Servicing your dive kit over winter: what a service actually covers

Putting kit away clean is half the job (we covered that in our winter storage post). The other half is getting the life-support equipment checked by someone qualified while nobody is queuing for it.

Regulators

A regulator service means stripping both stages, replacing the soft parts, cleaning, and testing intermediate pressure and breathing performance. Manufacturers set their own service intervals, often tied to time or number of dives, so check your model's manual rather than going on what a friend does. Heavy use, or time in salt water without a proper rinse, is a reason to service sooner.

Cylinders

Cylinders need a regular visual inspection and a pressure test, with the intervals set by the rules that apply where you dive. Look at the stamped test date now. If it falls due in spring, book it over the winter, because the test centre is busiest when everybody wants their cylinders back.

BCDs, suits and computers

• BCD: check inflator, dump valves and hoses for leaks, and flush the bladder.

• Drysuit: have seals, zip and valves inspected; small leaks are cheap to fix in winter and miserable in April.

• Dive computer: change the battery on a schedule, and check the seal and O-ring.

Don't do it yourself

Regulators and cylinder valves are life-support equipment. Servicing them needs the right tools, parts and training, so leave the work to a technician approved for your brand. A wetsuit repair is fair game for home glue; a first stage is not.

Not sure what yours needs? Call the East Pier shop on 085 255 2064 or email hello@oceanlife.ie and we can point you in the right direction.