Looking for First Reg Recommendations

[Jimmer]

Thanks for the replies so far. These are the regs I had been thinking about. The GT3 is about twice as expensive as the Alpha 8. What would I gain with that? Just the ability to dive cold water? Is there any reason I should look at other brands?
Thanks again!

I own 2 GT3's with Alpha 8 octos for my single tank regs. They honestly breathe about the same if tuned properly. The GT3 has the ability to adjust, and that's about it.

Zeagle was mentioned as well. Zeagle is actually my favourite brand of reg, and I have 4 Zeagles. If you are interested in Zeagle, my suggestion is the ZX-DSV if you want to dive cold someday, or the Envoy Deluxe if you intend on being a warm water only diver.

FYI: Oceanic and Zeagle gives parts for life too.

 

[Isaac-1]

Your points are well taken. It brings to mind the question: do you have to have any reg serviced EVERY year, even if you've only been on one trip? Is it simply a matter of time? Does this have to be done professionally or can a technically inclined person do this on their own?

Thousands of words could be written on that question, I will try to answer from a short practical prospective. It is a generaly accepted industry practice to service regulators every year, as to the need for this servicing you are opening up a can of liability worms, there are many rubber parts that do "age" inside a regulator, however the more common problems are caused by lack of rinsing, and wear, many people do not regularly have their regulators serviced, or only do it when there is a visible "problem". Of course people tend to do the same thing when it comes to the brakes on their cars too, so it is up to you to find the correct balance. As to your other question, there are a number of us on ScubaBoard that service our on regulators, some are self trained, others have had formal training, regardless the problem is often getting repair parts, as most/all manufacters will only sell them to authorized dealers, and many/most of those dealers will not sell parts without installing them to end users. This parts access is such a problem that I have heard some of the independat online service only "works on all brands" shops import their parts through gray markets from outside the US.

 

[b1gcountry]

Your points are well taken. It brings to mind the question: do you have to have any reg serviced EVERY year, even if you've only been on one trip? Is it simply a matter of time? Does this have to be done professionally or can a technically inclined person do this on their own?

I would say the less you are diving with your regs, the more often I would recommend they be serviced. If you dive the regs weekly, you will know how they are supposed to feel and breathe, and you will notice when they start getting out of wack. The O-Rings will get worked about a big, and the pressure on your seats will be relaxed. If you are good about rinsing your gear, use will play very little on when you need service.

Service can be done yourself on some regs, but if the whole point is to save money, I would recommend against it.

I would also add the Scubapro Mk2+ and the Sherwood Magnum to the list. The Magnum is a very good reg that is balanced and enviro sealed. It will work well in cold, warm, etc, and is bulletproof. The Mk2+ is another workhorse. It's cheaper, but not enviro sealed. It also makes a good deco reg if you ever go that route. I really wouldn't consider any other regs around this price point, but that's just me.


I understand the desire to get your own regulator set, but for someone that is only going to be diving once a year or so, I would question the wisdom of getting your own. Renting one will probably be cheaper, and you will probably get as good or better from an LDS's rental inventory than what you are buying. You can rent one in Minn and take it with you, so you know the LDS who is servicing it.

Regs on the whole are pretty reliable. I would feel more comfortable renting a reg from my LDS than I would borrowing someone's reg who only dives with it one time each year. These things get used regularly, so any problems and the LDS hears about them.

Tom

 

[lauratm]

Are the Oceanic Alpha 8 and GT3 regs balanced? Their website has a chart and they don't seem to be. What is the differnce between a pneumatic vs. mechanically balanced reg?

 

[nashirak]

If you get the Alpha with the CDX-5 first stage, that is balanced. The GT3/CDX5 is also balanced. Both are balanced first-stages.

As for the service requirements, most manufacturers require annual service by an authorized dealer to maintain the warranty. More and more are going to lifetime warranties. Scubapro/Aqualung, as well as Oceanic. They require annual service. Most regs, ironically, have more of a need for annual service when they are used less frequently because of the wear on the valve seats as they sit unused.

Atomics are more expensive, but they are the first company I have heard of that does NOT require annual service (they recommend 2-years or 300 dives) to maintain the warranty due to some proprietary designs in their valves.

And as mentioned, servicing on your own simply to save money and without proper training is highly discouraged. This is your life support equipment. Get it taken care of right, end of story.

Pneu/Mech balancing is typically more often heard of in the second stages. Neither of the Alpha 8 or GT3 are balanced second stages, only first stages. But these days, average Joe Diver won't notice a whole lot of difference as to whether the second is balanced or not with the current easy-breathing first stages.

 

[cmburch]

I recently switched from US Divers (Aqua Lung) to Dive Rite. Hard to get support or parts anymore for my USD SEA.

Dive Rite has parts available to the consumer and 2 year service requirement depending on use.

Oceanic has high quality products and an excellent warrantee. Also the price is right for the infrequent user.

 

[halocline]

Most regs, ironically, have more of a need for annual service when they are used less frequently because of the wear on the valve seats as they sit unused.

And as mentioned, servicing on your own simply to save money and without proper training is highly discouraged. This is your life support equipment. Get it taken care of right, end of story.

Pneu/Mech balancing is typically more often heard of in the second stages.

But these days, average Joe Diver won't notice a whole lot of difference as to whether the second is balanced or not with the current easy-breathing first stages.

