Service and Repairs

Take good care of your scuba gear

Whether you've only seen a scuba diver in action or you're already a diver yourself, you know that diving is an equipment intensive activity. To protect your scuba equipment (and yourself given that scuba equipment is essentially life-support equipment) it's important to care for it correctly.

Maintenance of your Scuba Gear:

Regulators: Most equipment manufacturers require regulators to be serviced annually by an authorized dealer to maintain the warranty and FREE PARTS FOR LIFE programs.

BCDs: A Buoyancy Compensation Device (BCD) should be serviced annually or as often as the manufacturer recommends, whichever comes first. Many manufacturers offer limited lifetime warranties that are only valid if the BCD is serviced annually.

Scuba cylinders have to be visually inspected yearly. According to DOT laws, every five years tanks must be hydrostatically tested.

We Offer Factory Authorized Service For The Following Brands:

Apeks, Aqualung, Atomic, Cressi, Hollis, Genesis, Oceanic, Ocean Reef, OTS, Shearwater, Scubapro, Sherwood, Suunto, and Zeagle.

We do offer service for other brands. Please call us at (919) 341-2787 to confirm we can service your gear.

How To Get Your Gear Serviced:

You can either bring your scuba gear directly to Carolina Dive Center for servicing or, if you prefer, mail it to us. To send your gear, simply click the "Mail Scuba Gear for Service" button to create a Service Request Ticket.

Mail Scuba Gear For Service

+ Service Rates

Regulator - Every Year or 2 Years Per Manufacturer Requirements

For this, we test and record the regulators pre-service interstage pressures, flow rates, cracking pressure (inhalation effort) and exhalation effort.

We then completely disassemble the regulator and clean all of the parts as prescribed by the manufacturer. We then reassemble the regulator, replacing the warranty parts (typically this includes but may not be limited to the filter, valve seats, and dynamic O-rings), and inspecting all of the components. Once reassembled, the regulator is put on our flow
bench and tuned to the manufacturer's specifications for interstage pressures, flow rates, cracking pressure (inhalation effort) and exhalation effort.

14-21 days for turnaround: $40 per stage + price of parts
Expedited 3-7 day turnaround: $95 per stage + price of parts. Expedited Service is NOT available for Scuba Pro Regulators

A typical regulator set would be 3 stages plus 3 service kits:
- First stage (connects to the tank) + service kit
- Primary stage (main regulator you breathe from) + service kit
- Alternate air source (attached to the first stage or on the BCD) + service kit

Some Regulators First Stages also require environmental sealing: $60

Buoyancy Compensator Annual

Clean & inspect BC, power inflator, replace service parts and leak test: $40 plus service kit

Tanks

Annual Visual Inspections (VIP) $25.00 + air or nitrox fill

Hydrostatic Test (Every 5 years) $70.00 + VIP and air or nitrox fill

Tank Tumbling $40.00

Tank valve rebuild $35.00 + Service Kits

Other Services Available:

Dive System Inspection (Bench Test): $40

O2 Cleaning (per stage): $85

Battery Change: $10 + Battery Service Kit

SPG Spool O-Ring Change: $20

Full Face Masks: $120 + Service Kits

+ Terms of Service

Standard turn-around times are only guaranteed for routine rebuilds. If your regulator needs parts outside of what comes in a standard rebuild kit, additional time may be required.

For regulators made pre 2000, please call to ask for parts availability first. Not all manufacturers keep up with regulator support and parts availability may be scarce.

All costs outside of standard labor and service kits will be communicated with the customer or dive shop before work proceeds.

All return shipping will go through either USPS Priority Mail or UPS Ground. Shipping cost can never be guaranteed due to variable factors and will be calculated at Carolina Dive Center’s discretion. All shipping costs will be billed to the customer.

+ Liability Release and Service Agreement

LIABILITY RELEASE:

By submitting a service ticket an agreement is entered into between Carolina Dive Center and the CUSTOMER, for the service and/or repair of scuba and/or skin diving equipment.

THIS AGREEMENT is a release of the CUSTOMER'S rights to sue for injuries or death resulting from use of the equipment after service/repair. CUSTOMER expressly assumes all risks of skin and/or scuba diving related in any way to use of this equipment.

CUSTOMER also understands that Carolina Dive Center and its employees, owners, officers, or agents hereinafter
"Released Parties", shall not be held liable or responsible in any way for any injury, death or other damages to CUSTOMER or his/her family, heirs or assigns which may occur as a result of use of the equipment after service/repair.

By submitting this service ticket you are acknowledging that you have CAREFULLY READ AND UNDERSTAND THEABOVE AGREEMENT.

By submitting this service ticket, you EXEMPT AND RELEASE CAROLINA DIVE CENTER AND ALL RELATED ENTITIES AS DEFINED ABOVE, FROM ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR PERSONAL INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR WRONGFUL DEATH AS A RESULT OF USING THE EQUIPMENT, HOWEVER CAUSED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO PRODUCT LIABILITY OR THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASED PARTIES, WHETHER PASSIVE OR ACTIVE.

SERVICE AGREEMENT:

By submitting this service ticket, you hereby authorizes the listed work to be carried out. The customer agrees that Carolina Dive Center will not be held responsible for loss or damage to my equipment as a result of fire, theft, accident or any other cause beyond control. All equipment will be held until the total balance for all applicable service work has been
paid. Any equipment left after 30 days of notice of completion of work will be subject to a storage charge of $1.00 per day. Any equipment left after 90 days of no less than (3) attempts for notice of completion of work will become the property of Carolina Dive Center.

+ Warranty Work

Warranty parts may be offered for some regulators if and only if ALL of the following conditions are met:
1. Regulator was purchased from an authorized dealer (approved to sell the regulator in question)
2. Customer has proof of purchase (needs to include the store, customers name, date of purchase, and
corresponding serial numbers that match the regulator in question)
3. Customer is the ORIGINAL owner of the regulator in question
4. Customer has registered their regulator through the manufacturer’s warranty program
5. Customer must have service records detailing yearly inspections and full rebuilds every 2 years (must include the
shop it was service by, technician who performed the work, date service was performed, and matching serial
numbers for the regulator in question)
6. All service has been performed at authorized service centers for the life of the regulator and is free of excessive
damage, evidence of tampering, or corrosion.
Carolina Dive Center reserves the right to turn down warranty service requests if these conditions are not met. Each
manufacturer’s warranty program requirements vary slightly. Please read your warranty card for more specifics on parts
for life programs

+ How To Care For Your Scuba Gear

All scuba gear should be rinsed in clean, fresh water after every dive. Then, it should be dried before storing it in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Remember to dry and firmly replace the regulator's dust cap before rinsing the regulator to avoid any water entering the first stage. Ideally, rinse the regulator while it is still attached to the scuba tank and pressurized. That way no water will enter at all
You should rinse both the inside and outside of your BCD. Make sure to drain the water, then always store your BCD partially inflated.
Rinse your wetsuit in a container with bacterial cleaner especially designed for wetsuits. Do not use laundry detergents. After rinsing your wetsuit, hang it up to dry inside out on a wide hanger.
Use clips and other attachments to keep all hoses and gauges close to your body while scuba diving. This prevents them from dragging across sharp rocks or coral. This also keeps them from or getting snagged or dirty.
Regularly inspect your mask strap, fin straps, snorkel and regulator mouthpieces and hoses for any sign of wear and tear. Sunlight, stretching and teeth easily damage these items so you might need to replace them sooner than expected.