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Bryan
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:47 pm

Airtex used to be the US distributor for Alkin compressors. Both times I needed some miniscule part for my W-31 I would call up....Nice folks there...Told me the part was on the way....A week later I call and they forgot.....Part is on it's way.....Week later and I'm pissed and finally the part shows up....Nice people though....THEN more than a year later I get a call saying they needed me to pay for said miniscule parts....I said that I had given a credit card when I ordered....Was told I needed to prove TO THEM that I had paid. Told them to go pound sand.
Airtex supposedly according to them copied several Alkin compressors with some good improvements to them. What turned me off was when I was talking with them at DEMA about the improvements to THEIR copy of the Alkin W-31 all of a sudden my original Alkin W-31 is crap and is going to kill someone...Sound familiar to anyone....And more than a hundred hours later my W-31 purrs like a kitten.
This is just MY experience with them but Airtex and I won't be having any future experiences....

Alkin comes out of NJ now and the reps at DEMA were great to talk to. Told me they had every part I could ever need for my W-31 and would be glad to help out.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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SurfLung
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:52 pm

Yeah WOW... There certainly is a convoluted relationship between AIRETEX and Alkin. I looked up Alkin USA and was thinking, they have the same FAQ as the AIRETEX site. Then I realized it is the same company... The FAQs are worth reading one way or another. But, here are the links for clarity:

Alkin United States http://www.alkinus.com/
Alkin USA AIRETEX http://www.alkinusa.com/index.php
Airetex/Alkin FAQ http://www.alkinusa.com/faq.php
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The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
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Bryan
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:16 pm

The Alkin/Airetex/USA website has not charged/updated in the last decade. Some of the FAQ is accurate but the rest isn't even close.

The Alkin United States is the current website for Alkin compressors since they split from AireTex. At least that's the information I got from the Alkin rep at DEMA in November.

Alkin United States http://www.alkinus.com/
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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antique diver
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:19 pm

Looks to me like Airetex is confusing SCFM with the term "charging rate".
The older I get the better I was.

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ScubaLawyer
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:45 am

Ok, need to solicit opinions to settle another argument between me and my good-for-nothing piece of crap local dive shop (solely my opinion of course).  As I have mentioned before I will stop in for an air fill on occasion just because it is close and I don't feel like driving an hour to my friend's dive shop. (And, yes, thank you to everyone who has been giving me leads on compressors - unfortunately it just isn't practical for me at the moment).

Anyway, I stop in for a fill yesterday:

SHOP: Can't fill this tank, hydro expires this month.

ME: That's right, it is stamped 10/2013. It is good though the end of the month.

SHOP:  No, since there is no day stamped we don't know if it was hydroed on Oct. 1 or Oct. 30. The 5 years could have already expired.

ME:  F#%* you.

First I've ever heard of this position. I was always under the impression the hydro was good until the end of the month stamped.

Who is correct here, wonderful all knowing me or the Neanderthal/Cro-Magnum hybrid troglodyte at the dive shop?
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:59 am

:lol: :lol: i CAN SEE WHY YOU JUST LOVE THAT PLACE :roll:
That would just make me squirt blood from my tear ducts!
The older I get the better I was.

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antique diver
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

antique diver wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:59 am
:lol: :lol: i CAN SEE WHY YOU JUST LOVE THAT PLACE :roll:
That would just make me squirt blood from my tear ducts!
This convinces me to have a little fun today and take my whole DIVING LUNG rig into the LDS for an "Oxygen Fill". I can't wait to see the look I get.
The older I get the better I was.

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captain
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:11 pm

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:45 am
Ok, need to solicit opinions to settle another argument between me and my good-for-nothing piece of crap local dive shop (solely my opinion of course).  As I have mentioned before I will stop in for an air fill on occasion just because it is close and I don't feel like driving an hour to my friend's dive shop. (And, yes, thank you to everyone who has been giving me leads on compressors - unfortunately it just isn't practical for me at the moment).

Anyway, I stop in for a fill yesterday:

SHOP: Can't fill this tank, hydro expires this month.

