Best regulator to get parts for and to service

[bobbenson]

I am looking to buy a regulator. I am a new diver and would like to buy a simple reg that will have long life and serviceability. I live in upstate NY and will probably only dive in the summer and on vacation I do not foresee myself getting into serious "Tech" diving but I also would like some room to expand.
In the long run I will service the reg myself. For the first year or so I plan on having LDS do the service until I can acquire the parts and equipment to service the reg myself. I am an accomplished mechanic and engineer and I am totally confident in my ability to service my own reg per manufactures specifications once I gain the knowledge and experience. The questions that I have is which regulator is the simplest to work on, has the most readily available parts and will be supported for years to come? I hate buying things then finding out that they are being discontinued and no parts are available.
I hold on to equipment that works well and that I am familiar with due to the fact that it is cost effective and I am confident in my ability to fix it. I am on my eighth Volkswagen for the same reason.
Any information would be much appreciated.

thanks,
Bob Benson

 

[rmediver2002]

They are all pretty close in design and ease of service to be perfectly honest.

I am most familiar with US Diver and SCUBAPRO, both support regulators going back over 30 years but you may be required to take a service course to be able to get the part... (not that it is especially neccessary, they are relatively simple to reverse engineer...)

What kind of VW are you driving now?

 

[bobbenson]

They are all pretty close in design and ease of service to be perfectly honest.

I am most familiar with US Diver and SCUBAPRO, both support regulators going back over 30 years but you may be required to take a service course to be able to get the part... (not that it is especially neccessary, they are relatively simple to reverse engineer...)

What kind of VW are you driving now?

I have a 92 jetta 162k young. I only buy 4 cylinder standards. I know the motor like the back of my hand. had 7 rabitts before the jetta. They do not make them any more so I had to buy a Jetta. Same car different body.

Any particular model you would recomend?

 

[rmediver2002]

No, I have a hour and forty minute commute each way and have been looking at the turbo diesels for a while.

I used to have a vanagon I used as a camping / rock climbing vehicle and later a Jetta VR-6. It was pretty amazing the power it had (the Jetta of course...) since I also drive four cylinders.

I am using a Chevy S-10 for the commute but have a 63 Land Rover for towing the boat and tinkering with.

Oh. I guess you were asking about the regulators huh?

For US Diver, I have used and still use the older metal conshelf 14 units and have grown to love them. (work of breathing is somewhat higher than the current designs on the market)

SCUBAPRO I am most impressed with the cost and efficiency of the MK-2 first stage, I have been very impressed with all the second stages... The R-190 is the bottom level and is a really great regulator.

 

[bobbenson]

No, I have a hour and forty minute commute each way and have been looking at the turbo diesels for a while.

I used to have a vanagon I used as a camping / rock climbing vehicle and later a Jetta VR-6. It was pretty amazing the power it had (the Jetta of course...) since I also drive four cylinders.

I am using a Chevy S-10 for the commute but have a 63 Land Rover for towing the boat and tinkering with.

Oh. I guess you were asking about the regulators huh?

For US Diver, I have used and still use the older metal conshelf 14 units and have grown to love them. (work of breathing is somewhat higher than the current designs on the market)

SCUBAPRO I am most impressed with the cost and efficiency of the MK-2 first stage, I have been very impressed with all the second stages... The R-190 is the bottom level and is a really great regulator.

I do not know anything about the diesels. They get great milage and I have been thinking about one but I know the gas motors so well and they are so comon I think I will stick with them.
I was looking at the DACOR classic it seems like a simple reg I have seen the old pacer and it looks similar. I was wondering if you had any experince with them? just came up in a serch.
The scubapro reg you mentioned above can be bought new?
What vendor do you recomend?

thanks,
Bob

 

[rmediver2002]

Not servicing them, a friend of mine is still diving an old pacer and like it.

Is there a shop in your area you use? If at all possible you should try and hook up with a scubapro dealer / shop. If you could take the repair course and order part through them then you get lifetime service kits for free on SCUBAPRO. If not possible then I would look around used and online but this will mean you have no warranty in most cases and will have to buy your service kits (which may still prove difficult if you can not find a shop to work through..).

 

[Scottri]

Any Piston Reg should be pretty easy to rebuild. Diaphram regs are little more complicated but not rocket Science. Poseidon regs are a little more complicated. Piston regs are very simple to rebuild and most second stages are pretty similar in design. Get the Encyclopedia of Recreational Scuba Diving, it has a pretty good section on regulators as a reference. Getting parts may be a problem since most dealers won't sell the kits unless you are "factory certified". My LDS will sell kits to me since I've know them for a long time and I had them babysit me while I rebuilt regs and they know I can do without screwing it up.


Scott

 

[bobbenson]

Any Piston Reg should be pretty easy to rebuild. Diaphram regs are little more complicated but not rocket Science. Poseidon regs are a little more complicated. Piston regs are very simple to rebuild and most second stages are pretty similar in design. Get the Encyclopedia of Recreational Scuba Diving, it has a pretty good section on regulators as a reference. Getting parts may be a problem since most dealers won't sell the kits unless you are "factory certified". My LDS will sell kits to me since I've know them for a long time and I had them babysit me while I rebuilt regs and they know I can do without screwing it up.


Scott

Thanks for all the advice I think I will look for a Scubapro mk2/r190. I have seen them on lots of sites and also used. You can pick them up pretty cheap and they say they are realy simple and reliable reg. It fits the profile of the type of diveing I plan on doing and my price range and simplicity. If anyone has anything further to add I am all ears.
thanks,
Bob