Service scuba gear before you go Dive for charity
If your last dive was last year, now’s the time to do it
South Florida scuba divers can enjoy the ocean yearround, but the truth is that most of them only go diving from now through the beginning of lobster season in August.
That’s when the water is warmest, seas are usually calm and the chances of catching a limit of spiny lobsters are the best.
That’s also why now is when you should make sure your scuba gear is in tip-top condition.
According to Brad Campbell, if it’s been a long time since your last dive, and even if your equipment worked fine and was properly stored, it could have some issues.
“One of the worst things you can do is have your equipment out of the water,” said Campbell, the product and warranty supervisor for Mares.
Campbell, who works in the Italian dive gear manufacturer’s Boca Raton headquarters, said that if you dive only a couple of times a year, the O-rings in your equipment can dry out while your gear sits in the garage or a closet.
“People just don’t maintain their gear,” said Quinn Atkinson, who, along with Campbell, handles repairs and also trains dive shop employees in how to service Mares equipment.
“They’ll say, ‘I only dive once or twice a year,’ then bring it on the boat and find problems.”
Mares recommends that its dive gear is serviced annually or after every 100 hours of use. Campbell said dive shops that are certified to repair Mares equipment can perform the service.
He and Atkinson can help dive shops diagnose problems over the phone; even shops that don’t sell Mares equipment. They work on gear that requires more than routine service as well as gear from divers who don’t have a local Mares dealer.
When a regulator comes in, Campbell checks to see if the first and second stages are properly adjusted, then he does the same for the octopus.
Then he’ll break down the regulator piece by piece. He’ll check the threading where hoses attach to make sure they’re not scored or damage. He’ll check the hoses to see if they’re cracked or broken. He’ll then check the diaphragms in the primary and octopus and replace worn O-rings.
“We do the same thing for a BCD,” Campbell said. “Make sure nothing is torn or broken, break down the inflator mechanism and service it.”
Then he’ll inflate the BCD to capacity and let it sit while he works on the regulator. He’ll check back to see if the BCD is leaking air, then test the deflator button, check that the BCD can be orally inflated and check the dump valves. He’ll also make sure that the mechanical release system for the dive weights is working properly.
Divers can do their own inspections of hoses by bending them left and right to make sure there are no cracks. If it requires increased effort to draw a breath, the regulator needs to be adjusted or repaired.
If you dive on wrecks, your BCD or a hose might have gotten caught on or scuffed by a piece of the wreck, unbeknownst to you, which could pose a problem on future dives.
Unless properly trained, divers should not take apart their equipment and attempt to make their own repairs. They could end up voiding the warranty, which Campbell said could be the least of their worries.
If your gear is ready for diving right now, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has a truly different Relay For Life event on Saturday.
Instead of walking to raise money to fight cancer, you can go diving.
Gold Coast Scuba is conducting eight beach dives starting at 9 a.m. at El Prado Park. In addition, there is standup paddleboarding, yoga, raffles, games, food and live music.
Register at meetup.com/ goldcoastscuba or call 954-616-5909 or Rich Barnhart at 954-980-7795.