What's a reasonable standard for rental equipment maintenance?

"mike gray" <omgray@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:U4JLe.605656$cg1.17994@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Douglas W. "Popeye" Frederick wrote:
>
> >
> > Excellent essay on why you should own your own gear.
> >
> > My LDS uses top of the line Scubapro gear, and services it regularly.
> >
> > If you told the truth, it's also your responsibility to name the
operator.
>
>
> Dive shops take much better care of their rental gear because
> they hope to sell you some.
>
> When the dive shop gear gets a bit old and worn, they sell it to
> the charter ops.
>
> An essay on why ya should rent yer gear from the LDS, not from
> the charter.

I stand corrected on that point.

I missed the diff between LDS and charter op.

mike gray wrote:
> Scott wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> "Wayne" <myranger17@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
>> news:yYyLe.214250$s54.185930@pd7tw2no...
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>> My question for the group: Is this both normal and acceptable for
>>> rental
>>
>>
>> gear? Before I go bad-mouthing that dive operator I'd like to be able to
>> put it in perspective.
>>
>> Absolutely unacceptable. Demand a refund.
>>
>> This is life support equipment.
>
>
> No, it's not. It's scuba gear.

Well, if you can live without it at 150fsw... do let me know how you get on.

BarryNL wrote:
Absolutely unacceptable. Demand a refund.
>>>
>>> This is life support equipment.
>>
>>
>>
>> No, it's not. It's scuba gear.
>
>
> Well, if you can live without it at 150fsw... do let me know how you get
> on.

I have no intention of living there, and I'm too old and worn
out to free dive that deep.

Artificial means to get there and hang out awhile are real
handy, and scuba is prolly the cheapest.

If the scuba fails utterly and completely, life support
equipment would be an alternative, I suppose.

Wayne,

I'm a newbie so I don't have loads of experience, but my dive
instructor maintained his equipment. He was also the cheapest PADI
agency in town. Go figure.

After being certified I bought my own gear. It's my life on the line
and I like to take full responsibility.

You paid to rent operational equipment. You received inoperative
equipment. I think this is unacceptable.

It sounds like you are an active diver. It might make sense to buy and
maintain your own gear.

Mike Jarrells

Wayne wrote:
> Have just returned from my first warm water dives since becoming certified. In five dives arranged through the
>
<SNIP LOTS OF GOOD DETAIL>
>
> My question for the group: Is this both normal and acceptable for rental gear? Before I go bad-mouthing that dive operator I'd like to be able to put it in perspective.
>
> Thanks,
> Wayne

mike gray wrote:
> Wayne wrote:
>
> > Have just returned from my first warm water dives since becoming certified. In five dives arranged through the same dive shop I, or my buddy, had primary and secondary 2nd stage regs. that could not be convinced to stop leaking; a leaky low pressure inflator; an SPG that indicated a full tank even after 35 minutes at 45'; and a depth gauge that would show 0' or 40' and nothing in between.
> >
> > We couldn't pressurize the gear until we were on the dive boat, by which time the leaky regs and inflator were all we had to go with. We quickly learned to check the SPG for an ability to show changing pressure before leaving the boat after that one bad experience, but the faulty depth gauge still has me stumped.
> >
> > When returning the equipment after each dive the attendant didn't ask if there was anything that needed to be fixed or adjusted, didn't seem to want to hear about it, and just put the stuff back on the rack for the next poor sod to deal with.
> >
> > Admittedly, nobody died and in most cases the problems were more inconveniences than seriously dangerous but it did not leave me with a good feeling.
> >
> > My question for the group: Is this both normal and acceptable for rental gear? Before I go bad-mouthing that dive operator I'd like to be able to put it in perspective.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Wayne
> >
>
> The vast majority of rental gear is used in shallow water,
> non-challenging dives. As long as it gets the job done, no foul,
> and it's extremely rare that any gear, even in the poorest
> condition, will not get the job done in such conditions.
>
> Such non-threatening gear quirks are alarming to newbies,
> annoying to anal "life-support" types, and expected by the rest.

Call me anal-retentive if you want, but I would disagree.
Leaks are only annoying but a dysfunctional SPG or depth gauge is a
real problem,
especially if you are relatively inexperienced.

And in my experience, rental gear is better than this, even though I
would
always want to test it at the shop/pier, when it is still time to fix
or change
any deffective item

Cheers,

Froggy

Did you tell the dive shop there was a problem with the equipment or just
let them put it back on the shelf?


"Wayne" <myranger17@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:yYyLe.214250$s54.185930@pd7tw2no...
> Have just returned from my first warm water dives since becoming
certified. In five dives arranged through the same dive shop I, or my
buddy, had primary and secondary 2nd stage regs. that could not be convinced
to stop leaking; a leaky low pressure inflator; an SPG that indicated a full
tank even after 35 minutes at 45'; and a depth gauge that would show 0' or
40' and nothing in between.
>
> We couldn't pressurize the gear until we were on the dive boat, by which
time the leaky regs and inflator were all we had to go with. We quickly
learned to check the SPG for an ability to show changing pressure before
leaving the boat after that one bad experience, but the faulty depth gauge
still has me stumped.
>
> When returning the equipment after each dive the attendant didn't ask if
there was anything that needed to be fixed or adjusted, didn't seem to want
to hear about it, and just put the stuff back on the rack for the next poor
sod to deal with.
>
> Admittedly, nobody died and in most cases the problems were more
inconveniences than seriously dangerous but it did not leave me with a good
feeling.
>
> My question for the group: Is this both normal and acceptable for rental
gear? Before I go bad-mouthing that dive operator I'd like to be able to
put it in perspective.
>
> Thanks,
> Wayne
>
>

"Flea Dog" <JRE100NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message news:rPvMe.4348$cg.4189@news02.roc.ny...

