Anyone have repair manual for SP Pilot 2nd stage?

[ericpitar]

Hello folks,

Anyone out there have the schematic and repair manual for the SP Pilot? How bout contacts for parts? If so, please PM me.

Thank you.

E

 

[Isaac-1]

The book Regulator Savvy available at scubatools.com has 3-4 pages of break down and explanation of the Pilot (they don't call it that, as all the numbers are filed off throughout the book, but the design is obvious, as is the information on Scubapro's D series, etc.). As to finding parts, good luck support was dropped for the Pilot almost 20 years ago, the few people I know with parts are hoarding them for their personal use. It should probably be noted that part of the reason Scubapro dropped support for the pilot so relatively shortly after it was discontinued was the exteme parts count, I suspect it is the most complicated second stage regulator ever sold.

Ike

 

[ericpitar]

Are the step-by-step instructions for tuning/servicing included in those 4 pages or are they just detailed concepts but leave the reader to "figure out" the actual tuning steps?

....Ok never mind. I've just read the synopsis and the answer seems to be "no, it's not a step-by-step repair manual".

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Isaac-1]

They are detailed concept about how each sub assembly works, the pilot is a rather complex design. I have never serviced one, but have seen it done years ago, it is not a job to take lightly even if the parts were availble. While the part count on a basic second stage regulator may be 8-10 counting o-rings , the pilot is probably40-50 perhaps more counting all the o-rings. Also the pilot is like no other regulator I can think of, the scubapro D series is in many ways a simplificationof the Pilot with any 1 given part in the D series replacing 4-5 in the pilot. Of particular concern in the Pilot are the large number of similarly sized, but different o-rings. Please don't take this wrong, but to paraphrase this into the world of automobiles, your question comes off sounding something like a person asking for a step by step guide to rebuilding a carburetor for the first time, then mentioning that the car they intend to practice on is a vintage Ferrari.

Ike
p.s. Regulators are probably simpler to rebuild than carburetors, just the price of making common mistakes (installing springs backwards, re-using lock nuts, etc) is higher

 

[ericpitar]

Ike,

Thanks for the feedback. It's actually a friend asking for the manual to better his understanding and for the tech he chooses to leave the "privilege" to.... I agree it sounds too simplified but the more precise instructions I could get, the better and less room for error even for an experienced tech I think. IMHO, there could be more harm in not asking. Nobody can really know for sure if some ultra-pilot enthusiast decided to compile one....

It sounds like the recommended book would help.

Thanks again!

E

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Pilot uses a pilot valve design that is a lot more complex than the center balanced design used by the Air 1 and D series regs.

I have a very small horde of pilot parts that I am keeping to support my pilot. I recently rebuilt it and while it is a lot more complex than the average second stage, it is still not rocket science.

Adjustment wise, there are not many things to adjust (lever and adjustment knob), but there are about 30 parts connected between the purge button and the aspirator and some of them are very tiny.

SP only made the Pilot from '77 to '79 and shortly after it was discontinued SP began offering customers the option of converting them to Air 1 status. SP also discontinued support for the Air 1 as it was only around a few years as well, but Air 1 parts are more available it uses the same poppet as the D400 so annual service parts are not in short supply.

 

[redacted]

SP only made the Pilot from '77 to '79 and shortly after it was discontinued SP began offering customers the option of converting them to Air 1 status. SP also discontinued support for the Air 1 as it was only around a few years as well, but Air 1 parts are more available it uses the same poppet as the D400 so annual service parts are not in short supply.

Is there any recognizable exterior indication that a pilot has been converted to a coaxial valve (Air 1)?