First stages are open when not pressurized, so there is zero wear on the HP seat during storage. Second stage seats will tend to take a set over time, whether in storage or use. The idea that regs somehow need service more when they're not used frequently is totally false. The exception to this is if regs are not rinsed well and stored with dried salt water in the ambient chamber and wherever else it can cause a problem. However, if a reg was treated this way it would make little difference whether it was used weekly or once a year, it would still suffer from some corrosion.

The idea that self service is dangerous is an often repeated mantra of the dive industry, based on fear mongering and (I guess) a misplaced fear of litigation. I say misplaced because the so called "experts" that are saving our lives by keeping us from touching our own regs must go through an extremely rigorous training program of an entire two days, a program for which the sole entrance requirement is that the live-saving expert must work for a dive shop. To my knowledge, nobody who ever shown up and paid for one of these has ever failed.

Maybe someday divers will get it that if regs were truly life support, there would: 1) be way more dead divers around, and 2) actual earned qualifications with professional licensing exams for the people that work on regulators.

Reg failure is an inconvenience, and maybe a scary experience. But it's only life threatening in recreational diving if other things like the buddy system and immediate access to the surface, both foundation concepts of recreational diving, are ignored.

Pneumatic balancing is NOT more often heard of in 2nd stages; in fact, every diaphragm reg currently made (to my knowledge) is balanced. Balanced 1st stages are designed to keep IP stable throughout the entire supply range. This does not make a reg "easy breathing". All the 1st stage does is supply enough air to the 2nd stage at a stable IP. 2nd stages are much more appropriately called "easy breathing" (or not easy breathing) based primarily on cracking pressure, venturi assist, overall WOB. Divers (Joe or otherwise) are much more likely to perceive differences in 2nd stage characteristics than 1st stage, unless the 1st stage is really weak or poorly adjusted.

Sorry dude, didn't mean to pick on you, but you brought up several points that are frequently misrepresented on SB.

 

[leapfrog]

I would be very wary of having a regulator that is going to get so little use serviced once a year. Sometimes a reg that works perfectly gets messed up by having a service it didn't need. INMHO, only use an official service so that you get a guarantee. Otherwise sign up for a course so you can service your own regs.

The important thing is that you take good care of your own regs (dust cap, rinsing,drying, etc).

 

[Isaac-1]

I would be very wary of having a regulator that is going to get so little use serviced once a year. Sometimes a reg that works perfectly gets messed up by having a service it didn't need. INMHO, only use an official service so that you get a guarantee. Otherwise sign up for a course so you can service your own regs.
.

I have to ask, "official service" guarantees what exactly? that they will redo it if they mess something up? Maybe messing something else up in the process? Let me say that I usually do my own regulator service, have worked as a repair tech in the past, and been through training courses for the brand of regulators that I own and only work on my own gear. Last summer I took my Scubapro Mk 20 in to the local scubapro shop for a recall issue (yoke nut), I left my second stages attached when I dropped it off (so perhaps the rest is my fault for assuming they were somewhat competent). 2 weeks later I go to pick up the regulator to find the switch on the attached D400 so loose it would rattle, they claimed to not have touched the D400, I don't know how it was damaged, but it was fine when I dropped it off. Working under the theory that if they broke it they should fix it (for free), I left it with them for another 2 week. When I finally brought the regulator home the D400 was tuned awfully so I pulled it apart to find the aspirator was inserted backwards.

Ike

p.s. this not the only time I have had problems with official techs,about 15 years ago I had a newly trained scubapro tech reassemble my 2nd gen AIR II incorrectly causing a NO FLOW failure (there are 2 nuts in the air 2, one is a lock nut for a reason, this girl reversed the placement), again I see it somewhat as my own fault as I let someone else work on my regulator.

 

[leapfrog]

I have to ask, "official service" guarantees what exactly? that they will redo it if they mess something up? Maybe messing something else up in the process? Let me say that I usually do my own regulator service, have worked as a repair tech in the past, and been through training courses for the brand of regulators that I own and only work on my own gear. Last summer I took my Scubapro Mk 20 in to the local scubapro shop for a recall issue (yoke nut), I left my second stages attached when I dropped it off (so perhaps the rest is my fault for assuming they were somewhat competent). 2 weeks later I go to pick up the regulator to find the switch on the attached D400 so loose it would rattle, they claimed to not have touched the D400, I don't know how it was damaged, but it was fine when I dropped it off. Working under the theory that if they broke it they should fix it (for free), I left it with them for another 2 week. When I finally brought the regulator home the D400 was tuned awfully so I pulled it apart to find the aspirator was inserted backwards.

Ike

p.s. this not the only time I have had problems with official techs,about 15 years ago I had a newly trained scubapro tech reassemble my 2nd gen AIR II incorrectly causing a NO FLOW failure (there are 2 nuts in the air 2, one is a lock nut for a reason, this girl reversed the placement), again I see it somewhat as my own fault as I let someone else work on my regulator.

Ike, I understand what you are saying. I have had huge problems getting my Poseidon Xstream Deeps fixed and serviced properly so I have finally opted to have the "service" sell them for me than to keep throwing money behind them. Every time I had them serviced, a new problem came up....first stage, second stage, octo, etc, etc.................