Regulator not delivering enough air

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@Umuntu , that sounds very different of "every reg you buy has to be brought back for tuning".

A good LDS should set up your regs and test IP and breathing as part of the sale.
You shouldn't just be handed a box.
 
A good LDS should set up your regs and test IP and breathing as part of the sale.
You shouldn't just be handed a box.

I bought my regs from the local shop that offered them for the lowest price (by far). At the price I paid, I have no problem with it if they don't do any more than check to make sure you can actually breathe off them. As long as they will handle it if I do have an issue with them (which they have always done, even if it turned out to just be "user error").
 
I can understand that. I think that most of us don't have the test bench equipment to check, the LDS does.

I would rather not find out there's a problem on my first dive on the regs.
 
A good LDS should set up your regs and test IP and breathing as part of the sale.
You shouldn't just be handed a box.

100% agree on not being handed a box. There should be an IP check and general function check performed at a minimum.

In general, the majority of regulators do arrive with the opening effort adjusted to within manufacturer specifications. Remember this is not a fixed number, it is a range. Depending on the model, that range can be between + 1.0 - 1.5 in-H20 and still be within factory specifications. Some factory specifications can be as high as +1.7. I don't think adjusting every new second stage to be on the low end of the factory range is required...or even a good idea.

@2airishuman says that they should be adjusted if over +1.25 to breathe really well. That may be what works for him because he admits he likes his regulators tuned right on the edge...others do not like them on the edge.

What I do see are some folks that believe in "the old way" of doing things. These are the people that adjust an Aqualung Legend IP to 135 psi because "The factory always ship these with the IP too low..." (Factory specification is 116 - 130...a lower range than many other 1st stage regulators). They are also the ones that think a Magnehelic is a waste of time and believe they can "feel" the correct torque settings making a torque wrench a waste of time.
 
@2airishuman says that they should be adjusted if over +1.25 to breathe really well. That may be what works for him because he admits he likes his regulators tuned right on the edge...others do not like them on the edge.

What I do see are some folks that believe in "the old way" of doing things. These are the people that adjust an Aqualung Legend IP to 135 psi because "The factory always ship these with the IP too low..." (Factory specification is 116 - 130...a lower range than many other 1st stage regulators). They are also the ones that think a Magnehelic is a waste of time and believe they can "feel" the correct torque settings making a torque wrench a waste of time.

The point here is that the OP asked us what to do because his regs breathe too hard. Answer for that is to tune them to the twitchy side of the spec. Yes, I like mine right on the edge, but with the OP's adjustable reg the OP can dial it back if it's not to their liking.

IP and cracking pressure are two different animals. There is no meaningful difference among second stages of various models and manufacturers that warrants using different cracking pressures. It's all about what tradeoff between breathing effort and tendency to freeflow you prefer. The correct IP, on the other hand, varies among regulator designs.

I would love to have a Magnehelic rather than my sink-o-helic. The only reason I don't have one is that not enough people have contributed to the 2airishuman Dive Gear GoFundMe for the furtherance of diving as a form of performance art for the benefit of the community. I have two torque wrenches and use them often. Your point was?
 
I would love to have a Magnehelic rather than my sink-o-helic.

I found a small portable plumber's manometer on Amazon for about $10 a couple of weeks ago.
It even has the ruler scale doubled so I don't have to do the math :)
 
[QUOTE="2airishuman, post: 8121746, member: 470361"There is no meaningful difference among second stages of various models and manufacturers that warrants using different cracking pressures.[/QUOTE]

The same manufacturer can define different ranges for different models. Do you think that is because they are clueless or would regulator case geometry, diaphragm design, lever tension, material characteristics, dynamic flow analysis, etc factor into that specification decision?

I believe the manufacturer has put the time and money into publishing a factory specification for a reason. Having the same opening effort range across all product lines would be easier for them I would think.

My point being that there are times when an Internet opinion on how to do something may not meet the factory specification. Unless somebody has the experience and knowledge to make the decisions of when the factory specs can and should be ignored, I would suggest they go back to the LDS and have them verify that it is within the specifications defined by the manufacturer.
 
I bought my regs from the local shop that offered them for the lowest price (by far). At the price I paid, I have no problem with it if they don't do any more than check to make sure you can actually breathe off them. As long as they will handle it if I do have an issue with them (which they have always done, even if it turned out to just be "user error").
I also bought my regs from local shops that sold them to me for the lowest price. Despite that, I've had different experiences on what the shop does at point of sale. On the first two regs, they just handed them to me and thanked me. Didn't know any better at the time. On my most recent reg purchase, they bench tested my new reg to make sure it was set properly prior to completing the sale.

There really is no reason for the shop not to test every reg they sell. If the technician is on-site, there is no reason why they can't at least test. If they had found a problem, I'd have no problem picking it up in a day or two if they couldn't make the adjustments right then.

Back to the OP. I agree with the others for the most part. Your reg may not be properly adjusted. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's adjusted properly. Start with the easiest first. Make sure you have all the knobs and levers in the Dive and easiest positions. If you still find it's hard to breathe, take the reg to a shop you trust and have them bench test it for you. If all of that is done and you still find it hard to breathe, it may be mental. Any properly adjusted reg is plenty capable of providing more than enough air. If you had a reg with the water exclusion device, like the Aqualung ACD, then it could be a problem with that, but I don't believe Apeks uses that.

I've been on dives before where I just felt I could not get enough air. I had to take a minute, calm down, then things returned to normal. On one dive, I still felt like I wasn't getting enough air. I thumbed the dive in that case. Next dive, which was within an hour from the first, all was good. No adjustments to gear, so I know it was all in my head.
 
I have a similar experience when I overexert. Are you sure you didn't?

I have an XTX100, usually open it all the way, really easy breathing.

Yup, I feel it especially when I switch over from a snorkel to the reg just before the dive, this is at the start of nice easy diving
 

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