Not servicing my gear EVER!

[copter53]

My first reg was a Mares Abyss (MR22 1st?) bought 2nd hand, probably early 90s vintage. I had it rebuilt because it looked well used. After a couple hundred dives it began leaking then in a dive or two went to modest free flow. The HP seat had broken off a chunk that just extended to the orofice contact. I'd be curious to know more about the prospects for lung damage from HP seat failure.

What kind of lung damage happens? Like a puncture? Coz if a reg free flows I can simply ascend in due time. Unless your talking about partial lung damage from something else that builds up over time?

 

[herman]

It was a mk 10+ piston reg. The seats material was crap. They had a recall and changed the seats. It actually did cause some lung damage in some divers when it failed.

I would say the older the material, the more unpredictable the failure mode.

I don't buy the failure caused lung injury. There are only 2 ways a failure like this could cause injury, partical impact or lung over expansion. Partical impact would require a piece of the seat to travel a very difficult path, exit the reg through a small hole, be aimed directly down the divers throat and pass all the windpipes with sufficent speed to do damage......no way that is happening. Lung over expansion is possible but that would require a very heavy freeflow along with a stuck exhaust valve, again, that's not happening. What likely did happen (if the story is true at all) is the diver spit the reg, held his breath and bolted to the surface. That is not a reg failure caused injury but an injury caused by a diver failing to follow proper procedures.

 

[redacted]

and i would have expected a cpsc recall based on the failure analysis of even a single such reported incident.

I don't buy the failure caused lung injury. There are only 2 ways a failure like this could cause injury, partical impact or lung over expansion. Partical impact would require a piece of the seat to travel a very difficult path, exit the reg through a small hole, be aimed directly down the divers throat and pass all the windpipes with sufficent speed to do damage......no way that is happening. Lung over expansion is possible but that would require a very heavy freeflow along with a stuck exhaust valve, again, that's not happening. What likely did happen (if the story is true at all) is the diver spit the reg, held his breath and bolted to the surface. That is not a reg failure caused injury but an injury caused by a diver failing to follow proper procedures.

 

[So-Tx-Rich]

Let me answer your question with a question: what happens if you never service your car?

 

[herman]

Let me answer your question with a question: what happens if you never service your car?

Let me ask you a question. Do you replace your brakes every year reguardless of use or wear?

 

[chrpai]

Let me ask you a question. Do you replace your brakes every year reguardless of use or wear?

Understand your point. Just to play devil's advocate.... what if we are talking about an airplane?

 

[copter53]

Understand your point. Just to play devil's advocate.... what if we are talking about an airplane?

If an airplanes engine fails it can glide to safety. Unless its above water then it can glide to water and then safety. This is a fact. It's been done in the past. Remember the Hudson river pilot?

 

[windapp]

I don't buy the failure caused lung injury. There are only 2 ways a failure like this could cause injury, partical impact or lung over expansion. Partical impact would require a piece of the seat to travel a very difficult path, exit the reg through a small hole, be aimed directly down the divers throat and pass all the windpipes with sufficent speed to do damage......no way that is happening. Lung over expansion is possible but that would require a very heavy freeflow along with a stuck exhaust valve, again, that's not happening. What likely did happen (if the story is true at all) is the diver spit the reg, held his breath and bolted to the surface. That is not a reg failure caused injury but an injury caused by a diver failing to follow proper procedures.

I was told this by a local divemaster. The guy it happened to is still around so I will ask him directly. In this case, the seat fell apart completely at the begining of the dive, and put 3000 PSI right through the second stage. He was unable to react quickly enough, and basically suffered a lung overexpansion from the pressure.

 

[redacted]

I was told this by a local divemaster..

that always lights up my caution light.

will appreciate hearing it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. i do recall some early design problems with that scubapro introduction but never heard that it involved a serious safety consideration.

 

[windapp]

Let me ask you a question. Do you replace your brakes every year reguardless of use or wear?

I can inspect my brakes without removing them and brake parts cost a lot more than regulator parts. Basically, after X dives, or X years, a regulator needs to be inspected from the inside out. There are are only a few, relatively inexpensive, parts required to replace the wear parts. Once you have the regulator apart to inspect it, there really is no reason why you wouldn't replace the wear parts at that time.

It's kind of like the clutch on a manual transmission vehicle. The cost to remove the transmission is $1500 plus. The cost to replace the clutch is less than $200. Unless the clutch is brand new, you replace it when you have the transmission removed rather than paying an extra $1500 to pull the transmission out when it actually wears out.

---------- Post Merged at 09:26 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:19 AM ----------

If an airplanes engine fails it can glide to safety. Unless its above water then it can glide to water and then safety. This is a fact. It's been done in the past. Remember the Hudson river pilot?

The Hudson River incident is the exception, and not the rule. The vast majority of water landings end very tragically.