeks ATX 200, Zeagle Envoy Deluxe, and Atomic B2. The Vipers are fine in warm water and depths to about 80 feet. They are tough, and pretty good for the price. I dove with the Vipers for 2 years before upgrading. My brother in law now has one set of the Vipers, and really likes them. You could buy about 4 sets of Viper regs for the price of an Atomic B2. So it has a lot to do with your budget.

I am sure that divers-supply will trade the unused regs and charge a fee for the difference in price if you want to upgrade, however, I believe that the regs you bought are perfectly safe and pretty cool looking!
I have seen a number of DMs in Coz using Vipers everyday at more than 100 feet. I personally took my Viper to 100 feet in 50 degree water, and it was fine.

 

[scubafire]

Well I am locked in because I purchased a package deal. They really hooked me up with a great back-inflate tech bc. So I want the bc but the regs that they have are all that I can obviously go with. My plan is this: I am a casual diver. I may dive 4 times in a year. Possibly a little more. I don't want to have any issue with a reg at any depth. My eventual goal is to dive the blue hole in Belize and I definately don't want any trouble there either.

 

[halocline]

I have a viper octo and it's been kind of a pain...a couple of times I couldn't find parts for it, although supposedly the newer Dacor stuff has plenty of parts availability, and more recently a nagging freeflow after hardly being used.

I'd look into the TUSA regs; try to find out which ones they have that are scubapro clones and get one of those. TUSA manufactures regs for SP, then after a few years SP allows TUSA to manufacture and market the same reg under their own name.

 

[mike_s]

Drop by Divers Supply and tell them that you think that you'd rather have a nicer set of regs. I don't think you'll have a problem since you haven't used them and it was recent.. most dive shops like to see customers spend more money.


If that doesn't work, send a PM to MMDiver here on Scubaboard. He's the general manager of Diver Supply chain. I'm sure he'll work with you to get you what you want. You can find him here. http://www.scubaboard.com/member.php?u=54144

His name is name is Mark McNatt
He's not real active on this board, so you might have to wait a day or two for a response or just call him at their Macon store and tell him that you heard about him on Scubaboard.

I think that they'll work with you to get a set of reg's that you are happy with.