DUI Zipper replacement

[nice-diver]

when I needed a zip on my trilam 350, I couldn't find anyone in washington to replace it.
I was told, that if you don't have a "local" DUI dealer you could send it by your self, but they prefer to deal with dive shops.
mine was done in less than a month and they resewn the kneepad tops and sewn on my halcyon thigh pocket. I love the dui thread seals that they do.

[Narkd]

Ok, I conceded... sending my suit in to DUI through UWS; they tell me that DUI won't accept a work order without it going through a dive shop and it would be less expensive because they got better pricing; better pricing than who if DUI only accepts work from dive shops??
I was told it would be about a month unless I wanted to pay an additional $50 and even then it would be a couple weeks.
Thankfully I do have another suit.

Thanks for all the input!!

???! Too bad they misinformed you, but not surprising. I have sent my suit in TWICE especially bypassing UWS. DUI posts their repair prices on their website and I was quoted the same price by UWS. $50 to wait two weeks? This is why most people I know avoid UWS for service at all costs.

Attention Mods, this is not badmouthing a LDS for sport, this is calling BS on misleading divers...which is what the forum should do. This kind of behavior really needs to be called out.

[Octoloco]

I'm biting my tongue so that I don't badmouth them!!

[Nwbrewer]

I'm biting my tongue so that I don't badmouth them!!

I say feel free. In the other thread about LDS's the badmouthing that was criticized was general. "They suck" isn't helpful, and degenerates into pointlessness quickly. If you have a specific experience where you received poor customer service, or bad information from a certain dive shop, I think that should be posted. Both Fishstiq and Calvin have posted descriptions of PERSONAL negative experience with different shops. I think that type of information is valuable.

[Mattleycrue76]

I'm biting my tongue so that I don't badmouth them!!

IMHO there is a big difference between badmouthing a shop and stating a specific situation like this one.

[Octoloco]

Got a call today from UWS that my suit is back from DUI where it got a new zipper and a new exhaust valve. If you remember - when I originally talked with UWS I was told that I had to go through a LDS to get repairs done through DUI. Then several of you informed me that that wasn't true; that DUI's website lists their repair costs and will accept repairs outside a LDS. Too late for me, but...

Per DUI's website, my total cost prior to tax should have been $440 = $120/exhaust valve & $320/zipper

So I'm expecting the worst as far as a bill......and expecting to have to go into battle, but.....

When I called back, I'm told that prior to tax my bill is $458 so they charged me $18 for shipping my suit both ways.

I'm totally OK with that; I didn't have to deal with boxing, posting, etc.

I feel like a got a great price and my suit was gone for only 3 weeks (though it did seem like forever)

Yah UWS!!

[Waynne Fowler]

Nice Kathy
Glad that all has went well with this for you. It's always great to hear about someones good experiences with a shop and/or Mfg.
You're sooooo gonna love that suit girl... and you'll especially love DUI if you have any problems with the zipper.. they are the ONLY place that I know of that will warranty a zipper for a year... YKK won't offer that to DUI (unless they got some secret squrell deal with them). So if I'm not mistaken if they do have to warranty the zipper they eat the entire cost of the thing.

Can ya tell I'm sort of a fan of DUI and I don't even dive one!

Have a great time with that suit Kathy!

[LCF]

I didn't see this thread back when it started, but I'd like to offer another alternative to a local shop or DUI. Extreme Exposures in High Springs, Florida, does incredible drysuit repair work. The Southeast DUI rep has his DUI suits worked on there. They did some extensive work on my Fusion (which is a weird suit to work on, and I had had problems elsewhere) and they did an absolutely beautiful job of it, and did it fast.

[Mattleycrue76]

Hmm that's good to know Lynne. Casey Joe and my DC zippers are all being held together with various combinations of glue. I could have sworn that I read somewhere recently on this board that Ron at Adventures Down Under does zippers locally well and fast. I could be imagining that though. Anybody know anything about that?

I just can't stand the idea of giving up my suit for three weeks.

[Burntchef]

Casey Joe and my DC zippers are all being held together with various combinations of glue.

Ron at Adventures Down Under does zippers locally well and fast. I could be imagining that though. Anybody know anything about that?

I just can't stand the idea of giving up my suit for three weeks.

