| Some of us warm blooded types have been out of the water
for a while so for you who are dry suit or double 6 millers
or just warm yourselves on rocks at the end of your dive,
please bear with me. This is THE time of year to
get your gear ready for the upcoming season. There are many
reasons not the least of which is it tends to be little
slower right now for the local dive shops. Except for their
good fortune in dealing with the snowbirds (excuse me
“Seasonal Residents”) they have time to do repair and
maintenance.
Unpack your stuff, dust it off, unroll it, hook it up and
test it. You may find a few surprises. Little stuff, like
rust on the dive tool, a little corrosion here and there on
some things that didn’t get completely rinsed prior to
storage, things like that. Quick connects on low pressure
inflators can get a little stiff and need to be lubricated
and or adjusted. A note on lubricants: Use extreme caution
on what type and how much you use. Some chemicals in
different oils and grease are not compatible with some of
the materials that our stuff is made from. Seals, “O” Rings,
silicone straps and the like, can all react poorly to the
wrong types of oils and grease so always refer to the
manufacturers recommendations. Even our trusty old can of WD
40 can turn into a deadly dive gear eating monster if
applied to the wrong stuff so be careful.
Get your regulators serviced now. If you do not get them
done once a year, shame on you! Delicate Springs, valves,
seats, gizmos and other bright shiny things are inside and
they need to be retuned and brought back into factory
tolerances at least annually. Do it now. Don’t wait until a
week before you are packing for a trip. Allow for a long
turn around time therefore avoiding the panic. Getting them
in and out of the shop early also gives you the time to
check them yourself in the pool or a shallow dive locally
before you need them for heavy duty use. You should check
them out yourself prior to dropping down any deeper than you
care to make an unplanned ascent from. This is your
responsibility. Don’t let yourself down. All of the local
shops are highly qualified but still, you have to check your
stuff yourself. Some manufacturers want annuals to maintain
warranties. This sucks if you have different pieces of gear
bought at different times of the year and falling due for
service at different times. You can usually plead your case
to the shop and try to get everything on the same schedule.
It’s a lot easier that way. And Oh by the way, don’t be
cheap skate, get your octopus done as well.
Get your tanks hydroed NOW! Whatever the month they are
due. (See Previous Article on how to identify marks on SCUBA
cylinders) If you have tanks that are nearing their out of
hydro date get them done early in the season. Take all the
ones that will fall out of hydro this calendar year
regardless of the month in at once. So what, you loose a few
months of time till hydro but they are done for the year.
Don’t wait (like I did one year) till July. Guess what,
Lobster Season. I couldn’t even rent a tank. The pros at the
shop still pulled it off and got my tanks back in time but
it was my poor planning that caused the unneeded stress.
Camera gear needs to be checked and in some cases sent
back to the factory for testing, resealing and
recalibration. New “O” Rings need to be bought now and get a
back up set while you are at it. If these things are back
ordered you still have time to wait or find another source
for the parts.
Don’t forget about your U/W watches, computers,
flashlights and virtually any other of our little “O” Ring
loving battery operated little wonders that sat quietly
oozing little amounts of corrosive gasses in the air spaces
of your treasured electronics.
Thanks and Good Diving
Todd |
