Is a cheap regulator safe ?

[BartBe]

Hi all,

I was wondering of a cheap regulator would be a safe choice ?
Personaly i would opt for the best available but they are not exactly cheap... I realize that the regulator is your number one life-support and i certainly don't want to take any risks on buying one.

Can the cheaper ones be trusted or do you experts say...
"Hands Off"...

A newbie that is still trying to figure it all out

 

[ScoobyDave]

Is it safe? Probably. I personally don't believe any manufacturer would risk selling a product that is known not to be safe, if for no other reason than simple liability. I'll ask a question - would you be comfortable to go to a surgeon that went cheap on your life support gear? It might keep you alive, but maybe not.

Question is, will it perform and meet your needs?

Regs are one area I refuse to be cheap about. If you can't afford what you need right now, go rent your gear for awhile.

Also, shop around, you might be surprised how quickly you can save $250 on a reg set.

Dave

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Relatively cheap regs are available from quality companies. For example a Scubapro Mk 2 R-190 should run you less than $200 at the local dive shop and will offer good performance for the recreational diver and will provide excellent reliability and years of service.

Be careful of off brand mail order regs, they can be very hard to obtain service for locally. Even major brand mail order regs can be problematic as they most often do not come with the full factory warranty and annual service can be more expensive, which in a year or two will eat up your initial savings over buying the same reg at the LDS. You also need to ensure that you can get parts and service for it locally and be aware the LDS may be a bit peaved to work on your brand new mailorder reg if it has problems. Don't expect him to do it for free under anything other than a full factory warranty.

Used regulators are another low cost option. They are often availble at LDS's where they have been traded in on a new reg. These are usually fully serviced and ready to dive and are a safe and reliable way to go. A quality reg that is properly maintained and serviced will last for decades.

You can also buy used regs off e-bay but be careful. Be sure of exactly what you are getting in terms of make, model and condition, be sure you can get parts and service for it, and bid on the assumption that you will have to pay for an extensive annual service.

 

[Genesis]

If you're going that route, stick to names like ScubaPro.

Frankly, one of the best deals out there on eBAY is the Mk10/G200B or G250HP.

You can find those on eBAY, often with an octo and gauges, for under $200 from time to time - sometimes in essentially-brand-new condition.

That combination is one of the best-performers for warm-water (over 50F) diving EVER MADE.

Buying the same "quality" in a NEW reg would cost you upwards of $350, even from the mail-order discount houses like Leisurepro, and $500+ at any dive shop.

Yes, you'll need to have it serviced before you use it. But you'll need to do that for any reg you buy every year, so really, the only "hit" is on the first year's bill - figure $60-100 for that.

I like them because I can fix them MYSELF, so my "service" cost is zero, and they are the equal of the "top line" regs available today from Apeks and ScubaPro - but are a hell of a lot cheaper.

The Mk10 is also simple enough and has few enough parts that other than seats there is no part that is hard to get ahold of. Generic O-rings work fine for overhauls on it, and I can rebuild them in my sleep.

The Mk20 or 25 would SEEM like a better deal (as a newer design), but its not. It has the "newer" plastic-bushing design and thus is more of a pain in the butt to overhaul, which means that parts kits (which you will be buying since you're not the original owner) are pretty much required, as the annual list now includes a bunch of stuff you CAN'T get generically. The result is that the price of maintenance on those is higher - and you don't really get much, if any, better performance for the additional expense.

There is a LOT of crap on eBAY - buy solid name brands, and only if the computation of your bid, including an annual service, makes economic sense.

 

[Panama Jack]

If your still in the market for an inexpensive reg, may I suggest the Dacor line. They were (and still may be) offering $200.00 US trade in value on old regs for a new Dacor Eagle or Viper. This makes the regs very affordable for recreational use. If you want a $1000.00 US reg later, you can use the Dacor on a pony or something. They should have a long service life. If you don't have a trade, ask around, LDS, club, dive buddy, someone has a total piece of junk reg they will part with for a beer or something so you can trade it in. I picked up two Eagle DPD's and they work fine, not the greatest since sliced bread, but completely worth the little money I gave for them. Breathes ok, have 25 dives on them, serveral deeper than 100 ft, no problems. Parts are also easy to come by, important when your trying to save a dive trip.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Genesis once bubbled...
If you're going that route, stick to names like ScubaPro.

Frankly, one of the best deals out there on eBAY is the Mk10/G200B or G250HP.

I would add the Mk 10 Balanced Adjustable to the list. The Balanced Adjustable uses the same poppet assembly as the G200B and G250 and has the same adjustment knob as the G250 (the only significant difference from a G250 is the metal rather than graphite case on the Balanced Adjustable and the lack of a viva adjustment.)

The tough part is knowing whether it is an Adjustable or a Balanced Adjustable second stage as they look the same externally and some sellers don't know the difference. Scubapro makes an upgrade kit for the Adjustable to bring it up to Balanced Adjustable status but upgrading will add to the cost a bit.

A lot of E-bay regs are on E-bay as parts are no longer available. Scubapro is one of the best companies in terms of long term parts support but there are still limits. You will not be able to get parts for Pilot or Air 1 second stages or first generation Air 2's. I would also not buy an "older" first stage other than a late production Mk 3 (heavy yoke and 3 LP ports) or a Mk 10 due to parts availability concerns. A well maintained and updated or late production Mk 10 can sell for nearly as much money as a Mk 20 first stage, but as indicated above, the Mk 10 will often be the better buy.

 

[rescuediver009]

If you are looking for something that is inexpensive yet still get a "bang for your buck" consider a sherwood magnum. I used a sherwood blizzard for 2 years which is essentially the same with the addition of a cold water specialty via heat sink fins, but that is another boat all together for coldwater diving. The magnum provides and excellently breathing reg (to 100 ft. until it lags) as well as an environmental seal on the first stage (almost). Sherwood uses a bleed valve that only bleeds one way, thus allowing positive air pressure to be maintained in the first stage essentially providing and environmental seal. Second, you will never ever see a bubble (of your own) thanks to the extended exhaust tee. Lastly, sherwood is the easiest regulator known to man to service. You don't need any fancy tools or parts like a SCUBAPRO which can be a pain in the butt to service depending on where you are. Also I believe that sherwoods are the most rugged regs of all.