LP seat on D350 as sensitive as others?

[ericpitar]

Hello D350/D400 series experts,

My understanding is that on a used D350/D400, once you remove the lp seat and attempt to place it back, you'll probably get a leak due to the practically non-alignable grooves the orifice likely left on it. Are pressure seats in most other regs as sensitive as the D350/D400's?

 

[Isaac-1]

I will not claim to be an expert, although I do own a D300, and a couple of D400's and have been through the scubapro regulator tech course a few times years ago. I have to wonder if you mean the whole poppet assembly or the seat as a sub part of the poppet assembly (the whole poppet assembly comes as one part preassembled in standard service kit,the new ones are metal/plastic the old ones were nylon/plastic) As to an answer I can say that I have on a few occasions successfully disassembled/reassembled a D series regulator, including removal of the poppet assembly where the LP seat is located how this may compare to success rate other regulators I don't know. However more to the point in general service why would you disassemble/remove the poppet assembly on a D series regulator if you did not intend to replace it? I can see how it may make more sense removing and not changing on some other more trational designs, where o-rings may need changing, etc.

Ike

 

[ericpitar]

Ike,

Sorry, I probably should have just asked this question:

Once the used lp seat is removed from a D400 (maybe to clean it, for example), am I correct that placing it back instead of a brand new lp seat could make the reg more susceptible to a leak? Are most regs this picky with the seat groove? (I might have read about this in a post elsewhere.)

 

[DA Aquamaster]

No. The poppet stays well centered and removing and replacing it is not an issue. I also suspect it rotates a bit on it's own and/or when adjusted. Practically speaking if it seals initially, it is not an issue and will be good to go.

Some other regulator designs can be much more problematic as the orifice may not be co-axially aligned perfectlyy with the seat so if the seat is removed and replaced you could end up with two separate seating grooves that will then leak atthe two spots where they intersect.