how often should i service ?

[Bubbletrubble]

Does anyone know if the Tribolube ages in a similar way?

I'd be interested in this, too.

I used Tribolube in my most recent reg servicing earlier this year. I've put about 30 saltwater dives on the reg so far and the reg continues to function well. We'll see how it holds up over time.

 

[redacted]

What would you say for someone like me? Basically a summertime vacation diver, with three other family member divers. Which means our regs (two Sherwoods and two unbalanced piston Mares) are sitting coiled up for most of the year.

Warranty isn't an issue with any of them.

I'm tempted to just buy an IP gauge; and only having "annual" services done every two years, as long as the IP and the other easy checks come up good...

I'd say, buy an IP gauge and at least one spare regulator setup and then wait until there is some sign of a need for service. If you start to get nervous with that plan, buy a 2nd spare regulator set. If you are not concerned with warranty issues, you might as well let your regs tell you when the time is approaching.

 

[Zung]

Perfectly legitimate.

 

[Marek K]

I'd say, buy an IP gauge and at least one spare regulator setup and then wait until there is some sign of a need for service. If you start to get nervous with that plan, buy a 2nd spare regulator set. If you are not concerned with warranty issues, you might as well let your regs tell you when the time is approaching.

Sounds real tempting.

Of course, not owning tanks, i'd have to get one and just keep it pressurized.

Still, at $150 plus shipping and tank inspection/maintenance costs, it would still be cheaper than just one annual service on four regs.

Regarding keeping a spare reg (which I do have) -- how necessary would that be, seeing as that reg would have to be added to the service routine too? I mean, when something starts going bad, how fast does it go bad or start showing up as bad (IP creep)? I assume we're talking mainly seats, o-rings, and maybe corrosion, which wouldn't fail instantaneously?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

What would you say for someone like me? Basically a summertime vacation diver, with three other family member divers. Which means our regs (two Sherwoods and two unbalanced piston Mares) are sitting coiled up for most of the year.

Warranty isn't an issue with any of them.

I'm tempted to just buy an IP gauge; and only having "annual" services done every two years, as long as the IP and the other easy checks come up good...

I'm doing essentially what awap recommends: I use an IP gauge and montitor the IP for any "creep", perform the checks recommended in the "sticky" post at the top of this forum, and service when I see the performance starting to "slip".

I think "time" between services can also be a factor (lube drying up?), maybe as much a factor as the actual number of dives between services???

But I'm not sure how to evaluate or estimate how much time between services is ok.... you really need to test the regs, and go by the results you see.

I had an old Mares reg from ebay that I bought as a "practice" reg (to practice servicing). It was an older, well-used, old model MR-12, and IP was perfect and rock solid, but I rebuilt it anyway for just for practice... I could tell it had not been serviced in at least 5 years because of the HP poppet that was inside (it had not been upgraded), and my guess is that I could have continued to use the regulator without servicing it for at least another year.

My 5 sets of newer Mares regs did require service at the 2 and 3 year mark. A couple started "creeping" at 2 years so I serviced them, and the rest (that my kids use) had light corrosion beginning to appear on the first stage filters (but IP ok), so those got serviced.

All of these regs were "performing" fine (breathed well) at the time of service, but showed signs of needing service.

Could we have continued to dive them safely? Most certainly.

Would that have been wise? No!! They showed signs that indicated that their performance would sooner or later start to suffer, so it was time.

The only way to know if it is time for your regs to be serviced is to be diligent about testing and monitoring their condition.

Best wishes.

 

[Marek K]

I think "time" between services can also be a factor (lube drying up?), maybe as much a factor as the actual number of dives between services???

But I'm not sure how to evaluate or estimate how much time between services is ok.... you really need to test the regs, and go by the results you see.

[...]

The only way to know if it is time for your regs to be serviced is to be diligent about testing and monitoring their condition.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Not only lube deteriorating, but -- particularly with regs that are sitting coiled up a long time -- I'd guess the o-rings and seats would start distorting too. Yes?

That's why I'm thinking I wouldn't go over two years between services, even with everything checking out OK on the simple tests (to include IP).

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Marek K,

That sounds reasonable to me. In the end, it comes down to what you are comfortable with. For my regs, even if everythings seems "pefect", I'm not sure I'd go too much past 3 years without at least a good clean and re-lube.... but that is simply because I don't know how long they will actually go..... and because I enjoy working on them .

As far as the o-rings: The o-rings are actually pretty well "trapped" and protected while the reg is stored... the dynamic o-rings aren't being subjected to motion, and the static o-rings are, well, just doing their static thing... as long as water has not entered the reg, it should "keep" in (proper) storage for quite a long time... I just don't know how long the "lube" keeps its properties....

 

[redacted]

My limited experience is most regulator failures are gradual and easily managed if you deal with them in a timely manner. But not all. I have seen hoses burst and tanks fall on and crack a 2nd stage. There are many other instantaneous failure modes. The effects of such failures on your dive trip are minimal if your have a spare ready to go. With my piston regs, deteriorating lube on dynamic piston o-rings shows up as increasing IP; and then you deal with it. To me, it is just hard to find a good reason to service a reg that passes all inspections and checks unless you are just looking for something to do.

 

[Zung]

I've seen only 1 single case of unrecoverable failure: on a dive boat, a guy turned on the air and the reg freeflowed full blast. We opened the second stage, a Mares Proton, and the lever was missing!. Possibly a case of (mis-) re-using the lock nut: it got loose, and the lever went out through the mouth piece! He dived with his spare rig.

 

[herman]

I've seen only 1 single case of unrecoverable failure: on a dive boat, a guy turned on the air and the reg freeflowed full blast. We opened the second stage, a Mares Proton, and the lever was missing!. Possibly a case of (mis-) re-using the lock nut: it got loose, and the lever went out through the mouth piece! He dived with his spare rig.

I would bet the spring and/or seat was also missing due to some tech not doing his job. Reused the lock nuts will usually hold just fine so it is unlikely it worked loose but reguardless of that, if the lever was missing with the spring and seat properly installed, the seat would have the max spring pressure on it so if anything it would withstand excessive IP, not freeflow.....another reason to check your regs before any important dive and just after service, reguardless of who does the work.
If the lock nut had been working loose, the reg would have gotten progressively harder to breath from and at some point would have rattled excessively, both of which are hard to miss signs something is wrong that a diver should have taken note of. Either they were missing from service or the dive was not paying any attention to what his reg was telling him.