C200 post-service tuning

[oreocookie]

I recently brought my reg in for annual service. I tested it out in the shop and the C200 octo seemed overly sensitive. With the Dive/Predive switch set on Dive, 3 purges resulted in 2 normal burst of air, and the last one a freeflow. I tried again, same thing, a freeflow after a couple of normal purges.

It's entirely possible that I set the switch to Dive and some point and forget to switch it back, but I purge and breathe off both second stages before hitting the water for every dive and I've never had a freeflow before a dive.

The guy at the shop (who's not a tech) said he'd tell the tech to tune it down a bit. I ran into him the next day and he told me that he spoke to the tech that morning and that tuning is apparently normal (which sounds like the tech wasn't going to touch it again).

I'll be heading back to the shop later this week to pick it up, but first I want to know if this is normal or not, and if I should ask them to tune it down a bit anyway.

Thanks in advance

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It's hard to tell without seeing the cracking effort/inhalation numbers from the flow bench. You can certainly ask that it be set on the high end of the normal range.

As long as the orifice is properly adjusted, it's a quick and easy adjustment of the spring pressure to increase the inhalation effort slightly.

 

[oly5050user]

I recently brought my reg in for annual service. I tested it out in the shop and the C200 octo seemed overly sensitive.

With the Dive/Predive switch set on Dive, 3 purges resulted in 2 normal burst of air, and the last one a freeflow. I tried again, same thing, a freeflow after a couple of normal purges.

thats normal..that is the reason there is a dive/predive switch..Put it in predive and that is not likely to happen.

It's entirely possible that I set the switch to Dive and some point and forget to switch it back, but I purge and breathe off both second stages before hitting the water for every dive and I've never had a freeflow before a dive.

sounds like it was never tuned properly before.

The guy at the shop (who's not a tech) said he'd tell the tech to tune it down a bit. I ran into him the next day and he told me that he spoke to the tech that morning and that tuning is apparently normal (which sounds like the tech wasn't going to touch it again).

tech should have no problem to "detune" it, but performance will suffer.

I'll be heading back to the shop later this week to pick it up, but first I want to know if this is normal or not, and if I should ask them to tune it down a bit anyway.

you can ask, I would leave it the way it supposed to be..

 

[SCUBAPRO Harry]

All of our regs have specific settings to operate optimally. In the dive position, a second stage will freeflow when purged on the surface. I suggest you just have your LDS tune the reg as per specs...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

You may also want to request a sheet with the flow test results on it. I have never been to a tech seminar in the last 10 years where Scubapro's trainer did not suggest their dealers use one. It will generally show the "pre" service IP and cracking effort as well as the post service IP, cracking effort and flow volumes. It goes a long way towards ensuring the IP, cracking effort and flow performance is normal/within spec for both the min and max venturi positions.

A good shop will use a sheet covering those parameters. A *really good* shop will query the customer about it's current performance when they bring it in for service to gauge how well they like it and how they prefer it to be tuned. A *great* shop will keep a copy of the past flow test sheets on file and then discuss current performance/satisfaction with the owner before doing the service to ensure the customer gets optimum performance for their particular needs. For example, some divers want the octo/back up reg to breathe as easy as the primary, while others prefer it to be set with a bit higher cracking effort. Both may be within specification, but one extreme or the other within that spec may not make the customer happy.

Failing that, as a customer feel free to express that you like how it currently performs and express how you'd like it to perform the same way post service - and commensurate with that, ask for pre and post service performance numbers. The average shop now charges $25-$30 per stage for labor and a good tech gets half of that amount, so they really can spend the 5-10 extra minutes per regulator package it takes to do a proper flow test.

 

[oreocookie]

I picked up the reg about a week and a half ago. They're telling me it's tuned within specs, so I guess I'll just dive it and see what I think.

 

[silver02ca]

Which LDS did you get it serviced at?

 

[abyss_scuba]

I always ask customers to have a minimum of 15 minutes of free time when they come in to pick up serviced gear. While I will set gear to service specs, there is some lattitude in how people like there gear set up, I had one customer insist on having his second stages detuned because he felt his air lasted longer that way. I don't argue unless you are asking me to do something I feel is unsafe. We do use reg spec sheets because it helps us keep track of what we did and also is a handy place to note that the octo was on the left side, computer housing had a crack whjen it came in etc....

 

[oreocookie]

Finally got to test my regs in water last week.... 26 dives with both second stages breathing exactly the same as they had before service. Apparently I'd never purged the C200 on the surface with the dive/predive switch set to dive before I did it in the shop -- I'll know for next time.

Silver, I went to Action Scuba, my current shop of choice.