Yearly maintenance

[Couv]

I agree with you.

In the distant past I posted a fairly detailed description of several pre-dive checks a diver can do and a couple more using an IP gauge connected to the LP inflator hose that will do a really good job of diagnosing any looming problems with your reg. .....

Here is a link to a sticky with good info from the DA and the other Usual Suspects…..
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/260452-regulator-checklist-inspection.html

In addition, you should also keep a written or mental log to benchmark the information so you can see if there is any degradation occurring. I'm too lazy to keep a log, but I know that all my first stage regulators pretty much have an intermediate pressure of 135psi, and all my second stages have a cracking pressure of about one inch H2O. If I see much change from there, I know it is time to investigate.

c

 

[halocline]

Hey Mattboy, not everyone is a rec diver. Some people get into elements of diving that don't allow direct access to the surface. Some people get into elements of diving that don't make buddy breathing feasible. I guess you missed that part of your Divemaster training. Check with some of those divers and see what they consider a regulator.

Actually, if you know anything at all about technical diving, you would know that redundancy of equipment and procedures to deal with equipment failure are two cornerstones of the rigorous training required. You do know that, right? Tech divers (at least the smart ones) more than anyone will tell you that their lives depend on their training and dive behavior.

Once again, nobody is disputing that dive gear should be well maintained. But this nonsense about your life depending on bringing your gear to the dive shop every year is getting really tiresome.

 

[I Dive]

Actually, if you know anything at all about technical diving, you would know that redundancy of equipment and procedures to deal with equipment failure are two cornerstones of the rigorous training required. You do know that, right? Tech divers (at least the smart ones) more than anyone will tell you that their lives depend on their training and dive behavior.

Once again, nobody is disputing that dive gear should be well maintained. But this nonsense about your life depending on bringing your gear to the dive shop every year is getting really tiresome.

I think I just saw the disconnect here. I don't consider a reg life support because a dive shop checks it out each year. I consider a reg life support because you are not going to survive underwater without a functional one. Whether it's Rec or Tech you are looking at, neither of them casually dismiss the total failure of a reg as no big deal. There are things divers are trained on to deal with that. Why? Because without breathing gas, you will die underwater. End of story. How do you get breathing gas underwater? A reg for most of us. Whether it is a redundant reg you carry, or another diver's reg you are borrowing, a reg is a reg.

I think we agree more than we disagree here, but it never helps a discussion when you open it up as you did-attacking someone's dive knowledge simply because they disagree with you on something that in the big scheme of things is irreleveant. Honestly, does me viewing a reg as life support affect you or anyone else one bit? I know that you viewing a reg as whatever you view it as certainly doesn't affect me. I will inspect my reg, attach it to the cylinder, clean it, and maintain it the exact same way I presently do no matter what you decide a reg is and I would expect the same from you.

 

[scubafanatic]

Actually, if you know anything at all about technical diving, you would know that redundancy of equipment and procedures to deal with equipment failure are two cornerstones of the rigorous training required. You do know that, right? Tech divers (at least the smart ones) more than anyone will tell you that their lives depend on their training and dive behavior.

Once again, nobody is disputing that dive gear should be well maintained. But this nonsense about your life depending on bringing your gear to the dive shop every year is getting really tiresome.

...I don't think anyone on this thread has held the position that your gear has to be serviced exactly annually, and that if you wait until say, 13 months between services, that your head will immediately and spontaneously explode ! Also, while we're talking technical diving, the key concept is 'teamwork'......where each diver (and their gear) is expected to be at 100% performance...as while it's bad form to get yourself killed, it's even worse form to take out your teammates due to your own irresponsiblity......the position that that you'll just coast through any emergency because your buddy will have everything covered, so your gear quality/maintainance is free to 'suck' won't fly in technical diving !

 

[fnfalman]

How many regulators do you take into a cave? Do you ever plan to put yourself into a situation where the failure of a single regulator will result in your death? How do you deal with regulator failures in a cave?

Now, I ain't no fancy tech diver nor do I play one on the internet but I kinda figger if one; tech diver or one of us lowly rec diver, were to ignore one's equipment upkeeps thus chances are if a reg were to go kaput during a dive, the other reg that also being used just as regularly and similarly followed the same upkeeping schedule...chances are that one would probably go kaput at the same time. Murphy's Law and all that.

But then I ain't no fancy tech diver and dumbass that I am, I tend to overpay those darn LDSes to maintain my gear per manufacturer's recommended schedule. I'm sure that the extra $70 that I would have saved had I used reasonable maintenance schedule as opposed to the manufacturer's suggested schedule (which was there to ensure that the LDSes get rich off suckers like myself) would have made me a millionaire in a year or two.

 

[vladimir]

I have the shop do the bi-annual maintenance that Atomic recommends. I think PanAqua in NYC charged me $80 for 1 first stage and 2 second stages, if I recall correctly, although that sounds cheap. I have no problem spending the $80, or whatever it was. I am fundamentally lazy and I routinely pay people to cook for me, clean up after me, do my taxes, etc., all of which I could do for myself if I were so inclined. And the $80 seems reasonable for a shop paying rent in NYC, even over there on 10th avenue.

What I object to is the constant "life support" fear-mongering. If you don't have your regulator professionally maintained every year, you are not going to die. It might breath hard, and then you'll take it in. It might free-flow, and then you'll breathe off of it or your octopus until you get to the surface, and then you'll take it in.

 

[Wormil]

It was fixed and all is right. Several calls around and some complaining and it was righted. Fee still applied but parts were refunded.

Also good info was obtained. So WIN!

 

[redacted]

I'm sure that the extra $70 that I would have saved had I used reasonable maintenance schedule as opposed to the manufacturer's suggested schedule (which was there to ensure that the LDSes get rich off suckers like myself) would have made me a millionaire in a year or two.

It would not make you a millionaire. But it would fairly quickly pay for a complete backup rig. Even a pretty cheap backup seems to beat the best warranty going. My biggest concern with regulator failures is quickly getting back in the water for the next dive. I always carry a spare rig and it has saved the day for quite a few divers.

 

[vladimir]

Life support is anything that aides in the preservation of life.

So the waiter at the Mandarin Grill is life support? He brings me nourishment that sustains my life. If he doesn't, I have backup plans, but food is essential to the preservation of my life.

 

[halocline]

I think we agree more than we disagree here, but it never helps a discussion when you open it up as you did-attacking someone's dive knowledge simply because they disagree with you on something that in the big scheme of things is irreleveant. Honestly, does me viewing a reg as life support affect you or anyone else one bit? I know that you viewing a reg as whatever you view it as certainly doesn't affect me. I will inspect my reg, attach it to the cylinder, clean it, and maintain it the exact same way I presently do no matter what you decide a reg is and I would expect the same from you.

The term "life support" implies that the equipment itself is keeping you alive, and has all sorts of connotations, like for example a heart/lung machine. Obviously in scuba this is not the case. (Unless you're diving in an unsafe manner, you ALWAYS have a way out if your air source should suddenly disappear.) My problem with the use of this term in scuba gear sales and maintenance is that it's routinely misused by gear manufacturers and dealers to intimidate customers into spending money. It happened to me when I bought my first reg at the LDS, a SP MK2/R190. The shop owner asked me why I was buying an inexpensive reg, and said most of his customers felt their life was worth a higher end reg. I asked him if the reg was dangerous in any way, and if so, why was he selling it? He shut up, and I never bought another thing in that store. (I have bought some parts from the same shop, different location)

I apologize if I offended you, I did not mean anything personal. It's just that you are repeating a line that is often used in a manipulative fashion by dive shops as a sales tactic.