Thoughts on buying used SCUBA gear

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by wizoc

I currently have 2 OMS backplates and manifolds each with double 66 steel tanks. We don't use then any more and would sell each cheaply. They are currently out of both hydro and vip. Anyone interested please PM me.

Steel or aluminium backplates? I might be interested in the backplate and harness if in good shape, my back is shot for doubles but I need a smaller travel wing setup.

[MicHughV]

diving with a buddy reduces your chance of being eaten be a shark by 50%...good enuff reason for me

[LargeMarge]

We dove Baja starting in the 1960s.
All our SCUBA gear is used.

Our treasures include 50 doubles.
Doubles avoid that flopping of singles.

Our ponys are automatically part of any dive prep.

Our camera gear was all acquired from boards at SCUBA shops.

Every piece of our dive gear is used.

If you are newish to diving, used gear allows you to experiment with different set-ups, swapping around with your buds without 'new gear' anxiety.

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

Says who? There is a school of thought in the tek community that having a buddy is a significant risk factor.

I frequently dive alone as it let's me have single minded focus on my photography. Cheers!!

Many divers I know occasionally dive alone. It's not that big of deal.

Agreed. Reports have surfaced this past week of a BSAC instructor requiring an ambulance and serious medical attention (inc. the sending of a helicopter) after having an OOG situation at reasonable depth (circa 30m) AND the buddy being unable to assist.

I would never, ever trust a buddy to save my bacon.... but for new divers, having a buddy for reassurance, to perform pre-dive checks, and to essentially act as a second set of eyes and air tanks is an absolute.

N

[wizoc]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

Steel or aluminium backplates? I might be interested in the backplate and harness if in good shape, my back is shot for doubles but I need a smaller travel wing setup.

Both are stainless. Im not sure it would make sense to break up the setup.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

no newbie should dive alone....period !!!

I do not disagree with this. But I will point out that I have never had anyone else in the water with me even when I was teaching myself. Just sayin. Of course my diving is strictly confined to getting work done on the boat and related matters, like retrieving tools and parts. Not all divers do it deeper. I am working at 20' or less. I'm not in the water to explore or sightsee. I don't care about that and if I HAD to dive to 60' or so, I would hit the books (or youtube) again and find myself a dive buddy. Preferably one with a brightly colored wetsuit who swims much slower than me. (in case of a hungry shark).

[JC Reefer]

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

Wasn't aware that thanks originally manufactured as SCUBA tanks could be "too old for hydrotesting". If they are tested, and fail, then yes, they are condemned, and taken out of service. But "too old for testing", Do you have a reference that you can point me to? I try hard to not learn anything new, but sometimes new information just kind of "slips in"! Thanks.

It’s not that a tank just expires. But there are some tanks brands that dive shops will not touch because they were known to explode. Standards have changed but you still find 20+ year old tanks from these known brands floating out there.

I have 4 tanks that are all about 30 years old. 2 Can be used and the other 2 fall is this junk category. Might turn them into wind chimes.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

no newbie should dive alone....period !!!

Instead of emphatically digging in on the your directive why not provide some support so we can understand where you are coming from.

[MicHughV]

Diving 10-20' to take pictures or clean a boat, etc, is not the same as diving to 100-150'....you know it....I know it..

The purpose of this thread is to provide some guidance to a newbie diver, asking about diving gear, not get into a pissing match with you about diving alone. There is recreational diving, spearfishing, cleaning, wreck diving, cave diving, work related diving, dry suit diving, etc, many sides to this coin, but I suspect, that as a newbie diver, recreational diving is the reason to get into this sport.

No-one is going to force or mandate anyone to dive with...or without a buddy...that's your call.....you wanna dive alone...that's your call....my advice to a newbie diver is to dive with a buddy. That's my advice and recommendation, not your advice or recommendation. The newbie diver can do as he/she pleases.

Would I provide the same advice to a diver with 50 years of experience, no I would not. Such a diver would not be on this thread soliciting advice for dive gear selection.

[LakeSuperior]

MicHughV thanks for the clarification. IMHO there an a number of scenarios where there would be exceptions to the dive alone guidance for a diver with a shiny new C card.

a. A dive in shallow lake where one could stand.

b. Strong swimmer (on the swim team.)

c. Having long term snorkeling experience.

d. Confident, pay attention to detail guy, that is a water rat type.

These are just a few examples. I guess I always get my hackles up when someone flat out says you can't do this and there are no exceptions.

[donradcliffe]

Since this a cruising forum, all of the advice on renting vs owning does not apply to diving in remote areas off your own boat. Ditto for annual servicing of regs and VIP for tanks. We did carry extra gear for guests and for when there was a breakdown I couldn't fix with the SaveaDive kit. We never pushed the no decompression limits, and never drove in strong currents without a pickup boat .

[MicHughV]

LakeSuperior, I had a girlfriend that took her "check out" dive in a lake, where the water was so dirty, you could not see your hand in front of of your face, let alone your buddy..others have done their "check out" dives in a swimming pool, and still others get on a dive boat and go down 100'.

I've done recovery diving for the police for drowned bodies, where the water/mud was so murky and the bottom so strewn with debris, you had to be towed by someone swimming on top of the water as you were unable to tell which direction you were going.....you had to have a dive buddy to help untangle from all the broken branches down there...I'm talking hand holding buddy diving here...

Yet, I've gone spearfishing with divers that think nothing of swimming off 100' from you...to chase a fish...ditto for cave diving....

I've been on two dives, where sharks tried to take a bit out of a diver...

I've done numerous "group" dives, where, after 5 minutes, no-one is to be seen.

As a "sport", diving is not without it's travails...diving with a "buddy" is an elusive goal. I've tended to err on the side of caution....

I first got certified back in the early 70's, when part of the "check out" dive consisted of swimming a 100 yards in a pool, fully equipped, and then helping a "comatose" diver" out of the pool...ok, the "comatose" diver was your buddy pretending to be comatose...our equipment back then was the double hose regulator setup.....aging myself here...

Today, getting certified, is a long walk, from how I remember it.

On the lighter side, I introduced my younger brother to diving...our first splash into the water put us face to face with a large nurse shark...my brother clambered onto my back and would not get off until we got back to the swim ladder...now that's buddy diving

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

...our equipment back then was the double hose regulator setup.....aging myself here...

Oh yeah... I remember you from "Sea Hunt".

[Scubaseas]

our equipment back then was the double hose regulator setup.....aging myself here...

Back when sex was safe and diving was dangerous, And everyone dove with a sword attached to their leg.



But then statistically Bowling is more dangerous than scuba diving.

[MicHughV]

all true....

I grew up in an era when there were no seatbelt in cars...kids could ride in the back of a pickup truck....helmets were not required to ride a bicycle...no-one had heard of AIDS....and if you got someone pregnant, you did the honorable thing and married her..you still said, yessir, no ma'am, and kids did not shoot other kids in school, there's a lot more off course....but wtf......I'd be wasting my breath....

tell me what you want....the modern era has been lawyered to death....

but back to scuba gear.......yep, diving in dem days was not like it is today....not even close....having a dive buddy was paramount to your diving safety...

I wish the OP all the best in his diving endeavors and hope he has gleaned some useful information here...