Equipment Maintenance & Repairs
Take Good Care of Your Scuba Gear
Whether you’ve only seen a scuba diver in action or you’re already a diver yourself, you know that diving is an equipment intensive activity.
To protect your scuba gear (and yourself given that scuba equipment is essentially life-support equipment) it’s important to care for it correctly. Most scuba gear comes with instructional manuals describing manufacturer recommendations for care and maintenance, but here are some general suggestions to help keep your scuba gear in tip top shape:
- One good thing about scuba gear is that because it’s waterproof, you can wash it. In fact, all scuba gear should be rinsed in clean, fresh water after every dive. Then, it should be dried before storing it in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
- Remember to dry and firmly replace the regulator’s dust cap before rinsing the regulator to avoid any water entering the first stage. Ideally, rinse the regulator while it is still attached to the scuba tank and pressurized. That way no water will enter at all.
- Use clips and other attachments to keep all hoses and gauges close to your body while scuba diving. This prevents them from dragging across sharp rocks or coral. This also keeps them from or getting snagged or dirty.
- Handle scuba tanks with care. They are heavy and you shouldn’t leave them standing up unattended – they can fall over and damage the valve or nearby toes.
- You should rinse both the inside and outside of your BCD. Make sure to drain the water, then always store your BCD partially inflated.
- Regularly inspect your mask strap, fin straps, snorkel and regulator mouthpieces and hoses for any sign of wear and tear. Sunlight, stretching and teeth easily damage these items so you might need to replace them sooner than expected.
- After rinsing your wetsuit, hang it up to dry inside out on a wide hanger.
Yearly Maintenance of your Scuba Gear
Most equipment manufacturers require regulators to be serviced by an authorized dealer to maintain the warranty. To facility this process they provide the parts kits at no cost. AquaLung and Apeks replace the parts every two years, while Scubapro gives free parts every year. Even though Aqualung and Apeks gives free parts kits every two years, their regulators need to be services anually. The consumer pays the anual labor for the cleaning and servicing.
Scuba cylinders have to be visually inspected yearly. All Aluminium tanks are eddy current tested for tank neck imperfections. According to DOT laws, every five years tanks must be hydrostatically tested.
We also offer other services, such as O2 cleaning, value rebuilding, computer battery replacement…..virtually anything you need to get your Scuba gear back in working order.
Basic Labor Rates for Service
| Service |
Rate |
| 1st stage |
$35 |
| 2nd stage |
$30 |
| BC |
$20 |
| |
|
| VIP Aluminum tanks |
$15 |
| VIP Steel tanks |
$10 |
| Hydrostatic test |
$25 |
| |
|
| Regulator Assembly and Testing
(if not bought from Aquatic Safaris) |
$30 |
| Tank O2 cleaning |
$50 |
| Regulator O2 cleaning |
$50 |
| Valve Rebuild |
$15 + parts |
| Battery Service |
varies with computer |
| Drysuit neck replacement |
$100, includes seal |
| Drysuit wrists replacement |
$100, includes seals |
| |
|
| General Labor Rate |
$60/hr $10 minimum |
