Mares Octo free flow

[wader]

My wife dives with a Mares Rebel and related octo. She has a hard time with the octo wanting to free flow to varying degrees. At times it to the point of having to hold it a certain way. Very distracting at best. We had it checked out at it is within limits, but still does it. Does anyone have experience with this unit? Are there creative ways to stop it? Should I just s**t can it and get another octo? Advice is appreciated

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

My wife dives with a Mares Rebel and related octo. She has a hard time with the octo wanting to free flow to varying degrees. At times it to the point of having to hold it a certain way. Very distracting at best. We had it checked out at it is within limits, but still does it. Does anyone have experience with this unit? Are there creative ways to stop it? Should I just s**t can it and get another octo? Advice is appreciated

Is the octo also a Rebel? I have 5 of these on various regs, and they are actually very resistant to freeflows with correct handling. Bascially, once the octo has filled with water, it should not freeflow underwater regardless of it's orientation.

My guess is that it is an adjustment problem. "Cracking Effort" may be set just a hair too low; it is also a good idea to check the IP of the first stage, but my guess is that it is probably just a 2nd stage "tuning" issue. There is a possibility that the lever height needs to be adjusted (it may be too high)... on Mares second stages, you should be able to hear a slight "tapping" if you gently shake the 2nd stage with the regulator pressurized; this sound is absent with the reg unpressurized. This tapping is the demand lever tapping on the diaphragm, and indicates just a slight bit of play... if the 2nd stage does not make the tapping when pressurized, the lever may be too high, making the 2nd prone to freeflow.

Good luck getting it sorted out. I've had really good luck with our Rebel octo's, so you should be able to get your wife's fixed easily.

Best wishes.

 

[h90]

I had the same problem. Mares told me there is a design problem and one piece must be exchanged. Part and labor is free. Just in Thailand. Mares Thailand charges 100 USD for it. It is free in Thailand the 100 USD is just a fee, so I bought a different regulator :mooner:
If the gear is new send them to Mares or LDS for adjusting and if it freeflows than send it again and again and again....

 

[dougr52]

i had the same problem from day 1, no one could fix it, even sent it to mares during 1st year, it got even worse.. save yourself a lot of trouble & do what i did, get RID of it & get a better one, that fixed the problem very well... it was a rebel octo, replaced it with a mares mv octo no more problems!!

 

[ApexLongimanus]

i had a mares ice when they came out. same problem. i had it serviced a million times and they never got it fixed. very frustrating.
made me to move to another brand. i don't want to say its a bad brand because i know many people are very happy with it. just a personal choice i made.

 

[wader]

Shortly after its first use, we had it checked out. It was all fine and within limits. Shop said it should work fine. Doesn't. Neither of us are "experienced" divers and have lots to learn, but I felt this is something that should just work and not free flow. The Rebel regulator works fine, its just the Rebel octo that doesn't want to shut up!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

You might want to look at how she stows it. My son had a similar problem, he often had a free-flow moment when he entered the water because the 2nd was oriented mouth piece up. Once he figured that out and repositioned it, no more free flow. Same reg (Mares R2).

 

[Greg Barlow]

The likely culprit is the second stage seat connector. A minute scratch or deformed area will cause the agonizing leaks that are tough to diagnose. Whenever I am confronted with a similar issue, it is always replaced.

As far as the part goes, it is #46200204, and has a customer cost of around $15.00. Most shops will replace it for a nominal fee unless it shows obvious signs of abuse.

BTW, all regulator seating surfaces should be carefully handled. I do not ultrasonically clean any seat surfaces with other parts due to potential for damage.

To replace the seat connector, and adjust the second stage takes less than 10 minutes.

Also, I would ask the shop to adjust the AAS cracking effort to 1.4" on the Rebel.

Greg

 

[redacted]

The likely culprit is the second stage seat connector. A minute scratch or deformed area will cause the agonizing leaks that are tough to diagnose. Whenever I am confronted with a similar issue, it is always replaced.

As far as the part goes, it is #46200204, and has a customer cost of around $15.00. Most shops will replace it for a nominal fee unless it shows obvious signs of abuse.

BTW, all regulator seating surfaces should be carefully handled. I do not ultrasonically clean any seat surfaces with other parts due to potential for damage.

To replace the seat connector, and adjust the second stage takes less than 10 minutes.

Also, I would ask the shop to adjust the AAS cracking effort to 1.4" on the Rebel.

Greg

But isn't such a leak fairly obvious , albeit small, to a tech when he does an inspection of the regulator?

It sure would be a shame for the OP to have to pay $30 to get his new regulator working correctly.

 

[Greg Barlow]

But isn't such a leak fairly obvious , albeit small, to a tech when he does an inspection of the regulator?

It sure would be a shame for the OP to have to pay $30 to get his new regulator working correctly.

Yes, I agree, the problem should be relatively easy to diagnose with the reg in front of you.

The issue that happens all too often is that the "tech" working on the reg is not truly a technician. Many of them are merely "parts changers", who really don't understand the operating mechanics of a regulator. I've seen far too many shops allow such under-trained employees to work on regs. Personally, I spend probably too much time on servicing a reg, when cost effectiveness is considered. After completing the operational tests, I also leave a reg pressurized for a minimum of six hours to make certain that no HP or LP leaks develop. I take pride in ensuring that my work is done correctly, even if it means working at a slow, methodical pace. After all, regulators are life support systems...Funny...Many of my dive buddies call me "anal-retentive", or a "perfectionist" when it comes to servicing a reg. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but in 36 years of diving, I've yet to call a dive due to a gear failure.

IMO, if a new reg develops a problem before 100 or so dives are made on it, then it should be repaired at no charge to the customer. Of course, if the reg is obviously abused or neglected; such as not being correctly rinsed after usage then that would place blame on the owner. In this particular case, I feel that the owner should not be financially responsible at all.

The Rebel is a very simple design, as compared to many other regulators. Properly adjusted, it should be about as robust and reliable as it gets. I use an older version, the Axis, for my stage and deco cylinders. They are so mechanically simple, that there is little to go wrong. Whenever I leave cylinders in a cave, I need them to be as reliable as can be.

Greg Barlow