Hey all,
Rick made an allusion to a repair process I affectionately call the "bucket method". When cars started to get computerized back in '81 we were all amazed by their diagnostic trees. Unfortunately, many of them ended with those dreaded words "replace with known good part". That is, there was no published way to test the part without mere substitution. Lincoln ACs were the worst for this, as they had several parts that were in excess of $200 to make them work. What a nightmare to the customer AND the shop trying to make a decent profit. There were many of them that I just told the customer to take it down to the dealer where a technician could take a bucket of parts and start substituting "known good parts" until it starts working again. It's almost as bad as trying to diagnose a string of Christmas lights that are wired in series!!!
As a Network consultant, I have had to rely on my hunches from time to time as well, and golly gee, I even "ate" a few parts, but generally keep them around as "known good parts" to aid in diagnosis. Sometimes the bucket method IS the most useful way to repair a complex system. Cars, computers and networks can all benefit from this modus errata.
This is generally not so with regulators. You have leaks, free flows and no flows as the three most common problems. As Joe so aptly pointed out, learning how to assess scores, pits, cracks and abrasions seems to be the most challenging part of any regulator repair. If you replace all of the O-rings, examine the hard seats, all rubber items, and then re-assemble with care, you will normally cure 99.9% of all regulator issues. Sure there is more to regulator repair, as in intermediate pressures and cracking pressures and using the appropriate lubricants in the right places and the right amounts and knowing what to clean and HOW. But these are not insurmountable, and as others have pointed out, I do not like the track record of many of the local LDS's regulator techs. Either they are not paid enough to take the time with the individual regulators, and so have to rush. OR... they just don't care, 'cause if it fails, they will still be breathing on the surface. I believe that I will take my chances with -ME-.
Five out of the six instructors I have worked with tell their students to service their stuff yearly and yet will not allow their regs out of their hands unless there is a demonstrated problem with it. Two of those love it when I help them out, because they have issues with their equipment that they don't trust the LDS with. Finding a competent reg tech that actually cares may not be impossible, but it is sure hard to do.
:tease:
