Which Regulator Should A Tropical Dive Center Carry For Rental?

[Eric Sedletzky]

+ 1 on the Aqualung Titan - Conshelf
The service kit #900001 has been around since the 60's and will be around for a long time to come.
Easy to service and bullet proof.

 

[ams511]

Sherwoods go cheap on ebay so you could purchase some used ones if you have a US address for shipping. If not, then I agree with Halocline to use a MK-2/R195 or the Subgear equivalent (which have been selling cheap). They are as easy to service as they come.

 

[Fishpie]

Basically, apart from all the usual.....reliable, easy to....etc, etc, etc

You need a reg that will look good and not put the punters off after they've been round the block for several years.
Ist stages generally hold up well, but it's the 2nd stage that the customer sees just before they put it in their mouth that needs to look good.

You have a choice of Sherwood, Scubapro and Mares.
Let's cross off Mares as their 2nd stages don't hold up and pass the cosmetics test very well.
Sherwood....the old oval shaped 2nd stages (even though they had a soft purge cover) held up pretty well. But there's a new model and your tech has doubts about it.
Scubapro....thankfully, they've done away with the, 290, 390, 295, 395 series of 2nd stages and have a new R195. Historically Scubapro's have held up well in rental and the R195 looks to be better than what it replaces. The main downside are the hoses that can't be undone with an adjustable spanner.

Either the Brut/Magnum or the MK2 R195 would be great choices.

Which rep do you like the most?

Your "keymen" will prefer Scubapro.

Who does your BC's?

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Re what manufacturers we like, we tend to like most of them. We got started with Sherwood so regs and BCDs by them. ScubaPro had turned us down as a dealer as they already had a dealer nearby but then agreed to us becoming a dealer this year when we bought out another dive shop that had all ScubaPro gear (and realizing that the dealer they had was not buying much and in fact is now going out of business). We have some Mares BCDs and I now use a Cressi BCD that I really like.

Yes, equipment looking good is very important and gives customers confidence that they are dealing with a competent and professional dive center.

Basically, apart from all the usual.....reliable, easy to....etc, etc, etc

You need a reg that will look good and not put the punters off after they've been round the block for several years.
Ist stages generally hold up well, but it's the 2nd stage that the customer sees just before they put it in their mouth that needs to look good.

You have a choice of Sherwood, Scubapro and Mares.
Let's cross off Mares as their 2nd stages don't hold up and pass the cosmetics test very well.
Sherwood....the old oval shaped 2nd stages (even though they had a soft purge cover) held up pretty well. But there's a new model and your tech has doubts about it.
Scubapro....thankfully, they've done away with the R195, 290, 390, 295, 395 series of 2nd stages and have a new G290. Historically Scubapro's have held up well in rental and the G260 looks to be better than what it replaces. The main downside are the hoses that can't be undone with an adjustable spanner.

Either the Brut/Magnum or the MK2 G260 would be great choices.

Which rep do you like the most?

Your "keymen" will prefer Scubapro.

Who does your BC's?

---------- Post added January 6th, 2014 at 08:35 AM ----------

The liability question is interesting but I think we will stick with manufacturers replacement kits. We like to save money but we are looking more at other things (like our fuel bill for December at $US 25 000.00) that have more impact on our bottom line. Also, my experience tells me the biggest gains are often made by working on the income side (increase number of customers). So the mantra should be number of customers up/cost per customer down.

The input to this thread has been very helpful to me and there have been some excellent suggestions made. I will not follow some of the excellent ones because of our equipment purchasing history and established business relationships but will very much keep in mind the alternatives that have been brought to my attention.

Thank all of you who have contributed.
Regards
Ralph