Drowning in REGULATORS

[ElectricZombie]

From the choices you listed, I would go with the Apeks from an online dealer.

 

[DeepBlueSea45305]

Johnathan, Your the first person i have ever seen suggest buying regulators online. Online purchasing appeals to me but what of the warranties/parts etc. I do most of my scuba equipment purchases from LeisurePro. If i buy from them will the warranty be the same as if i baught if from LDS? Interested

 

[ElectricZombie]

Johnathan, Your the first person i have ever seen suggest buying regulators online. Online purchasing appeals to me but what of the warranties/parts etc. I do most of my scuba equipment purchases from LeisurePro. If i buy from them will the warranty be the same as if i baught if from LDS? Interested

Actually, a lot of people suggest buying regulators online.

Some of the online dealers (LeisurePro is one I think) say that they will honor the manufacturers warranty. It depends on what online company you buy it from, so ask and make sure. I've know people who have had problems with a piece of gear and LeisurePro took care of it. You really end up getting better service from LeisurePro than you would at an LDS anyway.

Keeping a warranty means that your regulator has to be serviced every year. (If you take proper care of your reg, you don't NEED to service it every year.) The parts may be "free" if under warranty, but you'll end up paying $60.00 - $120.00 in labor costs. Also, if you can't find a decent technican in your area to service the regs, you're out of luck. Most of the shops don't know how to properly service the gear they sell. Your reg may be serviced correctly, or it might not. You won't really know until you try it out. It's really a gamble every time you have it serviced unless you find a good tech.

If you combine the high cost of labor and the uncertainty of finding a competent technician, it's much easier to buy online and save the money and hassle. As stated earlier by another poster, I would suggest learning how to service your own regs.

 

[DrSteve]

I second Electric Zombie on the choice of "servicer." I had my reg serviced by an outfit which was highly recommended. A year later my buddy was setting me up for a dry suit dive (extra hose etc) and offered to check my pressures...oops one of them was *way* off (intermediate I think) causing me to have to suck a bit more at depth. Now I can't say I trust anyone!

Also...check out the Aqualung Legend series. Just FYI DiveInn has the Legend Supreme for 307 (NOT the LX, the LX is close to 390 and is the one with the "diving breath effort" controler as well as the Vantauri switch to reduce free flow). If you call LPro they will give you 315 for the same reg (their posted price is 360 and the non-exact match is due to the higher shipping with DiveInn and the 4.5% import duty). We bought the Legend as it was highly recommended by everyone on this board. Advantages over the Titan are alleged (we haven't experienced it yet) to be better breathing at depth.

We just bought some stuff from them and two things were the wrong size. No problems! They are shipping us the new sizes today and issued an RMA for return of the old stuff. Of course we'll get a charge and then a refund on our credit card but that's no problem. They are trustworthy. Why would I want to spend 385 from my LDS plus tax? What extra will they give me over LPro?

 

[oharag]

Dive-Rite Regs. A local Dive Shop, which is an authorized DR Tech Shop, was selling the RG2000 Reg for $300 (list is $395) recently. Other than that I believe you can purchase these for around $350. You get a DIN connector standard, and a Yoke adaptor is included (I think you have to purchase the yoke adaptor separately from Apeks - chaching!!!!!!!). DR posts the service manual on their website, and you can get rebuild kits on diveriteexpress.com. I didn't know this, but DR also schedules regulator maintenance classes for anyone from time to time. Per Rodales recent regulator reviews:

"Dive Rite RG2010 This workhorse of a regulator gave a strong showing at the first three simulator RMV/depths and barely missed achieving the fourth. In the water, it's a smooth breather, although a bit damp in the heads-down position. The purge is stiff, but effective. The smallish dive/predive switch is clearly marked, and the resistance knob provides five full turns of adjustment. It comes standard with a DIN valve, but a yoke adapter is available."

http://www.scubadiving.com/article/0,7424,2-35-57-635-5-3X6X9X15X21X25X28X29-9,00.html

