Yet another "Try your gear after service" thread
- Thread starter mistressmotorsports
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paradicio
Contributor
Great story mistress, glad you were able to find that before your big trip. We had a problem with an Atom2 after service, the "low battery" indicator came on. I called Oceanic and they replaced it with no hassle.
mistress, since you're here in So Cal, could you PM me the name of the shop.
mistress, since you're here in So Cal, could you PM me the name of the shop.
You dont even need to "dive" it to check it.
All you need to do is hook everything up to a tank, turn on the air, inflate the bc and let everything set over night the tank psi shouldn't change unless you have a leak or a "huge" temperture change and you bc should still be inflated.
But a pool dive is a more fun way to check.
All you need to do is hook everything up to a tank, turn on the air, inflate the bc and let everything set over night the tank psi shouldn't change unless you have a leak or a "huge" temperture change and you bc should still be inflated.
But a pool dive is a more fun way to check.
OP
mistressmotorsports
Contributor
Sooooooooo (that's like "so" but with three syllables,) here's what happened. Apparently there was more than one failure in procedure. First, there was a seal that was completely left out of the unit. That was chalked up to training. The second problem is that they didn't catch the problem in testing. They explained why they didn't catch it, and it has something to do with the unit being an octo/inflator, although it's not a good reason or even a good excuse. Apparently, after service, they checked the reg part of the unit, but they didn't actually try to inflate a BC with it or hold the unit under water with pressure on the exhaust side from an actual BC or whatever. They even went so far as to say that a lot of customers bring in just the octos with no BC attached, making it hard for them to check. Of course this was not a satisfactory answer to me. I asked why they had a hard time checking mine when the regs, octo/inflator and BC were all brought in together. The bottom line is, I believe they had a new(ish) person doing the work without proper supervision and double checking. I don't know how they certify their techs, and I decided I didn't care enough to ask. I, of course, do find this inattention to detail and my safety to be totally unacceptable. I did get my unit back, I will still be swimming around a chilly pool again tonight, and I'm sure I will have a great time in Hawaii. I do need to think about who will be doing my servicing from now on.
p.s. The lead tech thanked me for not making a big stink about this. I replied that making a big stink to him wouldn't do any good, but that he shouldn't interpret my lack of yelling as a lack of concern or anger. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel the need to make a big stink to the proper person at the LDS. I understand that stuff happens. If it was a nicked seal that caused trouble later and was difficult to detect, that would have been one thing. But a misssing component that could have easily been detected with just a simple pressure check is really unacceptable. At least it was obvious to a non-expert like me, saving lots of hassle and problems later.
Mike
p.s. The lead tech thanked me for not making a big stink about this. I replied that making a big stink to him wouldn't do any good, but that he shouldn't interpret my lack of yelling as a lack of concern or anger. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel the need to make a big stink to the proper person at the LDS. I understand that stuff happens. If it was a nicked seal that caused trouble later and was difficult to detect, that would have been one thing. But a misssing component that could have easily been detected with just a simple pressure check is really unacceptable. At least it was obvious to a non-expert like me, saving lots of hassle and problems later.
Mike
Gee what a prince! No refund, store credit or air card? Just thanks for not making a stink?
The presence or absence of an alternate is no excuse. they should have a connector if they accept the service job or at least ask that the mating system come along. In your case it was totally silly.
The presence or absence of an alternate is no excuse. they should have a connector if they accept the service job or at least ask that the mating system come along. In your case it was totally silly.
DivingPrincessE
Contributor
If I were you I would simply find a new shop and them communicate to the owner that you will no longer be using their shop and state the reason. Let your money do the talking.
On the topic of testing out gear after servicing. I just bought a set up (reg/octo, BCD) from my LDS for Christmas. I wanted to test it out before my trip in March so I asked if I could join them in the pool during their next open water class. It was a very good thing I did this because I learned a few very important things about my reg that I would not have wanted to learn on some random dive boat in the Caribbean.
On the topic of testing out gear after servicing. I just bought a set up (reg/octo, BCD) from my LDS for Christmas. I wanted to test it out before my trip in March so I asked if I could join them in the pool during their next open water class. It was a very good thing I did this because I learned a few very important things about my reg that I would not have wanted to learn on some random dive boat in the Caribbean.
matt_unique
Guest
The most likely time for gear to fail is right after service. I don't leave the shop before connecting everything to a tank anymore.
A shop does not certify their techs.
