Need Opinion on Regulator Package Options

[sea_ledford]

- I have a set of Dive Rite XTs for my doubles. I bought them brand new from DGX a couple of years ago. I will not be buying more. After a bit over a year, with not very many dives (30 - 40, maybe), they started having a slow leak. Slight bubbling from the second stage. I figured, "they're over a year old. May as well get them serviced."

This video is one I shot in my garage AFTER just getting them back from being serviced. It is showing an Intermediate Pressure gauge, which should not ever go above 145 psi. You can clearly see it steadily running up to over 200 psi.

I took it back and the shop (to be clear - not the shop where I work now) rebuilt them again. They seem to be okay since then. But, I overheard a friend of mine talking about his Dive Rite regs one day when we were parked near each other at the local quarry. He had the same regs and the same problem. The shop (the one were I work now) rebuilt his and still had the same problem. They sent it back to Dive Rite who sent a brand new replacement 1st stage. That one immediately had the same problem. They sent it back. That was months ago. Dive Rite still has his reg. They haven't replaced it, fixed it, or admitted to any problem.

I/we have a couple of theories as to what the problem(s) is/are. But, it's somewhat irrelevant. The point is that there clearly is some kind of issue with the DR XT regs and DR is not doing anything about it.

I just completed my dive locker servicing of our DR regs and had the same HP creep after finishing one of them (I didn't let it creep up to 200 though! 160 and I shut it down). Turns out I had scratched the HP seat somehow. Swapped out the seat and it was fine.

I've been impressed with the new regs enough that I am considering getting rid of a few remaining SP regs and going with all DR, primarily from a servicing perspective. It is a bit worrying that your friend sent one back with no word on issues or replacement though. I've always had excellent customer service from DR, and I am certainly not a high volume dealer, I might get a few hundred $ worth of stuff per year.

I will say the service kits for the older regs are annoying... they have way too many o-rings that are maybe one size different (or same size, different durometer), but you can't actually tell which is which. It seems to not matter much though since I'm sure I've used the wrong o-ring in the wrong place before to no ill effects. A few paint dots or stripes like Scubapro would go a long way.

-Chris

 

[cinquecento]

Hey everyone- just wanted to post a quick update regarding the DR XT's.

Went for a shore dive yesterday in somewhat rough/un-ideal conditions and the regs worked great! This being my first set of regulators I can only compare them to past rental regs. The difference was amazing. Smooth, easy breathing, no bubbles in the face, and great on the jaw. Very happy with this purchase thus far-