When to replace old gear?

[johndiver999]

Great in theory, but if your buddy has been taught to ‘take’ your secondary (as BSAC do) then the first you will know about it is when their using it.

I thought that is what you were implying. It is essential that the diver talk with their buddy before the dive and explain that they MUST take the regulator from your mouth if they need air if the donor is using an air 2. Failure to make that extremely clear would be a big mistake. Basic dive training will cover this.

If the victim takes the wrong short inflator/regulator, I assume the donor would make a big effort to trade off for their primary pretty quickly.

 

[Centrals]

When to replace old gear?
1. When it is NOT repairable.
2. Too much money than sense.

 

[AfterDark]

I know this sounds like a silly question, but I'm having a difficult time deciding what to do with my gear. It was purchased new 16 years ago and I have over 252 dives on it. The gear has been maintained well and serviced annually, but it is showing its age. I usually dive with it twice monthly through out the year (I'm a volunteer diver at a Zoo/Aquarium, so they are cold water, usually shallow, and long dives.)

Recently, I went on vacation and took my gear with me for a rare open water dive. I had a scary equipment malfunction that (luckily) occurred before getting into the water involving my integrated safe-second/inflation hose on my BC (SeaQuest, Libra). After this experience I lost faith in my gear being safe and am uncomfortable diving with it in open water.

So, my questions are: Is there an age limit on dive gear? I could replace the safe-second/inflation hose, but I'd still be using a 16 yr old BC - is that safe/wise? What about my computer (Suunto Cobra), it's working fine but it's also 16 yrs old? And then there is the first stage to consider - Apeks M.P. 9.2-9.6 bar, dry sealed system. Again, never had an issue, but now I'm paranoid. (I have an Apeks T50 reg, it's been great but it's not what it used to be, so that guy will be replaced.)

If replacement of the computer is recommended, what are your favorite options (integrated) for cold water? It looks like everyone loves their Apeks regs, so I'll stick with that brand.

Thank you for your help!

Is there a time limit? No. I dive with the same reg(s) I used in 1968 when I started. My BP/W is 10 years old as in my dry suit. My tanks range from 1965 to 1984. As long as it works, can be serviced it's fine. Proper care after use is important as is storage. Dive gear is a lifetime purchase. Some things like lights need to replaced because the new ones are far better than anything available 10-20 years ago. My BCD came to end of life after 20 years, the bladder leaked and a replacement bladder wasn't worth the cost. Often when I do buy gear it is used from Ebay. The LDS for me is mostly air fills. The latest buy was a 40 year old double hose regulator to use to try and get closer underwater critters for photos/videos. I was able to get upgraded 1st and 2nd stages as well as an improved exhaust valve and main diagram. Works great! What I do isn't for everyone but it goes to show that time limits on dive gear are mostly arbitrary.

 

[Lostdiver71]

I have been using the combo inflator/regulator on my recreational setup for almost 30 years now with no problems! In 35+ years of diving, several years as full time dive boat crew member, I have seen every piece of gear fail at some point. Usually it is a maintenance or service issue but some times it is a manufacturing defect that wasn't caught. A majority of hose failures happen on the surface but I have seen hoses fail at depth, high pressure hoses don't look like much due to the internal size of the hole but low pressure hoses create a lot of bubbles, will empty a tank quickly and scare the crap out of an inexperienced diver. Get a modern combo inflator/regulator and keep your gear serviced until you are no longer comfortable using it and then replace it with something newer. If you want to remove another hose you can get a wireless air integrated computer with a transmitter. There are some good deals out there from Aqualung and Oceanic (both are manufactured by Pelagic Pressure Systems, owned by Aqualung) the transmitters between the two brands are interchangeable and also compatible with Shearwater computers. I have been using wireless air integrated for about 25 years!

 

[GJC]

Thank you for your response! I did not know there was a recall, I'll have to check that out. As for what happened...

The metal piece (now missing from the left side) that clips into my high pressure hose blew off. It did it in such a way as to leave the high pressure hose stuck open, so my tank very quickly started to drain. Had this happened under water I would have lost air very quickly and lost the ability to inflate my BC. It also doesn't help that a snorkeler (on a different boat, not related to our dive boat, but in the same area) died that day. We watched EMS unsuccessfully attempt to revive her. It was awful and something I will never forget. At the time, I took it as a Sign that it was time to replace my gear and I vowed to trash it all and start over. Now that I've had some time to settle down and think about it (and let's be honest, price out all new gear too) that may have been a rash decision. Which is why I'm now stuck in the do I, or do I not, replace it all limbo.

I was reminded how dangerous the sport can be, and how very important our gear is; it is life support. I do not want to compromise on safety. But I also don't want to throw away perfectly good gear because of a rash, emotional decision.

View attachment 559473

That is worth the time to it take back to where you had it serviced, especially if you always got it serviced at the same shop. While the design of screwing metal into plastic is probably not the best, your damage most likely occurred when the service tech either crossthreaded or overtorqued it and destroyed the plastic threads. They need to know what they did to your stuff.

If your shop is a good one and you have done some business there in the past, they may replace the part if they can get a new one, or at least offer you a discount on a newer model. If they don't make an offer, ask nicely for a discount on a new replacement or something better. All they can do is say no.

 

[Edward3c]

I thought that is what you were implying. It is essential that the diver talk with their buddy before the dive and explain that they MUST take the regulator from your mouth if they need air if the donor is using an air 2. Failure to make that extremely clear would be a big mistake. Basic dive training will cover this.

If the victim takes the wrong short inflator/regulator, I assume the donor would make a big effort to trade off for their primary pretty quickly.

The UK’s Health & Safety Executive (which polices commercial/professional diving activities) undertook research on how divers react on an OOG situation. Their finding was individuals do what they were initially trained to do, even if 20 years earlier. So your in-depth briefing is useless.

 

[johndiver999]

The UK’s Health & Safety Executive (which polices commercial/professional diving activities) undertook research on how divers react on an OOG situation. Their finding was individuals do what they were initially trained to do, even if 20 years earlier. So your in-depth briefing is useless.

Are any divers trained to take an Air2/clone? That would be incorrect training?

 

[Edward3c]

Are any divers trained to take an Air2/clone? That would be incorrect training?

BSAC teach secondary take. An inflator/reg combination isn’t approved for training so no. But if that’s all a buddy has then it may be taken.

 

[Bob DBF]

The UK’s Health & Safety Executive (which polices commercial/professional diving activities) undertook research on how divers react on an OOG situation. Their finding was individuals do what they were initially trained to do, even if 20 years earlier. So your in-depth briefing is useless.

Well, it’s nice to know I’ll revert to old school buddy breathing, if the j-valve doesn’t work.

Seriously, I can believe the study, assuming the divers only were trained to share air once, and never upgraded their skills to include other configurations.

When was the study done, and on whom?



Bob

 

[AfterDark]

I'm pretty certain if I need air and someone shows me anything spewing bubbles I'm gabbin' it! Training be dammed.