Do regulators have a lifespan/ become dangerous of failure after so many years?

[cfberry]

Regulators can last decades — and I have some from the 1970s which still see use, and which haven’t missed a beat in all of those years; and I service them myself.

The bigger concern, over time, is more the availability of spare parts and service kits, which varies between manufacturers like little else . . .

good to know!

 

[grantmac]

All the DMs in Japan seem to have truly ancient and beat up Scubapro metal regs.

 

[Dan]

My 19+ years old Scubapro’s MK25 / S600 is still working fine. I just completed 1641 dives with it. Got it serviced every 2 years.

 

[Belzelbub]

From what i understand, Huish, the company that owns the Oceanic brand now, is no longer supporting the legacy regs, so those regs have a very finite lifespan.

Possibly true on Oceanic regs. I'm not certain. Definitely not the case with all Huish brands.

Thanks Still Kicking. Im leaning toward a reg kit with a little more metal/brass w/ my next one. I've learned over the years that if you look,talk & listen to these ole salty dog dive master on the boats here in NC they can help you out. Safe diving my friend.

I would also add that you look at brands that don't have a bunch of unique service kits for various models. That's a good indicator of longevity.

My active regs are all from another Huish company (Zeagle). One was definitely purchased before Huish acquired Zeagle. The other two were purchased after. No problems getting service kits for that older reg, even though it's been discontinued for some time now. The reason is that all three regs, despite being different models, all use the exact same service kit. So, as long as the brand is still around, I don't think I'll have any trouble getting service.

 

[Nemrod]

I have seen 109s that were no longer serviceable due to corrosion, as rarely as hens teeth, I even once saw a G250 with a crack in the cover threads. The G250 (20% glass fiber reinforced polyamide) can take hits that would squash the 109, just saying. Anything that would put a G250 out of service would likely do the same to the brass 109. Scubapro in particular supports their older products and again, the 109/156/G250 essentially share all working parts that will normally need replaced in service. In particular the Mark 2 (now uprated to Evo status) is proven bullet proof:



The AL first stages all use much the same parts as did the old Conshelf and even further back to the Royal Master balanced double hose regulator. These are so ubiquitous that other party companies make the service parts and the Conshelf (1085) second stage only needs a LP seat which can be made at home with a leather punch. Titan, Core, Legend, Helix, all use many of the same internal components, over a 60 years span! The brass 1085 might be more eternal than the 109/G250. Oceanic and all the rest, YRMV when it comes to long term serviceability.

So you want to dive at 100 feet and you want an eternal set of regulators that need minimal service and are rock solid, that is easy. That would be a Scubapro Mark 2 Evo with either new G260 seconds or get crazy and grab some original G250 second stages. The Mark 2 may not really have a service interval except the one imposed by corporate legal. Somethings are forever.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

This comb kit has preformed awesome over the last 5 years! I'm just wondering here, do regulator kits ever wear out if they are serviced like the manuf spec's require? Which i follow by Oceanic. I take really good care of my equipment & diver safety is # 1 !!!!! Esp if your 100' deep most of the time. Any feed back on how long/ many years will a regulator kit last? See you underwater. Thanks divers, Marcus.

I view them like I do airplanes (mine was a 1947 model Aeronca chief). They can fly forever, if you can get the parts and do the maintenance. The aviation parts bidiness is kinda a regulated industry so may not be completely comparable. When a manufacturer of certified parts goes away, or the warehouse backstock dries up, that may ground the equipment (absent FAA approval for substituting parts which is now really hard to get unless there's a big pile of money to pay engineers and lawyers to make the case for approval).

The more common the airplane, the better the supply of parts. There were probably 10x the number of Aeronca Champs than Chiefs. And probably the same advantage of Piper Cubs over the number of Aeronca Champs (just a guess). Guess which one was easier to find parts for and which one was hardest.

 

[USdiver1]

Still diving both a Green and Blue Label Aqualung Trademark regulators from circa 1953, as well as several other Voit and US Divers double hose regulators from the late 50s through the early 70s. Currently rebuilding a Healthways ScubairJ from 1962 [I used it from 1977 - 1986]. My go-to regulator is a US Divers Conshelf SE from 1985/86. So, no, there is no defined lifespan for regulators, provided you maintain them.

 

[Ez E]

Seems like they can last indefinitely if you can replace parts.

Just went on a pool dive with my buddy. He hasnt got wet since 2010. His reg set(some dive shop house brand) had not been serviced since years before that when he bought it new. He wanted to see if it worked still. So our other buddy leading the class(we were just swimming around not part of the class, but free shortie wetsuit and tank of air ) brought and extra regulator setup in case this house brand stuff failed.

Well hooked it up. Seemed to breathe nice. Pressed the purge which is rubber(or used to be rubber) and it disintegrated. Both the secondary and octo had their rubber disintegrate. He said well I can still operate the purge without that.

We dove for like and hour and a half with no problems. He said he will probably buy a new setup because parts are iffy on these older house brands.

Not sure if that helps anyone but I thought it was fitting.

 

[Nemrod]

Seems like they can last indefinitely if you can replace parts.



Well hooked it up. Seemed to breathe nice. Pressed the purge which is rubber(or used to be rubber) and it disintegrated. Both the secondary and octo had their rubber disintegrate. He said well I can still operate the purge without that.

Soft purge covers are a curse. The G250/G260/AL 1085 have hard purge buttons. For longevity avoid soft purge covers. Even Atomics are known to turn gooey or get hard and crack as are recent AL products. The Scubapro 109 also uses a soft purge cover which in olden times was neoprene and would get hard and crack or take a set. Now the more recent replacements have been silicone and they will last many, many years, but not as long as a hard button and cover. White silicone below from TSM (have not removed the molding fuzz yet, lol):