Conshelf XIV to rebuild or not to rebuild

[jacked_72]

I picked up a Conshelf XIV that I planned on stripping down and rebuilding, but when I tested the IP, it was exactly at 140psi and showed no signs of creep at all. I'm wondering if the people experienced with this model can give me their thoughts about whether they'd rebuild it given that the IP seems to bee fine with no creep.

 

[350xfire]

I picked up a Conshelf XIV that I planned on stripping down and rebuilding, but when I tested the IP, it was exactly at 140psi and showed no signs of creep at all. I'm wondering if the people experienced with this model can give me their thoughts about whether they'd rebuild it given that the IP seems to bee fine with no creep.

Filter looks good? How long since it's been done? Does it look ok?

 

[herman]

As an unknown, I would dissamble it, clean it and if it looks good inside, relube, assemble and dive it.

 

[scubapeter]

Personally, I would rebuild it....It may not need any new parts, but a good cleaning and lube will give you some peace of mind. 20-30 minutes of your time now may save a headache later. The conshelf 1st stage is pretty simple yet reliable and robust. Given a proper once over, it should provide lots of good service.

 

[jacked_72]

Thanks guys, I'll pull it apart and give it an ultrasonic cleaning and lube at a minimum. I don't know its history, but the outside looks very good.

 

[herman]

You might want to go ahead and replace the balance chamber Oring. It's cheap and if anything is going to give you a problem, that is the most likely suspect. Be careful removing it, scratching the internals of the balance chamber is bad news.

 

[halocline]

The only thing is that you might get a little creep when you put it back together, because the hp seat might not line up exactly the same on the orifice. It shouldn't be much, and maybe it won't happen at all. For me, when I take apart a first stage I like to replace the seat, although that's mostly piston first stages with a large cutting edge on a conical seat. The conshelf seat, if I'm not mistaken, is the same as the RAM. That's a pretty tough seat, I've taken the RAM nozzle apart a couple of times, put the same seat back in, and had no creep.

If it were my reg, I might go on a couple of dives with it, maybe first leave it pressurized for a couple of hours, cycling every so often. I probably would not take it on a trip as my only reg or so a deep solo dive with it. But, if it's working fine and looks good I'd be tempted to just use a little and then when you take it apart you can just rebuild. The new seat is part of the rebuild kit, isn't it?