Over the past couple of days I’ve been running the PADI Equipment Care Specialty course for a group of our PADI Divemaster trainees here Simple Life. Joining the class this time were Hannes, Maik, Malcolm and Verena, all of whom are midway through their Koh Tao Divemaster internships.
PADI Equipment Specialty Syllabus
During the PADI Equipment specialty we’ve been looking at:
- The theory, principles and operation of scuba diving equipment
- Routine recommended care and maintenance procedures and proper scuba equipment storage
- Common problems with diving equipment and recommended professional maintenance procedures
- Suggestions for comfortable equipment configurations
Images: Learning in Jon’s equipment servicing room @ Simple Life – pictured from left, Hannes ‘carefully’ opening up a 2nd Stage Regulator, Maik setting lever height “Fine Tuning” an Scubapro 2nd Stage and Malcolm taking a closer look neck threads on a recently visually inspected cylinder. Which of these soon-to-be Divemasters have a sense of humor?
Having covered the basics, we like to take our PADI Divemaster trainees a little further and get them more familiar with unbalanced (piston) regulators, used by most dive schools for their rental sets.
For this we focus on learning how things work rather than parrot-style step-by-step procedures usually featured in equipment service guides. Although not a Technician Course, we look at giving candidates a deeper background understanding. This will better prepare them for an Authorised Manufactures Technician Repair Course if they do choose to take this route later in their diving career. Also knowing how scuba equipment works will help them answer equipment related questions which crop up in the final exams of their PADI Divemaster Internship. “Is that free flow at the surface a normal function of the VIVA (Venturi Initiated Vacuum Assist) mechanism or is the regulator outside of tolerance and needs to be serviced?”. How many times have I been asked that one 
We also take a look at LPI (Low Pressure Inflator) units and scuba cylinder (tank) valve maintenance - both of which are common maintenance activities in a busy PADI dive center like Simple Life Divers.
