My first service/inspection

[InTheDrink]

Hi,

So my regs (AL Legend Supreme LX ACD) are coming up to a year old now with about 70 dives on them plus maybe 25 pool sessions.

Manufacturer recommends the following:
______________
If the regulator is subjected to less than 50 dives per year, it is permissible to overhaul it every other year with an inspection procedure being performed on the “off” years. For example:
Year #1: Inspection; Year #2: Overhaul; Year #3: Inspection
Year #4: Overhaul, and so on.
Both Inspections and Overhauls need to be documented in the Annual Service & Inspection Record in the back of the Owner’s Manual to keep the Limited Lifetime Warranty in effect.
If a regulator is subjected to more than 50 dives per year, it should receive the complete overhaul.
___________________

I know there are two different philosophies on reg servicing and I think I fall into the 'if it aint broke don't fix it' school.

However, now that I'm approach that year mark, I am wondering whether actually I should, really, get them serviced? I would get them serviced at a time where I'd be able to give them some decent pool time before taking them out in the sea or on a trip.

There's nothing obviously wrong with them. The couple of small leaks I've had I've remedied myself. First stage is environmentally sealed so in theory at least there shouldn't be any gunk or corrosion of parts there. Have self tested to a degree and all seems fine (IP, cracking pressure, visual inspection, o-rings, leaks, etc.).

Any particular thoughts on whether bring them in for a service or not? And if you did bring them in would you be pressing for a full service/overhaul or just an inspection?

Cheers,
John

 

[vladimir]

I'd skip it, unless I was concerned with maintaining the warranty.

 

[inked59]

I just this past weekend took mine in for it's "annual" maintenance. I've had it for just short of two years and have about the same number of dives. My main reason for taking it in was that the last time I used it I was getting some "stick" while inhaling and exhaling. I probably did not clean out the saltwater as thoroughly as I should have...

 

[Fishpie]

Since you have your own IP gauge and know how to de-tune a 2nd stage I would suggest that you only take the reg in for servicing when there is a problem and forget about the free parts.

I'd bet the shop inspection would simply involve a cursory external inspection for damage, hooking to a tank and listening for leaks and an IP check.
........you have already done this yourself.

 

[OldNSalty]

Why did you buy new if you are going to void the warranty? (assuming you just skip it all together this year)

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I'm assuming that the reg is performing fine now. No freeflows and subjective breathing performance is still good.

If that's the case and keeping the reg in "warranty" is important to you, take in the reg to your local reg repair shop. They'll check the IP, measure cracking pressure on the second stages, and check the inlet filter for any corrosion. This cursory inspection will take about 5 minutes and shouldn't cost that much at all. Then you'll be set for another year. I wouldn't even bother telling the reg tech how many dives you put on the reg setup.

Given your usage, overhauling your reg every other year isn't a horrible idea. Just make sure that the tech who services the reg knows what he's doing. Tuning is such a big part of reg performance.

 

[InTheDrink]

Why did you buy new if you are going to void the warranty? (assuming you just skip it all together this year)

I decided to buy new stuff after having several less than ideal experiences with rental kit. Sure second hand isn't necessarily rental but given my knowledge of scuba kit (which is a tiny bit better now, so just a little more than zero) I wouldn't have been able to evaluate the condition of second hand kit.

I would still not be comfortable now getting second hand kit. But I aim to get to a position where I would be.


I'm not particularly concerned about the warranty - more concerned about things functioning correctly - and my worry is that getting my regs serviced might not be good for them (regs failing immediately after servicing doesn't seem to be that uncommon a phenomenon).

Cheers,
J

J

 

[InTheDrink]

I'm assuming that the reg is performing fine now. No freeflows and subjective breathing performance is still good.

If that's the case and keeping the reg in "warranty" is important to you, take in the reg to your local reg repair shop. They'll check the IP, measure cracking pressure on the second stages, and check the inlet filter for any corrosion. This cursory inspection will take about 5 minutes and shouldn't cost that much at all. Then you'll be set for another year. I wouldn't even bother telling the reg tech how many dives you put on the reg setup.

Given your usage, overhauling your reg every other year isn't a horrible idea. Just make sure that the tech who services the reg knows what he's doing. Tuning is such a big part of reg performance.

Hi Bubble,

Thanks for your post - voice of reason as always . Have you ever thought of going into politics? Or would your sanity exclude you?

The regs are fine now. The second stage wasn't performing quite a nice as I'd expect to be totally honest but I've given them a fair bit of love over the last month in terms of soapy washes and that seems to have removed the 'groaning' from the regs.

Everything else is tip top. Cracking pressure is just perfect and the venturi lever which I considered a bit of a gimmick actually appears to work quite well.

I think I'll follow your advice and see whether they'll be happy to just inspect it/test without breaking it down.

The warranty isn't terribly important to me but if I can keep it without someone making a dogs dinner of the regs (and I'm sure I'm being very unfair here) then so much the better.

Cheers,
John

 

[Bubbletrubble]

A career in politics. I think I'll take a pass on that one.

Skip the post-dive soapy washes. They aren't necessary in my opinion. In fact, the detergent can actually remove o-ring lubricant, which isn't a good thing. Where is the groaning originating? Topside "groaning" from a second stage is often caused by resonance between the diaphragm and the second stage case/body (mattboy has pointed this out on numerous SB threads). The noise can be diminished by taking off the cover and re-seating the diaphragm and thrust washer (if one exists). In some cases, over time, the groaning goes away on its own. In most cases, you can just ignore the noise. I will tell you, though, that I have an Aqualung Legend (pre-ACD) and it doesn't groan at all.

Your local authorized repair shop should only do an inspection at the 1 year timepoint following reg purchase. I would make that clear when you drop off the reg for service. Have them contact you if they plan to overhaul the reg since this will cost more. If they wanted to do this, I would ask them for justification first as to why they wanted to do the overhaul. Acceptable answers would include: "We saw some corrosion on the inlet filter," "There's significant IP creep," "There's a free flow that we can't figure out how to stop," "We can't adjust the IP to be within the recommended range," "The cracking pressure is too high on the second stage and we can't seem to adjust it by turning the orifice to change the lever height," etc.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

....Your local authorized repair shop should only do an inspection at the 1 year timepoint following reg purchase. I would make that clear when you drop off the reg for service. Have them contact you if they plan to overhaul the reg since this will cost more. If they wanted to do this, I would ask them for justification first as to why they wanted to do the overhaul. Acceptable answers would include: "We saw some corrosion on the inlet filter," "There's significant IP creep," "There's a free flow that we can't figure out how to stop," "We can't adjust the IP to be within the recommended range," "The cracking pressure is too high on the second stage and we can't seem to adjust it by turning the orifice to change the lever height," etc.

I'm one of the DIY guys, and I can't think of a more perfect answer than the one Bubbletrubble gave above!

Any of the reasons he listed at the bottom of his post would be a reason I'd tear open a regulator and service it; but if all non-invasive inspections and tests were normal, and it was performing well underwater, I'd continue to use it.

My personal policy is "Inspect Often, But Service Only When Needed"...

Best wishes.