The sport of SCUBA is unique in that life support gear is required to enjoy the underwater realm.  Properly maintained equipment is a key for safe enjoyment of SCUBA.  CBDC is an authorized service center for many types of SCUBA equipment.  CBDC sells regulators that have a limited lifetime warranty.  This warranty is maintained through annual service of the equipment.  Parts are provided by the manufacturer free of charge.  You pay only for the labor.  Lack of maintenance can cause you regulator to free flow or your BC  power inflator is to be "stuck" in the full on position.   These are both potentially dangerous situations!  It pays to invest in quality Aqualung, SeaQuest and Apex equipment!
 

All cylinder inspections
come with a free air fill!

Take the SSI Equipment Specialist Class and Learn
to Care for Your Gear!

Important Notice From Aqualung, SeaQuest and Suunto regarding Internet purchases.

• Regulator Service Plus a NEW Regulator Service FAQ!
• Cylinder Visual Inspections
• Cylinder Visual Inspection Plus (Update for Florida)
• Cylinder Hydrostatic Testing
• Oxygen Cleaning of Cylinders and Valves
• Warranty Repairs for all gear sold by CBDC or the manufacturer's authorized dealers.

Regulator Service + FAQ - Your regulator must be serviced each year to maintain the manufacturers lifetime warranty.  The Aqualung/Apex lifetime warranty includes new parts (o-rings and seals) annually but does not cover labor.  Service includes complete disassembly and cleaning of all parts.  All seals and o-rings are replaced with genuine  Aqualung/Apex parts and lubricated with oxygen compatible lubricant if the regulator is made for use with Nitrox.  Some older regulators can be upgraded for use with Nitrox. The intermediate pressure and other adjustments are reset to factory specifications.  NOTE:  CBDC recommends that the diver test any gear that has been serviced in a pool or other safe environment prior to undertaking any extensive diving.  After a regulator service by CBDC, we  will make any adjustments or additional checks that the diver feels are necessary for free.  Note that if you purchased you gear from an authorized dealer, any authorized dealer in the world will service it.

Q1. Why do I need to get my gear serviced, even if I only dive  a few times per year?
A. Although robust and reliable, regulators can and do go out of adjustment, affecting how easily they breath.  Plus, most divers don't rinse their gear properly, and so the service technician ensures that the regulator is thoroughly cleaned and operates to mfr. specifications.  Divers who dive in the 50 -100 dive per year range and many instructors opt for a servicing twice per year or at least an inspection.  Any life support gear (BC, reg. computer) purchased at CBDC can be brought in at any time for a quick check over.  Most times this service is free. Sometimes even dropping a regulator a short distance on to a hard surface (i.e. boat deck) can cause the intermediate pressure to move out of adjustment, and not allowing the reg. to operate as intended by the manufacturer.

Q2. What happens if I let my annual service agreement lapse? How would the manufacturer know?
A. You will then have to pay the for the cost of the replacement parts kits at each service. Your regulator should have a accompanying service log that has the dealer's stamp for last date of service.  You have to show the log to the service center to maintain the warranty and get the most recent stamp for service. The authorized service center (dive shop) contacts the manufacturer with the serial number of the gear inn order to get reimbursed for the parts.

Q3. I use High Pressure tanks.  Is there any issue?
A. Typically no, but let your service technician know.  HP tanks can rapidly wear the HP seat in the first stage, especially if the diver is active in the sport.  A worn HP seat can result in some degree of free flow because the intermediate pressure now creeps up until it is relieved by escaping through the second stage regulators. So annual HP Seat replacement is a must!

Q4. I have a reg. from another manufacturer.  We like your dive shop, but why won't you service it? 
A. We would like to service it but think about this from a safety perspective.  Most authorized dealers, including CBDC, will only service the brands that they sell because their service technicians are factory trained, have the factory parts, latest service manuals and all of the very specialized tools required.  Service technicians should not service life support gear that they have not been factory trained to service.  End of story.  Be suspicious if they do. There is a Huge liability and safety issue for the diver and dive shop when a service technician attempts to service life support gear that that they are not trained to service!