3 suits with zipper failures? any details like age of suit, were they not maintained well.

and yes ron did a replacement for josh on his dc suit

[Mattleycrue76]

Casey Joe and my DC zippers are all being held together with various combinations of glue.

Ron at Adventures Down Under does zippers locally well and fast. I could be imagining that though. Anybody know anything about that?

I just can't stand the idea of giving up my suit for three weeks.

3 suits with zipper failures? any details like age of suit, were they not maintained well.

and yes ron did a replacement for josh on his dc suit

Yep. they all have the exact same type and spot of failure (top of the shoulder). That's where they seem to fail sooner of later. Mine only has about 200 dives on it which I think is a little short. I think Joe's has quite a few more. Casey's I have no idea.

[Nwbrewer]

Casey Joe and my DC zippers are all being held together with various combinations of glue.

Ron at Adventures Down Under does zippers locally well and fast. I could be imagining that though. Anybody know anything about that?

I just can't stand the idea of giving up my suit for three weeks.

3 suits with zipper failures? any details like age of suit, were they not maintained well.

and yes ron did a replacement for josh on his dc suit

Yep. they all have the exact same type and spot of failure (top of the shoulder). That's where they seem to fail sooner of later. Mine only has about 200 dives on it which I think is a little short. I think Joe's has quite a few more. Casey's I have no idea.

I think casey's is less than either Joe's or Matt's. Renoun had some info he got from a dui rep about YKK QC having gone downhill lately. Since they are the only game in town, they don't have much option but to keep using them though.

Interestingly all 3 of those are trilam's, I have a neo Z, roughly the same age, roughly the same amount of dives, and I checked over the shoulder area pretty well last night, couldn't find any signs of wear on it. Some of the little trreads have started to come loose lower on the zipper, so I'll burn those off, but other than that the zip looks fine. I wax my zipper after every dive day though. I think it's maybe a combination of the waxing and the stretchability of the neoprene maybe that's heloing mine live longer?

[Mattleycrue76]

I don't know how many dives Casey has on his but it was the first one to go. I recently took a look at both Brian and Jeanna's during a class and they're both exhibiting those same wear spots although they're not worn completely through yet. I'm sure maintenance has something to do with the longevity but sooner or later they seem to all wear through at the same spot.

[Burntchef]

Casey Joe and my DC zippers are all being held together with various combinations of glue.

Ron at Adventures Down Under does zippers locally well and fast. I could be imagining that though. Anybody know anything about that?

I just can't stand the idea of giving up my suit for three weeks.

3 suits with zipper failures? any details like age of suit, were they not maintained well.

and yes ron did a replacement for josh on his dc suit

Yep. they all have the exact same type and spot of failure (top of the shoulder). That's where they seem to fail sooner of later. Mine only has about 200 dives on it which I think is a little short. I think Joe's has quite a few more. Casey's I have no idea.

I think casey's is less than either Joe's or Matt's. Renoun had some info he got from a dui rep about YKK QC having gone downhill lately. Since they are the only game in town, they don't have much option but to keep using them though.

Interestingly all 3 of those are trilam's, I have a neo Z, roughly the same age, roughly the same amount of dives, and I checked over the shoulder area pretty well last night, couldn't find any signs of wear on it. Some of the little trreads have started to come loose lower on the zipper, so I'll burn those off, but other than that the zip looks fine. I wax my zipper after every dive day though. I think it's maybe a combination of the waxing and the stretchability of the neoprene maybe that's heloing mine live longer?

the suit josh has is a trilam as well, but i think the issue was in the lower part??

[scottsax]

OK, so I need the zipper replaced on my DUI CF200SE. I'm going to try a little Aquaseal patch to get me through my Essentials class, but if it don't work, it don't work, and I'll rent one while it's being fixed. Any local recommendations for a speedy repair? Or should I just have UWS ship it back to DUI?

[Tangfish]

OK, so I need the zipper replaced on my DUI CF200SE. I'm going to try a little Aquaseal patch to get me through my Essentials class, but if it don't work, it don't work, and I'll rent one while it's being fixed. Any local recommendations for a speedy repair? Or should I just have UWS ship it back to DUI?

I sent mine back to DUI directly. It was a pretty quick turnaround if I remember correctly, maybe about a week and a half. I think I talked to Debbie down there. Just call and ask if they can do it quickly for you. Bringing it to UWS just means that there are additional steps in the process of having DUI replace it.