A repair tech is supposed to go to a class offered by the makers of the equipment they are going to be working on. Most of them even give you a neat diploma to hang on the shop wall.
I got mine for Scubapro,Aqualung,Oceanic,TUSA,Prosub,Mares,Dacor,Poesidon andTekna.
Alot of shops let new people work on gear sometimes just rental sometimes yours...
Next time I would ask to meet the person who is working on your gear and tell them what happened.
A "good" shop should have all kinds of "cool" tools for working on your brand of gear even though most gear is the same to work on as far as tools go but some of us oldtimers can just use a pair of needle nose and some duck tape.
A repair tech is supposed to go to a class offered by the makers of the equipment they are going to be working on. Most of them even give you a neat diploma to hang on the shop wall.
I got mine for Scubapro,Aqualung,Oceanic,TUSA,Prosub,Mares,Dacor,Poesidon andTekna.
Alot of shops let new people work on gear sometimes just rental sometimes yours...
Next time I would ask to meet the person who is working on your gear and tell them what happened.
A "good" shop should have all kinds of "cool" tools for working on your brand of gear even though most gear is the same to work on as far as tools go but some of us oldtimers can just use a pair of needle nose and some duck tape.
ArcticDiver
Contributor
Unfortunately mistakes by techs, factory and LDS, occur. Here is what has happened to me in the past two years:
-New DIN regulator delivered with a missing internal washer causing leaks. Claimed cause: The tech doing the work converted a yoke to a din. He forgot to install the washer.
-Immediately after service found a washer in the second stage. Different brand and different shop. Cause: Who knows? The reg worked fine but never did figure out where the washer came from.
-Two new DIN regulators delivered with no external O rings. Since I broke the seals I'm pretty sure this was a factory problem. Cause: The factory rep said they didn't know how it happened; but the regs were sent out without testing.
-Discovered that din-yoke adapters are not all created the same. Some work better than others. Between the selling shop and SB got the thing figured out and now I'm more knowledgable.
Asking around I've discovered several divers who expect problems with new or recently serviced regulators and are rarely disappointed. Some brands, even "highly rated" ones are right in the mix.
So: Test dive before the trip, or not? I guess it depends on where you are going and the purpose of the trip. If you are going to a place with lots of dive shops and your trip is not primarily diving you've got an out if something doesn't work. On the other hand, if you are going somewhere where service facilities aren't as available, or you are going to lose precious dive time/money test dive first.
You notice I didn't mention any brands. That is deliberate because I don't know if the problem is specific or systemic.
-New DIN regulator delivered with a missing internal washer causing leaks. Claimed cause: The tech doing the work converted a yoke to a din. He forgot to install the washer.
-Immediately after service found a washer in the second stage. Different brand and different shop. Cause: Who knows? The reg worked fine but never did figure out where the washer came from.
-Two new DIN regulators delivered with no external O rings. Since I broke the seals I'm pretty sure this was a factory problem. Cause: The factory rep said they didn't know how it happened; but the regs were sent out without testing.
-Discovered that din-yoke adapters are not all created the same. Some work better than others. Between the selling shop and SB got the thing figured out and now I'm more knowledgable.
Asking around I've discovered several divers who expect problems with new or recently serviced regulators and are rarely disappointed. Some brands, even "highly rated" ones are right in the mix.
So: Test dive before the trip, or not? I guess it depends on where you are going and the purpose of the trip. If you are going to a place with lots of dive shops and your trip is not primarily diving you've got an out if something doesn't work. On the other hand, if you are going somewhere where service facilities aren't as available, or you are going to lose precious dive time/money test dive first.
You notice I didn't mention any brands. That is deliberate because I don't know if the problem is specific or systemic.
seaducer
Contributor
Nobody is perfect, and anyone can have a bad day, or suddenly become so busy that they forget a step bouncing from job to job. I am glad you didn't get hurt of course, but I would give the shop another chance. They made good on the repair? They were properly apologetic? My personal opinion is people over-react because this is "life support equipment". Understandable, but I try not to hold shop techs to a higher standard than I do anyone else. Everyone is entitled to a mistake and a chance to fix it now and then...
I think the lesson here is, always test new or serviced anything in as benign an environment as you can, because once something is opened up, all bets are off. Dive gear, computers, cars, boats, all of it.
I think the lesson here is, always test new or serviced anything in as benign an environment as you can, because once something is opened up, all bets are off. Dive gear, computers, cars, boats, all of it.
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