Q5.  I bought my life support gear from an authorized dealer in the Caribbean.  Can I maintain my lifetime warranty in the US?
A. Yes.  Simply take it to an authorized dealer and tell them where it was purchased.  They will verify the serial number with the manufacturer and you will receive standard factory service. The dive shop must do that in order to be reimbursed by the manufacturer or the cost of the parts kit.

Q6. I purchased a reg. on-line but now find that the local dive shops will not service it.  Why not? The shop is still making money right?
A. All of the high quality life support gear manufactures have a policy that their life support gear cannot be sold mail order or it will void the lifetime warranty.  Further, most manufacturers strongly recommend that their authorized dealers not service life support gear unless it is purchased from an authorized dealer.  Gear service is not considered a "profit center" by most dive shops.  Most regulators have numerous parts and a typical service can take several hours to perform properly, not including soak time or ultrasonic cleaning (if required).

Q7. How do I get my mail-order gear serviced?
A. Best bet is to send it back to the mail-order house if they are still in business.  Most divers find that any perceived savings of mail order are quickly lost to postage after a few annual services that typically take  between 4 - 8 weeks.  Further, if the reg. comes back and needs some further adjustment after a few dives, it must be sent back to the mail-order house for adjustment.  Most local dealers can't help you.  There is also risk that the reg. will be jarred out of adjustment when being shipped as well (see end of Q1) and may need minor tweaks by a qualified technician.

Q8. How can a mail order house advertise a "Full Manufacturer's Warranty"?
A. The mail-order house provides the warranty - not the manufacturer.  Note that the manufactures typically will not sell replacement parts to on-line retailers because they are not authorized dealers or service centers.  Thus the replacement parts may not be genuine manufacturer's replacement parts.  The big risk is if that mail order retailer goes out of business, you are stuck with a reg. that you may not be able to get serviced.

Q9. How is the dive store going to know that I bought my life support gear on-line?  Can't I just tell them I used to live in another state or lived in a different country?
When a dive shop takes a regulator in for service they call the manufacturer to check the serial number and register the service (to get the free parts kit).  Serial numbers are track to their point of purchase.  So the manufacturer can verify that the gear was purchased through an authorized retailer for both US and European sales.  The dive shop hates the situation when they have to say "I'm sorry, but we follow  the manufacturers recommended policies and cannot service your gear."

Q10. I purchased my reg used.  Can I get annual service?
A. It depends.  Take it to an authorized dealer and have the serial number checked.  If it was purchased from an authorized dealer you are good to go.  If the last service was within a year, check to see with the manufacturer if the lifetime warranty can transfer as well. 

Q11. I found that my used reg that I bought on eBay was not purchased from an authorized retailer.  How can I get my "unauthorized" gear serviced?

A. That's a tough one.  You have to look around for a  shop that will service the gear, but the shop typically charges two or three times the normal labor service plus parts kit, plus the shop may not be an authorized dealer and have all of the correct parts. (See Q4).

We recommend that you read the Important Notice from Aqualung/Apex, SeaQuest and Suunto regarding on-line purchases of life support equipment.  Authorized Aqualung/Apex, SeaQuest and Suunto dealers are not allowed to sell their products mail order.  All of the major manufacturers of quality life support gear have a similar policy. 

The manufacturers are truly concerned that the life support gear is assembled and tested by an authorized, factory trained technician after the sale. In fact we have seen a situation where high quality gear bought on-line failed catastrophically due to improper assembly by the mail order house.   An authorized dealer checks for these types of issues and will make most gear adjustments for free.

Visual Inspection - Every year you SCUBA cylinder must be inspected by a qualified technician to check for corrosion, moisture and other damage that could cause the cylinder to explode with devastating effects. After the exterior of your tank is examined for dents or corrosion, the interior is examined for moisture and corrosion or extensive oxidation.  Most times, mild to moderate corrosion or oxidation can be removed by a procedure called "rolling".  The tank is filled with either ceramic chips or glass beads and then rolled on a motorized device, much like a rock polisher, until the corrosion is removed.  In some cases, rust pitting in steel tanks may be so severe that the tank will fail inspection and must be removed from service (condemned).

