First Regulator Use after Service

[redacted]

From the LDS and manufacturer perspectives, the preferred solution to a harder breathing non adjustable second stage is to have the customer buy a new balanced and adjustable second stage for a lot more money - so there is not much incentive to deviate from the breathe-like-a-rock factory specs.
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Another option with many regulators, from the consumer's standpoint, is to learn to make this very simple (unless you have those damn Scubapro hose fittings) adjustment yourself. So you can opt for top performance right out of the shop and make the adjustment in a couple minutes should a slight FF develop. The type of FF we are talking about should not interfer with an onging dive and can be easily corrected before the next dive with a wrench and a scuba tool multitool. Scubapro hose fittings will require one or two soft-jaw pliers or std pliers, rags, and some extra care.

 

[Lead_carrier]

The irony here is of course that suitably high inhalation adjustment specs will compensate for a lot of sins committed by less than proficient techs so your assertion regarding tech compentence is equally ironic - techs who try to deliver better perfomance near the mechanical limits of the particular regulator for their customers will have a higher number of regs that need post service adjustment several dives after they are serviced and will end up with more customer complaints. That pretty much removes the incentive to try to please the customer or maximize the performance potential of whatever regulator they own.

On the other hand, many non adjustable regs can be adjusted to a significantly lighter inhalation effort, if the customer is willing to accept a slight risk of a slight freeflow once the seat breaks in with a related need to bring it back in for an adjustment. If you are headed off on a big trip or are a mail order service customer, that is not really an option open to you.

I learned this lesson the hard way. A friend wanted his adjusted to breathe easier. I adjusted it to where he wanted it. He used it a couple of times and it developed a slight slow leak. He took it to a different shop, I got called everything but whale crap for not knowing what I was doing. Haven't seen him since after I reminded him that HE was the one that chose the cracking pressure. No more favorable adjustments from me now.

But to answer the OP. Pool or easy dive first. Just to make sure everything holds up. On a rare occasion a part may fail that is new or one that isn't a required service part.

 

[ReefHound]

Phil, you may be right that a correctly rebuilt and tested reg should perform as new but I think this question is more about measuring the diver's trust that service was performed as such. Certainly one who services their own regs can feel more confident that service was performed correctly. Not having serviced it myself or even oversaw the service, I could not trust 100% that everything was done right and thoroughly tested.

I usually dive a newly serviced reg at a local shallow pond. A pool would do but I'm not in a pool very often. I have taken them directly on a dive trip but I usually take at least two regs with me and I make a shallow first dive.

 

[jeckyll]

I guess this depends on the situation, I'm about to go through this for the first time (2 year interval for atomics)

For doubles, I'll get the sides done independently, i.e. I always have one first and second stage that wasn't touched.

For singles, advise buddy (just as a heads up) then follow standard procedure, i.e. breath on surface w/ bubble check, do s-drill @ 20 feet, dive & stay close as always.

I also know the person who'll be doing the service personally. We did advanced and fundies together and I think he's very capable.

 

[Divemonster2006]

I've just had mine serviced and have been pondering the same question. I plan on completing a pool dive before hopping into the ocean.

Chris

 

[PhilEllis]

I think you guys are missing my point.............

If you service a regulator CORRECTLY, you don't have a problem. End of question. Now, I realize that obviously a LOT of you don't have access to someone who can service a regulator correctly. If that is the case, do the only thing a consumer can do to voice displeasure......stop going to that technician and let him die the slow death. People who only clean and reassemble regulators, with no concept of exhaustive post-repair testing, have no business doing this professionally. Now, if you are doing you own, you can do whatever you want. If you are doing this professionally, you have an obligation to do it correctly.

