Cracked Zeagle ZX housing?

[JamesD]

I've got a zeagle Tech 50D with two ZX second stages, and in the last year both of the second stages have had cracks in, the first one was when I took it for it's warrenty repair last Febuary (on the octo) and the second one was today when I found my primary appeared to allow air flow even when not connected to a tank.

Does this seem to be a common problem with the ZX second stage? I'm fairly careful with my dive gear and haven't dropped or banged my regulator around.

I'm also (vaguely) wondering if maybe the dive store I take it to be serviced at is messing up? Given that this has happened twice and both times they were the store that serviced it prior to the issue happening (when I was living in NC the store I got it from serviced it 3 years running and I didn't get any cracks).

 

[Scottri]

Can you describe where the cracks are? Are they near where the hose connects to the second stage? This area can get cracked if it's not disassembled and reassembled properly.

 

[JamesD]

The crack comes off from where the hose connects to the second stage, and goes under the exhaust ports.

 

[DiveTub]

Ahh I have seen this as well on the older ZX housings, the problem was the rebate for the Oring on the hose side of the second stage housing, if the nut on the outside of the Heat Synch had too much force applied it would crack the housing, a case of the technician not reading the manual and knowing the force to apply to the nuts.

The best way to check you have the upgraded housing is to have a look at the mouth piece opening, here you will see the serial number on the top and two small dots on the bottom, one large one on the left and a tiny one beside it on the right, I think Zeagle ended up making the Oring recess a little deeper for the over zealous Technician.


Cheers
Chris

 

[JamesD]

Presumably no dots means it's the original housing (I got this reg RIGHT around the time that Apeks stopped being the maker and Zeagle started producing them, about 4 years ago roughly)

 

[DiveTub]

Yes the new new Second stages with dots came into production about 2 years ago.

Cheers
Chris

 

[Chad Carney]

The problem with case cracking was from improper cooling from the mold. In their first year Zeagle resolved the problem and of course, warranties the cases. It's possible they were there all along, unnoticed, and possibly just expanded.

Zeagle cases, like Apeks, are some of the toughest on the market. It's obvious two wrenches should be used to prevent excessive pressure, but when a fair bit of excess force has been applied, it's still usually tough enough and is not a problem.

Contact Zeagle. www.zeagle.com

Chad