Visual Plus Inspection - In 1994 the US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Safety Advisory Notice #94-7 which identified in detail most 6351-T6 alloy cylinders manufactured in the US. In 1999 the DOT issued a follow up Safety Advisory Notice #99-11 which reiterated and supplemented precautions regarding 6351-T6 alloy cylinders. Aluminum cylinders made of this allow have been found susceptible to stress load cracking. 6351-T6 cylinders have been  discovered with cracks in the threaded region of the neck where the tank valve is screwed in.  These cracks could cause the tank to explode when filled. 

Developed by a leader in state-of-the-art non-destructive testing technology, Visual Plus uses eddy currents to thoroughly inspect the threaded neck region of aluminum cylinders.  As the electrical current flows through the metal, Visual Plus measures the tiny fluctuations in the electrical current and can detect the smallest imperfections.  So by using Visual Plus, we are able to detect cylinder flaws that other inspectors, who rely on the naked eye, might miss or wrongly diagnose.  In this way we provide you with a superior cylinder inspection.  Your tank will receive a Visual Plus sticker. 

The following is a list of scuba tanks that the DOT says are most likely made from the 6351-T6 aluminum alloy:

• All DOT-3AL tanks manufactured under one of the following exemptions or special permits: 6498, 7042, 8107, 8364, 8422
• All Walter Kidde DOT-3AL scuba tanks.
• All Cliff Impact DOT-3AL scuba tanks made before July 1990.
• All Luxfer 80.8 cu. ft. scuba tanks (S80.8) made before May 1987.
• All Luxfer scuba tanks made before August 1987.
• All other scuba tanks made in the US before February 1990 (except Catalina).
• All scuba tanks not made in the US.

Unless proven otherwise, all scuba tanks in the above list should be assumed as being made using the 6351-T6 alloy. Also, it should be noted that Catalina cylinders were NEVER made from the 6351-T6 alloy. They were made using alloy 6061-T6, which as of yet, has not been known to fail explosively. All of the manufacturers in the above list, except Walter Kidde, switched to the 6061-T6 alloy on the dates shown.

Note: Visual Plus is necessary only for aluminum cylinders and is required by the dive shops in North Carolina and Florida.  Update: We have heard that Florida dive shops have quit filling any SCUBA cylinder made of 6351-T6 alloy.

Hydrostatic Testing - Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations require that a SCUBA cylinder must be hydrostatically tested every 5 years.  To "hydro" a tank, the tank valve is removed and and filled with water.  Air is then pumped into the tank up to a test pressure set by the DOT and is typically 5/3 of the working pressure.  The tank must hold that pressure for a short but fixed period of time with out expanding more than a small amount.  Excessive expansion indicates metal fatigue, typically from over filling, and the tank is in danger of catastrophic failure.  So, the the tank must be removed from service (condemned).  These tanks cannot be repaired.  Note that hot dipped galvanized steel tanks from Pressed Steel require special procedures for testing that if not followed, many times will indicate that the tank has failed hydro.

Oxygen Compatible Cleaning (O2 Cleaning) - O2 cleaning prepares a SCUBA cylinder,  valve and o-rings for use with NITROX.  Cleaning is necessary because your cylinder may be exposed to high pressure oxygen at concentrations greater than 40% and typically up to 100% during a NITROX fill.  O2 cleaning removes hydrocarbon particles that may be in the valve or cylinder left there from regular SCUBA air compressors that deliver Standard SCUBA Air.  The cylinder valve is removed, disassembled and ultrasonically cleaned in a degreasing agent.  The valve is dried and reassembled with NITROX compatible o-rings and lubricants.  The cylinder is also cleaned internally with a degreasing agent, rinsed with an O2 compatible corrosion inhibitor and dried.

NOTE: Once your cylinder has been O2 cleaned, you must be sure that your cylinders are filled with O2 compatible air or else the cylinder would need to be cleaned again before the next NITROX fill.  See our NITROX FAQ for more information