To DA's comments.....if the manufacturer says that a regulator should be set with an initial opening effort of 1.4 inches of water, that is how you set them. I don't think it is safe and fair to the consumer to engage in the business of making a regulator perform better than it was intended. The typical poppet valve found in the lower end second stages (almost all brands) are designed to open at around 1.4 - 1.6 inches of water WITHOUT a severe risk of freeflows. Setting them any easier simply increases the likelyhood of freeflow. Some of the higher quality balanced, integrated air tube second stages can be set much lower. On the issue of soft seat break-in, that is done here IN OUR STORE. We create 85% of any seat demarcation right here in the store BEFORE we adjust and test the regulator. There isn't much left to happen after the customer gets the regulator.

We need to end this business of acting as if there are no skilled, professional regulator repair outlets available. They ARE available. There are also many stores that subscribe to the "anybody can do it" attitude. They are wrong. If anybody could do this, all of you guys wouldn't need to put a quality control step in the process after you get them back. If "anbody can do it", we would see a great reduction in the number of new threads on ScubaBoard. It certainly seems like many new threads start with "my regulator quit working after I got it fixed"! This simply makes no sense to me.

Phil Ellis

 

[ReefHound]

I think you guys are missing my point.............

If you service a regulator CORRECTLY, you don't have a problem. End of question. Now, I realize that obviously a LOT of you don't have access to someone who can service a regulator correctly. If that is the case, do the only thing a consumer can do to voice displeasure......stop going to that technician and let him die the slow death. People who only clean and reassemble regulators, with no concept of exhaustive post-repair testing, have no business doing this professionally. Now, if you are doing you own, you can do whatever you want. If you are doing this professionally, you have an obligation to do it correctly.

I think you're missing the point. The average diver who has his regs serviced cannot KNOW that it was serviced and tested correctly. Maybe it was. He can TRUST that it was, based on factors such as reputation and credentials and past experience. But he cannot KNOW it. Even the diver who services his own does not usually have the exhaustive testing equipment.

So the issue isn't whether or not the regulator was serviced correctly and will perform correctly, but whether you assume that and dive it as normal immediately after getting it back, or take it more cautiously and prove it to yourself by taking it on a pool or shallow dive.

As a side note, not only do I take newly serviced regs on a conservative dive before giving them my trust, I do the same for brand new regulators.

 

[jeckyll]

... I would also add that any perceived need to _significantly_ change the dive planning for a 'normal' conservative dive post reg service may be indicative of the need to change the dive planning itself.

A reg failure should not be catastrophic. If it is, that isn't just a failure of the reg, but a failure of the diver and their 'buddy'

Just my $0.02

 

[PhilEllis]

I think you're missing the point. The average diver who has his regs serviced cannot KNOW that it was serviced and tested correctly.

That is truely a shame. When I get my oil changed in my automobile, I know to a reasonable certainty that the drain plug is installed properly. That doesn't mean that the drain plug is ALWAYS installed correctly, but that it is so nearly always done correctly that I don't have to design a plan to check up after the service guy.

Only in the scuba business would we allow unqualified or completely ignorant service people to service our regulators. The point I was trying to make is that if you take a regulator to a QUALIFIED regulator technician, you can KNOW it was done correctly with about the same statistical certainty that you have with your motor oil drain plug. There is no adjustment needed after the seat has broken in....that is supposed to be done as part of the service you pay for.

Note: This is not a criticism of self rebuilding. In fact, I am one of the leading advocates that you be allowed to buy parts and do the service yourself. This criticism is of those who practice regulator rebuilding as a profession without REALLY knowing what they are doing or without possession of the proper equipment to test the product after service.

Phil Ellis

 

[jeckyll]

Phil: But after I get my oil changed, I still go check the level the next day and make sure there are no new leaks. Even if I change the oil myself (like on my motorbikes).

To me, that's just common sense. O-rings on oil filters can be easily pinched / not seated correctly, crush washes on drain plugs may not seal, someone could have gotten the torque specs wrong. Just like there could be something that didn't go right on a reg service.

I think doing a cautious dive to ensure everything is working as expected is a prudent course of action and not necessarily a negative reflection on the person doing the servicing.

To me, this is the same as analyzing my own gas. Sure the person who does the blending is trained and I trust them to follow the correct methods, but I still get the analyzer out and check it myself before diving it...

Just my $0.02