Learning to work on regulators

[Couv]

Would it be smart to get some old, cheap regs off ebay to open up, learn on, and practice rebuilding?

Yes.

Get a cheap SP MK2/3/200 take it apart and put it back together with the parts diagram in front of you. Then do the same with a MK5/10. Next move on to a balanced diaphram first stage. Do the same with a few second stages. You'll be surprised how easy it is.

The Dive Rite Manuals are online and easy to follow.

 

[RainPilot]

Mods, can you move this to DYI?

Yup, sure can.

 

[herman]

When looking for test regs....and frankly these can easily become your backup/pony regs....stick with US Divers/Aqualung and Scubapro. Not that they are better than others but parts are a lot easier to find for their older models. Others like Dacor, Healthways and similar brands are very hard to find parts for.

 

[txgoose]

Would it be smart to get some old, cheap regs off ebay to open up, learn on, and practice rebuilding?

As others have said, yes. You've already mentioned testing with redundancy. You can adjust your testing depth as you gain confidence in your regs. Go learn and enjoy.