Buying mid - high end regulator vs replacing it every few years

[MichaelMc]

buddhasummer is one of our reg experts. I'm not one of our experts, though I've rebuilt all my 109, 156, and deep6 second stages. Tuning the second stage just involves adjusting the volcano orifice. Not ideal to do on the beach in the sand, but definitely in the parking lot or car.

If you want to service with a tank at home, you could get an AL19, though it will not give much gas to play around with.

 

[Centrals]

I'm a big fan of Apeks first stages, stupid simple. 109/156/G250/V second stages great performing and also very simple. Not saying there aren't others but these are my preference from a performance/ease of self servicing perspective.

Apeks is also my suggestion. DS4 or DST with XTX 50 2nd stage.
Only if the OP can get his hands on Apeks 1st and 2nd stages service kits. Apparently not that easy in USA or even Europe.

 

[buddhasummer]

I will send kits anywhere planes, or if you're not in any hurry, ships will travel.

 

[KenGordon]

Option 2 - Get a budget regulator set, such as Oceanic Alpha 10 + SPX ($200),

My club is scrapping a bunch of Oceanic Alpha 8 or 9 regs due to plastic purge button/front plates that broke almost immediately. We have replaced them with Apeks ATX regulators which are only 10% more expensive here in the U.K. lessons we learned were - 1 oceanic make literally useless regulators, 2 parts for life is not a help. There were complications due to Oceanic changing hands but at the end of the day they were useless.

Mostly cheap regulators are completely functional, I recommend looking at the factors beyond features, things like service availability, reliability of the business and so forth.

For myself I just buy Apeks ATX/DS4, or if I particularly want a rotating turret or 5th port XTX/DST, they just work. I also have an older Mares set which I quite like, but is marginally more hassle to get serviced in some places.

This is my local shop, £229 including tax.

Apeks ATX40 DS4 Stage 3 with ATX40 Octopus

I have never owned a £1000 set of regulators, I can’t imagine what problem they solve. £500 ones do have hose routing advantages, can have an SPG and a computer AI at the same time and may be convenient, but inside, the Apeks ones at least, are the same as the £229 ones.

 

[lexvil]

Everything you need to know is available, buy a popular brand, like Scubapro, Apeks, maybe even Aqua Lung, and ask here, someone will link to the manual and parts are available the same way.

 

[buddhasummer]

Nail hit firmly on the head.

 

[buddhasummer]

Stick around SB long enough and you'll find and be able to get everything you need, manuals, tools, parts, service kits and most priceless of all, solid advice, guidance and assistance. This board has many good folk who will go out of their way to help.

 

[tbone1004]

Thank you everyone for your opinions!



I heard of Deep Six, but haven't seen anyone personally who uses them, so I couldn't ask someone for their opinion. From my understanding, Deep Six is very similar to Edge/HOG, where you can service your own regulator. I took a look at their website, it seems the 1st/2nd stage combo for signature is about $380, much more reasonable. I don't mind learning and I consider myself handy, but still afraid I'd mess up the assembly. But the free 1st service is very tempting. How's their regulator compared to Edge/HOG? I remember reading other posts and saw that you also advocate their regulators as well?

From my understanding, sourcing parts for Atomic or Scubapro isn't that easy in the US, and learning to service them is even harder. Do you have any suggestions on where to learn them besides forum? I don't want to learn how to service part that's critical for underwater thru reading other people's comments.



I agree. The 15x seems to a decent entry level regulator set, for being sealed and balanced. And I have no doubt that it will last for more than 2 years if properly cleaned and stored. That's why it makes little sense to spend $100 a year to get it serviced when I can buy a brand new set every 2 years, even though it may seem like a waste. I can always donate it to a friend or sell the used one for cheap.



Yep you're right tbone, i'm in the US.

You can't learn how to service Atomic, Scubapro, or Aqualung/Apeks in the US from the manufacturers. You can learn from guys that know how to service them locally if you can find them, but the only 3 regulators that you can be factory trained to service in the US if you are not a dealer are HOG, Deep6, and Poseidon.

@KenGordon just the ATX40 with a DST is $500 US... Your dive shop is not allowed to ship to the US, so anyone getting ideas about buying from overseas understand that it is a violation of their dealership agreements to ship outside of their territory and you see that in the bottom saying it can't be sent outside of the EU.

As far as Deep6 vs HOG. The Deep6 Signature is an iterative improvement over the D3/Zenith. Designed by the same guy who left HOG and founded Deep6, and includes some improvements in the plating and soft parts, and some minor mechanical improvements. The parts kits are interchangeable though Deep6 uses higher end parts in theirs as part of the improvements. The question is which company you want to support combined with which one you think looks cooler. I want to support Deep6 so I bought a bunch of their regulators and I love them. Dove them this morning actually while teaching.

 

[noctshadow]

Everything you need to know is available, buy a popular brand, like Scubapro, Apeks, maybe even Aqua Lung, and ask here, someone will link to the manual and parts are available the same way.

I always thought scuba pro is overrated, overpriced (due to marketing), but it seems like based on the feedback so far, their regulators seem to last a long time if you service it properly, whether DIY or by a reputable shop. I guess I have a different mindset for them now.

 

[Bob DBF]

Re needing tank, yes you do, I don't own tanks and have been known to tune regs at dive site.

If you want to service with a tank at home, you could get an AL19, though it might not give a lot of gas to play around a lot with.

Since the OP is in the US, the most overlooked tank is the old steel 72 (2250#). Just by letting people know I'm a diver, people have dragged out and given me those tanks that some relative used decades ago and have been lying around. I haven't had one fail hydro yet. I've given some away to new divers because I can only use so many.

And they aren't bad for local shallower dives.