Alternate Airsource/Inflator Jams (air2, octo+, duo-air, etc)

[ew1usnr]

jplacson once bubbled...
I'm trying to compare if the incidents of Air2 (and the like) inflator jams occur more frequently than regular octo freeflows.

I tested my Air-II at 150-feet and was surprised to find that it breathed almost as well as my D-400 primary. The beauty of this regulator is that it was designed for ease of service. It has access ports that unscrew to allow easy reach of the inflate and dump valves and it is easier to service than a lot of auto-inflators. If you pull out one lock clip the entire regulator assembly slides out of the case in one piece. Sweet. The regulator is easy to disassemble and easy to tune. I recently took mine apart and cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted it (see attached photo). It breathes as light as a feather now.

The only "trick" to this was to figure out that the exhaust valve support unscrews. This allows access to the dump valve retaining nut underneath.

 

[ew1usnr]

Here is a shot (see attached) to better show what I meant about being able to remove one clip and sliding out the complete regulator assembly. The design of this unit is dedicated to ease of maintenance. If a diver just rinses it out after a salt water dive he should never have a problem with it. Scubapro provides a rubber cap to prevent water from going down the air inlet while rinsing the Air-II (not pictured). The cap stays with the unit and functions the same as a dust cap on an ordinary regulator.

 

[BrianM]

I was diving with my father on a dive boat in monterey last weekend. When he connected his inflator hose and opened the tank valve his BC started inflating on it's own. I looked at it and checked for debris or some reason the inflator would stick but found nothing. Then I thought he could just unplug the hose and manually inflate, but my dad is newly certified and this is his first cold water dive.....not a good time to throw in a new skill task!!!
So I started thinking.....I have an oceanic airsource on my chute III, if it was my inflator that was stuck I couldnt unplug it because I wouldn't have a secondary airsource. I guess I didnt think it through when I bought the airsource.....but that really sucks!!! Well it turned out to be a speck of sand stuck in the valve and we got it working with the help of a dive shop owner who was on the boat too.....but the bottom line is I am not too excited about having all my eggs in one basket....or I should say all my air on one hose!

 

[ScubaJewel]

one of the most common problems is that people don't service these regulators like they should. They have a tencency to be ingnored as if they were just a power inflator.

I personally don't like them and choose not to use them becuase I have seen way to many problems with them.

I do know people who swear by them however.

Julie

 

[scubajerr]

In the four years I have owned my AirII, I had to bring it in to be fixed twice. I just brought it in recently for a free flowing problem, start breathing on it and it free flows. This is the second time for this. And it still isn't correct, it will trickle when you breath it at about 70 feet. I will never go with this system again.

 

[BrianM]

Yeah i have another issue with my airsource too......ever since I got it I have a half a cup of seawater to drain out of my BC at the end of the day. It is sealed well and I still use the shoulder dump instead of the exhaust button so it's not "operator head space" causing the problem. I bought the BC and added the airsource later.......the LDS always says of you dont like it bring it back so I may call him on this one.

Brian:wacko:

 

[Charlie99]

BrianM once bubbled...
Yeah i have another issue with my airsource too......ever since I got it I have a half a cup of seawater to drain out of my BC at the end of the day. It is sealed well and I still use the shoulder dump instead of the exhaust button so it's not "operator head space" causing the problem. I bought the BC and added the airsource later.......the LDS always says of you dont like it bring it back so I may call him on this one.

Brian:wacko:

Why do you think this has anything to do with the Airsource?

If you are weighted so that you don't have any air in the BC; then you pull on the shoulder dump you will be getting some water into the BC. No problem, other than it adds a bit of weight when exiting.