When to Service my Gear

[Spoon]

Non-use is worse on gear than use. When you're using it, the parts are moving, it's getting rinsed, and there's not much chance for corrosion. Sitting on a shelf for a year collecting dust can be a lot more damaging. If you're only using your gear once a year, get it serviced right before you use it. It will definitely need it then.

i agree!

 

[scubapro50]

I have seen brand new regulators right out of the box failed on their 1st dive. The most common problem from lack of maintance is "free-flowing" which is not catostrophic but will tend to screw up a good dive. It can happen ... usually the novice doesn't take apart his 1st stage to lubicate and inspect internal parts. I've seen pistons on older regulators (a scubapro MK5 as I recall) break after several years of diving. I also found that older diaphragms (like on the Dacor 360) may dry out and crack after years of service. Since most of us don't have the proper tools, training or parts to fix these problems I let my LDS do it for me. The older your equipment gets then the better chance you may have a problem. I own some 30 and 40 year old regulators in my vintage collection (doublehoses, voit singlehoses) that I get service and use then every now and then. I just purchased two new Mares Abysses on the Mares/Dacor trade in program and can't wait to see how they hold up.

 

[redacted]

I have seen brand new regulators right out of the box failed on their 1st dive. The most common problem from lack of maintance is "free-flowing" which is not catostrophic but will tend to screw up a good dive. It can happen ... usually the novice doesn't take apart his 1st stage to lubicate and inspect internal parts. I've seen pistons on older regulators (a scubapro MK5 as I recall) break after several years of diving. I also found that older diaphragms (like on the Dacor 360) may dry out and crack after years of service. Since most of us don't have the proper tools, training or parts to fix these problems I let my LDS do it for me. The older your equipment gets then the better chance you may have a problem. I own some 30 and 40 year old regulators in my vintage collection (doublehoses, voit singlehoses) that I get service and use then every now and then. I just purchased two new Mares Abysses on the Mares/Dacor trade in program and can't wait to see how they hold up.

When a brand new regulator fails when it comes out of the box, it's not an annual service problem, it's a mfgr problem. A user who practices good user maintenance should catch that before it hits anything deeper than the sink. Freeflows happen. Some because of annual service, some because of a lack of annual service, and some because of poor user care. A catestriphic failure like a piston or piston spring failure is very remote and unlikely to be detected before it occurs in either a user inspection or an annual service. Those are the failure modes that require a redundent gas supply. I also dive older reg (SP Mk5/7/10s with metal 2nds) that I picked up on ebay. When I initially inspected them, I was amazed at how well they were performing (slight FF) in spite of obvious neglect and very old rubber parts. I replaced one orifice o-ring that was more like plastic than a rubber compound. Based on the vintage of the poppets and HP seats, these regs probably were not serviced or used for 10 or 20 years. I was amazed. While I replaced most of the o-rings, I kept some of the seats in service while I was waiting for parts. A little 400 grit does a good job of removing a bad set from an LP seat to get a little more service out of it. This stuff is much more durable than most divers realize.

 

[Dive-aholic]

...This stuff is much more durable than most divers realize.

I agree. Older regs are real durable. I have about a dozen sitting on the shelves that are 20+ years old. But I've also seen a few of the new regs being placed on the market today, and I'll be surprised if they're still in use in 10 years. As with everything else out there, things just aren't made the way they used to be...:14:

 

[stormrider]

OK I understand I should take my gear in for service once a year but how is this estimated? I would think this should be based on the number of dives per year not the time frame as one diver may log 100 dives in a year while the other my have 10. Can anyone help me out with this?

Alex

Just like with cars, I believe the "whichever comes first" rule also applies to dive gear. That's how I do it. Therefore, its "1-year or 100-dives, whichever comes first".

 

[scubapro50]

if you want to save money on service then buy the cheapest new regulator to be found (Mares R2 axis at LeisurePro for $99.99) run it into the ground by not servicing it for 2 or 3 years then throw the thing away before it breaks ...... NOT SOUND ADVICE... BUT CHEAP ADVICE (and only a Fool would follow this course )

 

[redacted]

if you want to save money on service then buy the cheapest new regulator to be found (Mares R2 axis at LeisurePro for $99.99) run it into the ground by not servicing it for 2 or 3 years then throw the thing away before it breaks ...... NOT SOUND ADVICE... BUT CHEAP ADVICE (and only a Fool would follow this course )

A fool indeed. Don't throw it away. Sell it on ebay (Used, needs service before diving) and expect to get at least half the initial cost back. At the prices we are talking about, you could use it for only a year and still be ahead of the game!! But I would expect almost any unbalanced piston design like the Axis to perform OK for at least 2 years with normal user care.