Dir Reg I.p

[Soggy]

Manufacturers set the IP too high so it will blow your teeth through the back of your head in the dive store and seem like a high performance reg. This does not add any actual real world performance and negatively affects reliability.

If you say so. Hasn't been a problem for me and right now I'm scootering in 36 degree water every weekend.

In what way does manufacturer recommended IP negatively affect reliability?

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

In what way does manufacturer recommended IP negatively affect reliability?

Higher IP requires a higher spring tension on the second stage seat, to keep the reg from free-flowing. However, this puts more stress on the seat when the reg is depressurized. Older Scubapro seconds for example, used to be notorious for this - the seats would get scored just sitting on the shelf, and then they would often start to "hiss" a little bit. Some of the newer regs (Atomic, Scubapro HP) unload the seat when the pressure is removed, which helps with that.

The higher IP settings are an artifact of "deep air" - IPs had to be increased to deliver the higher density gas at depth. In general however, this creates more maintenance issues than it solves, for no real gains in performance. Most any decent quality reg will breath well enough at depth, if you are using the right gas (i.e. helium-based).

 

[Soggy]

Higher IP requires a higher spring tension on the second stage seat, to keep the reg from free-flowing. However, this puts more stress on the seat when the reg is depressurized. Older Scubapro seconds for example, used to be notorious for this - the seats would get scored just sitting on the shelf, and then they would often start to "hiss" a little bit. Some of the newer regs (Atomic, Scubapro HP) unload the seat when the pressure is removed, which helps with that.

The higher IP settings are an artifact of "deep air" - IPs had to be increased to deliver the higher density gas at depth. In general however, this creates more maintenance issues than it solves, for no real gains in performance. Most any decent quality reg will breath well enough at depth, if you are using the right gas (i.e. helium-based).

That sounds great theory in theory, but how do you explain the thousands of problem-free regulators in use that are set to manufacturers specifications?

As I said, I dive in pretty extreme conditions as far as temperature is concerned without issue. I service my regs annually and replace the 2nd stage seat, per manufacturer recommendations, even though it isn't particularly worn.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to understand the reason and so far the rationale does not jive with my experience. Maybe Apeks regs are more reliable at factory spec than other brands?