Whatch out DeepBlueSea45305 I've asked these same questions on this Forum before. Most divers are biased for one reason or another. Most will recommend Apeks (which are excellent regs, but very expensive. Maybe deservably so, but there are other choices out there). They'll recommend you to buy overseas, which voids the warranty in the USA. Rebuild kits are difficult to come by as well (I believe ther's a German website out there that sells kits). DR regs from what I've heard from other divers perform well in deep cold water. Here's a link to a story where a DR team went to Antarctica to test out there equipment. All DR stuff. Impressive.

http://www.diverite.com.au/oza.shr/ws_section2/8/2

DR has these regs manufactured by a 3rd party. DR is a USA company. The owner of DR establishes excellent relationships with their dealers. Got a problem DR will most likely deal with issue by sending out a new part. Great support. I have a choice: service my regs with a LDS, or eventually service my own regs. No need to worry about an overseas supplier disappearing.

Just my .02 cents.

oharag

PS Oh, ask about wings/Back Plate and you'll get the Oxycheq and Halcyon recommendation. DR also makes excellent wings/BP as well. As does OMS ))) Go out and look and try different solutions. Cut through the BS you'll hear from multiple sources (your buddies, your LDS, this forum, et al.).

PSS I stayed away from the piston regs (ie. Scubapro) only because of the arguements with cold gunky water possibly creating problems with the open piston. I've actually seen Scubapro's free flow in NJ in decent temps. Maybe there was another issue, but I still saw it with my own eyes.

 

[RiverRat]

I don't know how this will go over with most divers and im not even real sure if I will be in need of special high dollar equipment but my plan is to get qualified to service my own gear. Kinda like a skydiver packing his own chute. All i want to need is the service kits themselves. Maybe someone out here can give a little insight to me being able to service my own gear.

I also dive an Apeks ATX200. One of the many reasons I bought it was that it's also relatively easy to service as well. I haven't done mine yet but I have the rebuild kits, just need a few tools and I'm ready when the time comes. You can find the kits if you hunt around.

 

[Atticus]

They're not horribly expensive! Ok, MSRP on the Apeks 200 is a bit high, but the DS4 is a pretty darn cheap reg.

They're proven, well known in the tech community, easy to service, simple, good breathers.

I've heard that the Legends are essentially a knock off of the Apeks, as are the Zeagle regs. I think all are good choices.

 

[docmartin]

i like apeks and of the regs you list they are the easiest as far as service and parts availability to the non-certified do-it-yourself technician. the dive rite are a good choice in my opinion because, as mentioned above, parts and manual are available through official US channels. however, performance may not be on par with apeks(?). i would have no qualms about buying regs online. i have done it many times.

 

[detroit diver]

Are you planning on working for an LDS? If not, I don't know how you'd get the training certificates to purchase the rebuild kits. Of course, they are available without them if you know where to look.

Where do you plan on taking regulator training?

 

[oharag]

Are you planning on working for an LDS? If not, I don't know how you'd get the training certificates to purchase the rebuild kits. Of course, they are available without them if you know where to look.

Where do you plan on taking regulator training?

Here's the Dive-Rite service manual located at Diveriteexpress.com:

http://www.diveriteexpress.com/library/manuals/reg_service.pdf

Here are the rebuild kits for all Dive-Rite regs (look to bottom):

http://www.diveriteexpress.com/regs/regulators.shtml

There's a local Dive-Rite Technical center that supposedly offers these courses. The courses are actually held by the local DR rep for the area. I was surprised to hear this as well. I have to find out what the real deal is. I believe DR has no qualms about selling rebuild kits, as well as providing literature and training to perform the service (obviously with disclaimers). I believe the only other manufacturer of regs that openly supports self-service of regs is Abyssmal.com.

As far as DR regs not breathing as good as Apek this may be true. The link I have for the Rodales article does have Apeks acing every test. But the DR was up there as well. Good enough for me. They stick these things on sensitive breathing apparatus. Would you notice the difference? Probably not. My teacher's been diving DR for numerous years. Dives them in the caves of FL, and deep as well. He's never complained about them. Again for the LDS price of around $350 for everything it's a no brainer for me. I thought about buying overseas as well. Buying DR affords me the luxury of having my regs serviced under warranty, and when the time comes I can self-service these regs myself.

I like the ATX200 1st stage, and thought seriously about getting this one. But it's over $450 easy (if not more).


oharag