January is one of the hardest months of the year to plan diving in South Florida. The weather may be good, the weather may be bad. You just never know. I use this time to get all of my gear serviced, and make sure it’s ready when warmer weather and water return in a month or so.
One of our supporters, Ryan at Scuba Network, has offered 15% storewide savings to Out Scuba members, just be sure you show them your membership card when you drop off the gear to be serviced. These shops have been the first to support Out Scuba, and we hope everyone will be using them.
The generally accepted guidance is that you should have your gear serviced once a year, and of course, any time that problems start to occur. The technicians are looking for and replacing worn out O-rings, removing any salt or sand accretions, and just in general making sure that everything works like it’s supposed to.
When it comes to gear, okay is never good enough. You always want your gear to perform optimally because it saves your life every time you go down.
I just had my gear serviced at DxDivers in Deerfield Beach, also a great shop, and spoke with the service technician Stephen. In addition to the generally accepted guidance, he gave one extra tidbit that I found interesting. He suggests soaking your regulator AFTER your rinse it, in a bucket of fresh water for at least 20 minutes.
Whether you hit up Stephen at DxDivers or one of the many other scuba shops in Fort Lauderdale, always be certain you are comfortable with the technician and that you know when your gear will be returned to you.