Where to get gear serviced?

[freedc]

Fellow mid Atlantic divers,

I don’t trust my own repair skills and I had two bc inflators fail on my last dive (thankfully caught during pre dive safety check).

So I have a bunch of gear to be serviced: 2 regs (total of 4 second stages) and three bcd/wings. Any recommendations where to take/send it? I live in DC.

 

[SpaceCat]

Fellow mid Atlantic divers,

I don’t trust my own repair skills and I had two bc inflators fail on my last dive (thankfully caught during pre dive safety check).

So I have a bunch of gear to be serviced: 2 regs (total of 4 second stages) and three bcd/wings. Any recommendations where to take/send it? I live in DC.

Well, that likely depends on what brand they are. Different shops service different brands in house, and have to ship out the other brands (often leading to an increased cost). What type of regs and BCDs are they? And depending on what is wrong with the inflators (pending they are just normal inflators), its often cheaper just to replace them.

 

[Jake 10]

Try Andrew, he is always busy but he can service most of all type of brands. Sometimes it takes time to catch him if he is not diving, teaching OW and AOW classes, etc.

 

[Mr. Sunday]

If you don't have a local dive shop, Air Tech in North Carolina does good work. I have had regs serviced there in the past.

I would just replace the inflators with new ones from DGX. Likely cost less than a paid service.

 

[Jake 10]

here are some more LDS around DC/MD/VA

 

[freedc]

The first thing I did was google the LDS in my area. THat wasn't hard. I guess my question was whether there some are better than others.

Inc ase it matters here are the brands:
2 regulators, both Scubapro
1 Scubapro BCD
1 Cressi BCD
1 OMS wing

The inflators failed open on the Cressi BCD and OMS wing.

I have another wing -- I can't remember what brand, but I don't plan to dive with that one any time soon. It's wide for doubles and I don't dive doubles.

 

[freedc]

Well, that likely depends on what brand they are. Different shops service different brands in house, and have to ship out the other brands (often leading to an increased cost). What type of regs and BCDs are they? And depending on what is wrong with the inflators (pending they are just normal inflators), its often cheaper just to replace them.

I'm scared to do any installation myself. Good to have the link to the inflator so Ic an tell if they're gouging me on the replacement parts.

 

[James79]

I'm scared to do any installation myself. Good to have the link to the inflator so Ic an tell if they're gouging me on the replacement parts.

Replacing the whole inflator assembly is on ziptie (and positioning a pin if you have a pull dump). People blow scuba gear service out of proportion... Particularly BCDs/wings. You can video call me if you want to step through it.
Respectfully,

James

 

[freedc]

Replacing the whole inflator assembly is on ziptie (and positioning a pin if you have a pull dump). People blow scuba gear service out of proportion... Particularly BCDs/wings. You can video call me if you want to step through it.
Respectfully,

James

Thanks. Very generous offer! Let me think about it and get back to you.

I removed and replaced the shoulder dump assembly when it wasn't dumping. I just nudged some parts and then it worked (although the pull string is way too short -- I can't reach it -- probably something I can also fix).

I just like the peace of mind of having someone professional do this stuff. I am so incompetent. I've had to search/recover so much gear that fell off because I can't even tie off boltsnaps properly.

 

[James79]

Thanks. Very generous offer! Let me think about it and get back to you.

I removed and replaced the shoulder dump assembly when it wasn't dumping. I just nudged some parts and then it worked (although the pull string is way too short -- I can't reach it -- probably something I can also fix).

I just like the peace of mind of having someone professional do this stuff. I am so incompetent. I've had to search/recover so much gear that fell off because I can't even tie off boltsnaps properly.

I learned to DIY gear partly because of the "professionals" at some dive shops... Doing it for a living doesn't guarantee competence (in any field). I would place properly tying off bolt snaps in between BCD maintenance and reg servicing in difficulty (BCD maintenance is easier than proper knot tying!).
For real, I can even get on a vid call and just demonstrate on one omy rigs if you want.
Added bonus, then you know exactly what's going on with it (I'm a big fan of understanding the "how" of any gear I use).

Best,

James