ME: That's right, it is stamped 10/2013. It is good though the end of the month.

SHOP:  No, since there is no day stamped we don't know if it was hydroed on Oct. 1 or Oct. 30. The 5 years could have already expired.

ME:  F#%* you.

First I've ever heard of this position. I was always under the impression the hydro was good until the end of the month stamped.

Who is correct here, wonderful all knowing me or the Neanderthal/Cro-Magnum hybrid troglodyte at the dive shop?
I have heard similar stories before.
Captain

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antique diver
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:24 pm

Mark, why don't just drive to Texas and I'll fill your tanks and load you up with more old ones. Then we can go harrassing some dive boutiques all afternoon before joining up with one good owner in Fort Worth for a drink. Next day I can also take you to Arlington and Grapevine to meet more of the kind of people you will like. It will be fun! I may even let you take my Diving Lung for a dip if you will sign my release forms. 8)
The older I get the better I was.

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simonbeans
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:38 pm

I am sure most of us have tales of woo in relationship to modern dive shops so my story will probably be just one of many. Nevertheless, here is my latest event. Rochester has 2 dive stores, one on the east side and another on the west side. The east side store is the “old style” with old gear displayed, a make shift pool and a rather not-great-people person owner. But it is the easiest to work with in any way. I was a dive master with them for years and was able to fill my tanks always. However, I have acquired so many tanks that the “visual” tests were being bothersome and expensive. Thus, I took the PSI class, got certified and do my own tanks as well as those that came into the store occasionally as part of my “job”.

Friends would also have me vis their tanks, and thus the west side dive store comes into the story. Seems that store would not fill tanks with MY PSI stickers, including my certification number on it. “He doesn’t have liability insurance, so we can’t (won’t) fill them.”

I have moved in the past two years, further westward and away from the east side store. So recently when I needed a fresh hydro on 4 tanks, I went to the fire equipment company that does hydros for the west side dive store. They also vized them and put their sticker on my tanks.

Due to procrastination on my part, I went back to the west side store to get them filled. To my surprise, the store didn’t want to fill them as they were empty (really? Just out of hydro) and wanted to do another visual inspection, of course for a fee. If it wasn’t that I got a couple of PADI certifications from that store, that the woman owner just warned me about bringing in tanks with very low pressure and the need for another visual.

Needless to say, that the west side store with all the modern visual effects and marketing ploys has permanently lost me as a customer and others that I can persuade. Oh, not to name them, but they are a SP store (interesting, huh?)
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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:26 pm

Glad I took the PSI course AND own my own compressor. As long as I remain on the Fire Dept dive rescue team, I have a back up source for air if my compressor goes down. To be fair, my local dive shop is pretty good and tolerant of this crazy old guy.. LOL

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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:05 am

antique diver wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:59 am

[ScubaLawyer's recent tale of LDS woe] convinces me to have a little fun today and take my whole DIVING LUNG rig into the LDS for an "Oxygen Fill". I can't wait to see the look I get.
I went, loaded with mischief, toting my rig and a mental script of witty repartee. Imagine my disappointment when I arrived there and found a hastily worded note taped to the door: "closed for the afternoon" :( (true story)

Which one of you Buzzards let them know I was headed that way? :evil:
The older I get the better I was.

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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:11 am

Oh Man... That's RICH!

You need to try that again but this time bring somebody to video the whole thing. :)
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

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Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:54 am

SurfLung wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:11 am
Oh Man... That's RICH!

You need to try that again but this time bring somebody to video the whole thing. :)
Excellent suggestion!

I just tried recruiting FT for that job, but for some reason she wanted no part of this whole nefarious scheme, and even refused to be present when it is set in motion. Sometimes I have to wonder whatever happened to her sense of humor. :?
The older I get the better I was.

helomech17

Re: Ignorant Dive Shop people (A rant)

Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:12 am

If dive shops in general were'nt scared into the woods about being sued,
there would probably be a completely different take on this issue but...

I too support the "buy your own air station" notion and am currently looking into that seriously.
Could be that servicing your own, much to the dislike of the industry, will be the way of the future,
or just give up and stay at home

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