Dacor Pacer XL - but which one?

[bertschb]

The model numer should be printed on the face of the yoke screw.

I found it. It's a 950. I assume this is the first stage and the 2nd stage is the Pacer XL?

BTW, when regulators fail, do they do it slowly by leaking air or becoming hard to breathe or do they fail catostrophically where they work fine until the failure and the next breath never comes? In other words, can you tell when a failure is immenent?

 

[DrownedRat]

I'm not exactly sure of the model number but I dive an early eighties Dacor Pacer XL. The reg is solid old school brass and I had no trouble getting parts for my service this year.. I'm a little concerned now seeing this thread As for the reg though, I absolutly love it. I'd say it's worth holding onto. But I'm a newbie so stick with the pro's opinion

Cheers

 

[bertschb]

Maybe I should just buy a couple of service kits for it. Does anybody know where I can get some?

 

[Compressor]

After Mares bought Dacor, they decided to abandon the older Dacor regs (according to my LDS). Its a shame. Time to get a new reg IMO.

 

[Brian Bozworth]

the pacer XL960 was a work horse, I retired mine to the swimming pool

 

[Debraw]

You probably will not find parts easily. It seems if people do have parts to repair them they are not parting with them because they are discontinued. Our shop is offering trade-ins on the Pacers. We have them sent out for service right now and the average cost is $85-$120 depending on the condition of the reg. Depending on the new reg you should get a fair trade-in of between 10% and 30% off a new reg.

 

[scubapro50]

Have heard several places that Dacor will stop making parts for their Pacer line of regulators. What ever happened to their lifetime warranty ? Quote from my warrenty book : " this warranty covers to the original owner, all defects in material and workmanship in any regulator sold by Dacor Corporation (DACOR). The warranty also covers all regulator working parts against normal wear and tear." Does lifetime to them mean on 20 years or so ........ ?

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Well, there were a couple of questions unanswered above. I just bought a Dacor Pacer 900 on e-bay for just over $50 (with shipping). I've looked at it, and it is a great older regulator (not old, just older). This is a third-generation regulator, and of solid brass, it will wear well. I bought this one to replace one that I gave up in the 1980s, and it was a great buy (complete with an octopus, LP inflator and SPG).

The questions unanswered:

--How will I know it's going to fail? Well, first these regulators do not fail to a no-breath situation; they fail to a free-flow situation. So if there is a catestrophic failure, there will be a trickle or a surge of air. Now, this applies to the 1980's regulators. There was a recall for the pruge button that, according to the notice to NOAA, would potentially cause a no-air situation (which I still have not figured out). There were pre-1979 regulators, and there was a Dacor-initiated recall of it.

--It is unlikely that the High Pressure (HP) seat will crack or be scored, as is suggested above. But I liked the suggestion to keep the purge down as the valve is opened; that is probably good advise for any regulator.

--Most likely, the only thing that needs to be done with your regulator (and mine) is a lubrication/replacement of any O-rings in the unit. The HP diaphragm should also be examined, and perhaps replaced (if it is stiff, for instance). One O-ring on my second stage was flattened and came apart when I took the hose off, so all O-rings need to be examined/replaced.

--The regulator, even with the service, should be used. It's a great-breathing regulator, and probably still has many years of service left. I would not be looking to replace it because of need anytime soon. Consider replacement if you find another regulator you like better, is better cosmetically or ergonomically, or offers some other advantage you cannot receive from the Dacor Pacer.

SeaRat

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I just rebuilt a Dacor 900 with a Pacer XL second stage this weekend. I am not a big fan of Dacor regs, but I like the 900/950/960 series particularly with the metal Pacer XL second stage. They are a very sweet breathing reg.

The owner of this particular reg had not had it serviced it since 1992 and in that 12 years it saw a lot of abuse and ill treatment. The second stage had a slight leak in it but the IP was still rock steady on the first stage. So even though it was very very dirty and 11 years overdue for an annual service, the first stage still tested fine on the bench.

We still have a few kits for the 900/950/960 series regs so it got a total rebuild anyway. Unless used for a lot of dives per year, I would suspect the first stage will still perform as advertised in another 12 years, especially if it is properly rinsed and stored this time around.

There is very little to go wrong in the second stage and seats should still be available for the Pacer second stages. Even if a Dacor seat is not available in the future, second stage seats for downstream designs tend to be very similar and an Aqualung or SP seat should work. I have also had good luck flipping the Dacor seats in the field even though they have a hole in the center of the backside of the seat.

So in short, I would probably not retire the reg anytime soon. I would take it in for annual service each year until you can't get parts and then I would take it in annually after that for a flow test and maybe a cleaning and a new second stage seat.

Since their acquisition by Mares, Dacor no longer stocks parts for any of their numbered first stages and has also discontinued parts for the Enduro. I anticipate that as existing stocks are depleted, Mares will discontinue parts for other Dacor regs as well. Mares apparently is not concerned with the lifetime warranty on Dacor regs. This is in my opinion a very good reason to buy Aqualung and Scubapro regs as they have continued to provide parts support for nearly every single hose reg they have made in the last 40 years.

 

[Heli/Ox]

Thank you for a great forum ....

This thread starting about a year ago is answering alot of questions for me.

I too am in the same delima, Purchased the Dacor 950XL Pacer (w/octopus) while in the service at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan - 1983. I am trying to get it back into usable state.

Dog gonnit, Parts, parts, parts this seems to be my only issue. Looks like I'll need to be contacting Sevice Centers nation wide (USA) to find them. I do have a request in with Dacor, but no response yet... I shure hope they will decide to honor the warranty/service even though under new management.

Thanks Again