How long have you gone without servicing?

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I'm sure guys like @herman @Luis H @couv and @Bryan@Vintage Double Hose have opened up regs that are 30+yrs old that still worked fine on their last service since they're big into vintage regs.
I'll let the other aforementioned members address the vintage part of the question as they have tons more experience. However one of my hobbies is purchasing and refurbishing older regulators (mostly ScubaPro.) Plenty of them have sat for years-sometimes put up wet and still work fine. Sitting for a year unused is far more detrimental to a regulator's health than a year's worth of constant use. I'm lucky when I find a sample that has a sticker indicating the "next service due date" is often 10-15 years ago. Exceptions are regulators that had kits installed with polyurethane seals. Unfortunately these seals turn hard and crispy sitting around for long periods of time.

To the OP's more specific points. I have gone over 5 years between servicing one of the sets (MK10/Balanced Adjustable) in my stable with no degradation of performance noted. Yes, I have a full blown flow bench available for checking. For those who do not have such a luxury I invite to review the checklist at the top of this forum.
Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

Do I recommend others go years between service? Certainly not. But the checklist helps regulator owner to make an informed decision.
 
The question is how long can you vs how long should you. Should you depends on a lot and I won't comment on that but how long can you is a LOT longer than you may think. Sure,. a reg can fail at any time for various reasons but assuming it is serviced correctly and the user takes proper care of the reg, it can go many many years. Orings are not the delicate flowers some will have you believe, the listed shelf life (before use) is in the order of 15 years for nitrile orings, the real life if stored properly is likely much longer. I have a 1998 car that has the original brake caliper and master cylinder in it...both of which use similar oring in a much harsher environment than a reg.
There is a board member (Bob??) that did a "see how long is will go" test on a Conshelf a few years back. I forget the details exactly but it was purchased in the 70s(??) and it failed in the 2000's and had never been serviced. The failure caused a full free flow at depth....at Karpata on Bonaire if I remember correctly. I offered to service it just to do a careful autopsy to see what had failed. It had flailed due to a defective HP seat that was KNOWN to have issues failing some 15-20 years earlier, other than that, the orings and internal parts of the reg looked fine and would likely still be diving. I don't recommend diving a reg that long but it does show how long they can go without a failure if properly cared for.
 
So I am wondering how long have you taken your regulator without servicing? What happened? I’d like to dedicate a dive rite regulator to this experiment and take it for test diving once a month. Has anyone done such test before?

CS...

I don't service my own regs...other than taking meticulous care of them...changing out ''O'' rings regularly...especially the HP spool ''O'' rings...and checking cracking pressure and IP regularly...

For a number of years now I have been using a variety of the Taiwan ''favorites''...I use them for an average of three seasons...pass them on...and replace them...I currently have four sets of the DGX ''Black'' Deep 6 regs...fabulous product...

How much time and $$$ do you want to spend on a $100. second stage and a $150. first stage...and re-using old hoses...because in your opinion...'they still ''look'' serviceable...these parts are all ''consumable''...not ''cradle to the grave''...

Over the years I have used all the manufacturers brands...I loved my Jet Streams...but I'd never spend that amount of $$$ again...when for a fraction...there are other products available...that in my opinion function just as well...again...my opinion...

Unlike a lot of the members...I don't collect dive gear...and I don't keep anything after it has satisfactorily served its purpose...or I no longer have a need/use for...there are many divers in the Muskoka Lake region of Central Ontario that have gotten many years of service from gear that I've passed along...

This may be an arguable subject by some...but I do not believe that a ''serviced set of regulators'' is ever the same as they were when they came from the manufacturer...and I don't care who services them...

Just me...I believe in continually keeping my gear updated...and I strongly believe in re-cycling...

W...
 
Five or more years, on both a Poseidon Cyklon 5000 and an Odin (Jetstream) -- around the time Parkway was distributing the brand (mid-1980s) out of Jersey, and obtaining parts and service kits became a colossal bitch, for some odd reason.

Both sets were averaging ten to fifteen dives a week, forty-eight weeks out of the year, or thereabouts; and were still running perfectly by the time they were finally serviced -- and only because parts were immediately on hand at the time; and I got a great deal, from a shop where I had worked. It had absolutely nothing to do with IP creep or poor performance.