> Did you tell the dive shop there was a problem with the equipment or just
> let them put it back on the shelf?
>

Guilty as charged. After getting no support from either of the DM's who either tried to help with the equipment or, in the case of the malfunctioning SPG cut short the dive, and seeing the disinterest in the rental shop attendant I concluded that I was just a worrywart and let him put the stuff back on the rack. Which is exactly what prompted my question to this group.

Next time I'll be more inclined to push for the stuff to be set aside, at least until I'm out of sight.



>
> "Wayne" <myranger17@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
> news:yYyLe.214250$s54.185930@pd7tw2no...

>> Have just returned from my first warm water dives since becoming

> certified. In five dives arranged through the same dive shop I, or my
> buddy, had primary and secondary 2nd stage regs. that could not be convinced
> to stop leaking; a leaky low pressure inflator; an SPG that indicated a full
> tank even after 35 minutes at 45'; and a depth gauge that would show 0' or
> 40' and nothing in between.

>>
>> We couldn't pressurize the gear until we were on the dive boat, by which

> time the leaky regs and inflator were all we had to go with. We quickly
> learned to check the SPG for an ability to show changing pressure before
> leaving the boat after that one bad experience, but the faulty depth gauge
> still has me stumped.

>>
>> When returning the equipment after each dive the attendant didn't ask if

> there was anything that needed to be fixed or adjusted, didn't seem to want
> to hear about it, and just put the stuff back on the rack for the next poor
> sod to deal with.

>>
>> Admittedly, nobody died and in most cases the problems were more

> inconveniences than seriously dangerous but it did not leave me with a good
> feeling.

>>
>> My question for the group: Is this both normal and acceptable for rental

> gear? Before I go bad-mouthing that dive operator I'd like to be able to
> put it in perspective.

>>
>> Thanks,
>> Wayne
>>
>>

>
>

"mike gray" <omgray@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message news:U4JLe.605656$cg1.17994@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

> Douglas W. "Popeye" Frederick wrote:
>

>>
>> Excellent essay on why you should own your own gear.
>>
>> My LDS uses top of the line Scubapro gear, and services it regularly.
>>
>> If you told the truth, it's also your responsibility to name the operator.

>
>
> Dive shops take much better care of their rental gear because
> they hope to sell you some.
>
> When the dive shop gear gets a bit old and worn, they sell it to
> the charter ops.
>
> An essay on why ya should rent yer gear from the LDS, not from
> the charter.
>


Thanks Mike, that's a very useful distinction. I had done a lot of research on the web prior to making the trip, but ultimately used the operator at the resort simply because it was convenient and I rationalized that as a beginner I would not be stressing the equipment in the same way that a more advanced diver would. And I was very happy with the D.M.s' performance, particularly on the cenotes dives.

As I mentioned in an earlier posting this evening, the operator was Dressel, working out of the Barceló Maya Beach Resort, Puerto Juarez, Quintana Roo, Mexico. If anyone wants to challenge the veracity of my posts, I did make these comments on the resort's comment card prior to check-out and they may be able to confirm same if you want to contact them.

Wayne

"Wayne" wrote in message news:lnxPe.307241$5V4.217718@pd7tw3no...
> Grumman, I like your "improvise, adapt, overcome" philosophy. If I
> repeat it, I'll be sure to give you credit.

Thanks, but give credit where credit is due -- USMC...

Wayne wrote:
> This response, and Mike Gray's ("No, he went with unreasonable expectations. He should have his C-card stamped "Stage 1 Experience".") illustrate exactly the conundrum I have been wrestling with, i.e. am I a wus to expect the equipment to function perfectly? As I'd noted in the original question, several of the problems appeared to be no worse than inconveniences. If the air leaked from the reg. or low pressure inflator I'd simply have cut the dive short and returned to the surface. The depth gauge problem was tolerable so long as I could follow the D.M. But when my buddy's SPG wouldn't give a reliable reading even the D.M. admitted that wasn't a good situation.
>
> One of the folks who gets credit for getting me started in scuba often told me that it is important to get good, reliable, equipment so that I could concentrate on enjoying the dive rather than fighting the gear. With that in mind, my expectation was that everything would work more or less flawlessly. Sure enough, when it did exhibit problems it was a distraction from enjoying the passing scenery.
>
> My conclusion is that I did learn a lot from the experiences, which is worthwhile.


It IS important to get good, reliable, equipment. But (1) modern
scuba gear is loaded up with a lot of conveniences which become
inconveniences when they don't work just right, and (2) there
are very few potential problems that actually put you at risk,
and those are very very rare.

A leaky inflator is an annoyance. If it's leaking into the BC,
disconnect it. If it's leaking elsewhere, you are unlikely to
lose enough air to change yer dive plan.

A depth gauge failure on a deep solo wreck dive means abort and
follow yer plan to the surface, but not panic. In a group on a
rec dive when you are going to run out of gas before you run out
of time anyway, it is an annoyance. A gauge that reads shallower
than actual is a real danger if yer doing deco, or getting close
to it.

Don't know what you mean by a leaky second stage. Perhaps it was
just set up too light and bubbling, but again, you are unlikely
to lose enough air to change yer dive plan.

Modern scuba gear is like modern cars: sure it's a pisser when
the CD player skips right in the middle of La Grange. And ya
better pay attention when the oil pressure gauge drops to zero.

The experienced diver knows (a) what's important and what's not,
and (b) what to do in each case.

BTW, my inflator hose has been leaking for a couple months now.
I'll take care of it one of these days when I get rained out and
don't have anything better to do.