IP problem with brand new Poseidon Xstream

[Bigbella]

However, since the reg is brand new, I would assume that this is something that should be covered by the Poseidon warranty?

Yikes!

I take it that it was from an authorized dealer and not a grey marketeer, say, out of New York, and rhymes with "seizure no?" Have you contacted them? Poseidon can be a bit . . . Nordic, about unauthorized dealers.

I think that Rob called it. A bad seat. I have never seen that in new gear -- ever; nor have I ever seen a new calibrated Poseidon reg, ever out of specs. Well, at least the OPV worked; and you're not a floater.

Damn . . .

 

[rsingler]

Yep. It sounds like a return item if it was sold as new. Perhaps a high pressure o-ring failure. Stuff happens.
If you can't get satisfaction from your dealer, save your purchase receipt and send it all to me. I am a Poseidon Service Center and can probably get Poseidon to make things new, if it's not just a simple service re-do.

 

[phoque]

@phoque sounds like you send the first stage back to the shop you bought it from and get it exchanged or at least rebuilt.

Indeed, that's what I requested from the dealer who sold it to me.

Yikes!

I take it that it was from an authorized dealer and not a grey marketeer, say, out of New York, and rhymes with "seizure no?" Have you contacted them? Poseidon can be a bit . . . Nordic, about unauthorized dealers.

I think that Rob called it. A bad seat. I have never seen that in new gear -- ever; nor have I ever seen a new calibrated Poseidon reg, ever out of specs. Well, at least the OPV worked; and you're not a floater.

Damn . . .

Yes, it was from an authorized dealer (I did verify that on Poseidon's website before making the purchase). Now the less good news is that I purchased from a European dealer (where prices were much better than from US dealers), and shipping might be a bit more painful, but so far so good. I have contacted the dealer about it, and so far they have been very responsive. They requested pictures to send to Poseidon, and told me they have requested a new reg from Poseidon while forwarding the pics/movie I shared illustrating the problem. They also offered to have a courier pick up the reg from me (while in Europe where I'm flying tomorrow evening, so good timing I guess!).
Also, yes, thankfully I'm not a floater... I almost took this reg on my dives Saturday morning after the full tank testing that showed it locking adequately a few times at 125 psi, but fortunately decided to test again at lower pressure before and used my other reg set. Although this is a separate topic, I have to say that this little experience is making me rethink seriously the fact that I dive with no redundant gas supply. Of course, on local shallow shore dives, I assume I would have sufficient time to ascend to the surface relatively safely in case of massive failure like this before completely running out of gas, or even on a single slow exhale if the tank were to empty completely in a few seconds, and then my buddy would be close enough to share air regardless, but on deeper dives say in Hawaii where I also regularly dive, and am usually paired with an instabuddy, I'm really not sure how I'd be handle to handle such a failure at 100+ feet.

Yep. It sounds like a return item if it was sold as new. Perhaps a high pressure o-ring failure. Stuff happens.
If you can't get satisfaction from your dealer, save your purchase receipt and send it all to me. I am a Poseidon Service Center and can probably get Poseidon to make things new, if it's not just a simple service re-do.

Thanks for the offer. I'll definitely send it to you if I don't have satisfactory resolution from the dealer, but so far they look responsive and have already contacted Poseidon regarding replacement. We will see what Poseidon says.

Here are the pics and little movie I shared with them to document the failure.
Apologies for the bad cell phone video in portrait mode, I know it's bad, these things shouldn't happen anymore in this day and age, I wasn't thinking straight when I filmed

 

[rsingler]

I'm so glad you're getting some response from the dealer. I hope it'll all work out for you. One way or another, we can solve this for not too much $$.

 

[tbone1004]

@phoque if that failure happened at depth, you'd hear the bubbles shooting out behind your head and you'd make an immediate ascent to the surface. The second stages will still breathe just fine, it's why there is an OPV in the first stage.

 

[lexvil]

With the cost of international shipping I would go for the Rob option.

 

[phoque]

@phoque if that failure happened at depth, you'd hear the bubbles shooting out behind your head and you'd make an immediate ascent to the surface. The second stages will still breathe just fine, it's why there is an OPV in the first stage.

Yes, agreed, however I was unsure how long I would have before the tank would go totally dry. Seems on the order of seconds with such gas loss. Obviously, at 30-40 feet is no big deal, at 100+ seems definitely more dicy, and almost certainly not possible to implement a safety stop (unless my instabuddy is close enough and responsive to ascend together and share gas on the way up)?

 

[phoque]

With the cost of international shipping I would go for the Rob option.

Certainly a valid consideration, but at this point it sounds like they may cover the cost of shipping and ask Poseidon to ship a new unit in replacement. If this doesn't pan out, I will definitely send it to Rob instead, and regardless will most likely send it to him whenever the need for service arises in the future if possible.

 

[tbone1004]

Yes, agreed, however I was unsure how long I would have before the tank would go totally dry. Seems on the order of seconds with such gas loss. Obviously, at 30-40 feet is no big deal, at 100+ seems definitely more dicy, and almost certainly not possible to implement a safety stop (unless my instabuddy is close enough and responsive to ascend together and share gas on the way up)?

you'll be able to get to the surface, but I wouldn't pass go and collect $200 on the way up

 

[Bigbella]

Yes, it was from an authorized dealer (I did verify that on Poseidon's website before making the purchase). Now the less good news is that I purchased from a European dealer (where prices were much better than from US dealers), and shipping might be a bit more painful, but so far so good. I have contacted the dealer about it, and so far they have been very responsive.

Ah, a firm headquartered in España -- or, perhaps, on the chilly Baltic? You weren't the first to fall for the lure of those cheaper prices. I had wondered why you had to purchase your hoses separately and piecemeal together a new regulator set.

Sadly, your experience reflects something else that has been lost by many if not most dive shops nowadays. The place where I once worked tested every regulator that was sold. Since I was lowest on the totem back then, that often fell to me. We'd check for leaks at high pressure and let the regulator sit; verify a stable IP and cracking pressure; and jot those baseline specs for any future repairs or adjustments. A copy of the results would also go with the customer.

When I inquired of a local dive shop, some time ago, whether that practice was still done, the replay was, "Where's the time?" -- the clerk, all the while, playing "Call of Duty" behind the counter. Some of those defunct shops would probably be seen as playing fast and loose with any number of things nowadays (taking wide-eyed OW students below 20 meters immediately springs to mind), considered gospel by the pedants on this site; but their customer service was always a primary concern; and that support today is sorely lacking . . .