Poseidon is currently recommending that hoses be replaced every four years; but I have only replaced fewer than five, since the late-1970s -- and only because they immediately blew, upon pressurization; or showed very obvious wear, when the rubber coating cracked and fabric became visible. A Cyklon 300, on one of my pony bottles, still has its original hoses, with that funny raised lettering, circa 1977.

The saving grace was that none of my gear experienced any water intrusion to the first stages, and were, otherwise, well-maintained. The same couldn't be said of a friend's gear that was thrown in the back of a truck and only occasionally rinsed. He dove on a first stage which fizzed like Alka Seltzer, for the longest period.

Since I have been working on the gear for years, I typically service mine within recommended intervals (currently two years, and, frankly, only because I get the kits wholesale); but I still have a couple of rigs, where I have been doing an informal experiment, to see how long they'll go, without an overhaul.

I am currently about three years out . . .
 

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This may be an arguable subject by some...but I do not believe that a ''serviced set of regulators'' is ever the same as they were when they came from the manufacturer...and I don't care who services them...

I believe that a good tech can fine tune a regulator so that its better than when it first came from the manufacturer.

Given that there's only rubber on metal friction in a regulator, then poor care and rinsing practices aside, most metal regulators are good for decades.
 
This may be an arguable subject by some...but I do not believe that a ''serviced set of regulators'' is ever the same as they were when they came from the manufacturer...and I don't care who services them.

All of my regulators, which I personally service, run either, as well as new; or, more commonly, better, since they are tuned to my preferences; and not set to some arbitrary "mid-range" by the manufacturer.

Though, considering the woefully little training most techs receive nowadays -- a few hours at the Sheraton, over piss-poor coffee and danish -- I could easily understand your opinion . . .
 
I believe that a good tech can fine tune a regulator so that its better than when it first came from the manufacturer.

Given that there's only rubber on metal friction in a regulator, then poor care and rinsing practices aside, most metal regulators are good for decades.

U...

True...if you want to keep them that long...for reasons that seem good to me...I choose not to...

After ''decades''...how much time and money do you choose to invest in a $100/$150 set of stages...based on the ''Taiwan'' favorites...if you happen to have a $2000. pair of stages...which is needless...you will likely want to keep throwing money at them...so after ''decades''...you may end up having $5000. invested in them...which again...in my opinion is needless...

To me it makes no sense at all...strictly my opinion...replace with new...re-cycle the old...with the best being...best to suit your needs...at the best possible price...

Let the LDS practice on someone elses gear...and as far as DIY service...I can make better use of my time...like lying back on my ''O'' gravity lounge chair...listening to the grass grow...Love...bring my another ''soda''...

Just me...for me...

W...
 
U...

True...if you want to keep them that long...for reasons that seem good to me...I choose not to...

After ''decades''...how much time and money do you choose to invest in a $100/$150 set of stages...based on the ''Taiwan'' favorites...if you happen to have a $2000. pair of stages...which is needless...you will likely want to keep throwing money at them...so after ''decades''...you may end up having $5000. invested in them...which again...in my opinion is needless...

To me it makes no sense at all...strictly my opinion...replace with new...re-cycle the old...with the best being...best to suit your needs...at the best possible price...

Let the LDS practice on someone elses gear...and as far as DIY service...I can make better use of my time...

Just me...for me...

W...

I DIY service. It's actually quite easy once you understand how the regulator functions.

I also serviced my La Pavoni coffee machine a couple of weeks ago, and I found that was more complicated compared to servicing a Scuba regulator.
 
I DIY service. It's actually quite easy once you understand how the regulator functions.

I also serviced my La Pavoni coffee machine a couple of weeks ago, and I found that was more complicated compared to servicing a Scuba regulator.

U...

Most importantly...was the coffee any better...or was it more like that poorly serviced/high cost reg set...and like the reg set...the coffee maker...will never be as good as it was when it was new...whether you ''service it''...or send it out to your LCMRS...that's ''local coffee maker repair shop...two doors down from the LDS...

You could always replace your reg set and your coffee maker at the same time...

W...
 

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