stilldivin
Contributor
I took in my Dacor/ Mares Pacer 2 which is about 4 years old to my shop for repair. (They had sent it out to be overhauled four months ago and it was leaking again.) The leak is very slow from the end cap of the first stage. This time the shop took it apart and inspected it. They found some chrome missing and corrosion. They cleaned it out, not with vinegar; they used steel wool. Then they replaced the O rings. They said it should be OK for a while, but I need a new regulator because they stopped making parts for this one and the corrosion will come back. Are they right? (They also said there is a slight scratch on the spring but don't see it as a problem.) I opened the first stage and did find corrosion. They were supposed to clean it with vinegar and a ultra-sonic bath, but didn't. (Per an on-line service manual I found.) I carefully removed the O rings with a plastic business card to preserve them and the light lub. on them. I then cleaned the first stage in vinegar and rinsed and carefully dried everything. It came out very nice. I I did not see any scratches on the spring. I did see that some chrome is missing inside the body and the end cap, but not much and none on the parts that the O rings move against. The shop also had scratched the outer cap when removing it with pliers instead of the proper tool, so some chrome was scratched away. By the way, I've always been very careful about rinsing and proper care of the regulator. I suspect this happened when I got a "wet fill" for my tank that got rust into the air lines and regulator about a year ago. (The tank was inspected and had rust sludge in it, but it was not rusty.)
---------- Post Merged on October 21st, 2012 at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous Post was on October 20th, 2012 at 08:04 PM ----------
Looks like I'm going to answer my own question. A dive buddy of mine used to overhaul regulators. He says the shop is right; the regulator will corrode again and begin to leak. The only question is when. It could be three months, or a year or two. Looks like I need to save up for a new and preferably balanced regulator.
Never mind, I just ordered a Sherwood regulator.
---------- Post Merged on October 21st, 2012 at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous Post was on October 20th, 2012 at 08:04 PM ----------
Looks like I'm going to answer my own question. A dive buddy of mine used to overhaul regulators. He says the shop is right; the regulator will corrode again and begin to leak. The only question is when. It could be three months, or a year or two. Looks like I need to save up for a new and preferably balanced regulator.
Never mind, I just ordered a Sherwood regulator.
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