O2 cleaning question

[LenC]

I'll give you the short story on my end. I am an active repair tech and have been for over 10 years. I clean every reg the same way, I use Christolube on every reg for rebuild and they work fine for normal EANx. The reason I charge extra for O2 clean regs is I by O2 compatible parts and O'rings for them from the factory. They charge me more for parts, I charge you more for parts. Now if somethings happens and your people contact my people I have a good defense and PROOF that I was doing it "By the Book". Oh and btw, I only charge a few dollars extra for the labor of regular service rebuild vs O2 clean rebuild. It's the parts that cost.

Just to toss in my two cents, there is more to servicing a reg than just taking it apart, cleaning it, replacing parts and putting it back together. If that were all there was, I would be doing my own regs. The process of tuning the reg so it breaths correctly requires specialized tools and a good deal of experience and patience. A good repair guy is worth every dime. There are some things where it just makes no sense to be cheap.

On another comment made, dive shops are out to garner customers. You don't do that by selling people things they don't need. A sales person may well try to sell the more expensive BC over the cheapest, but they are not going to load a new diver down with uneeded garbage because they know it will only take one trip for the diver to figure out what happened and not come back to the shop. The LDS is still the best place around for a new diver, or an experienced diver, to get advice.

 

[tbone1004]

Just to toss in my two cents, there is more to servicing a reg than just taking it apart, cleaning it, replacing parts and putting it back together. If that were all there was, I would be doing my own regs. The process of tuning the reg so it breaths correctly requires specialized tools and a good deal of experience and patience. A good repair guy is worth every dime. There are some things where it just makes no sense to be cheap.

On another comment made, dive shops are out to garner customers. You don't do that by selling people things they don't need. A sales person may well try to sell the more expensive BC over the cheapest, but they are not going to load a new diver down with uneeded garbage because they know it will only take one trip for the diver to figure out what happened and not come back to the shop. The LDS is still the best place around for a new diver, or an experienced diver, to get advice.

how hard is it to tune a reg?
First stage adjustment
IP-on a diaphragm that equates to one allen key....
2nd stage-adjust lever to within spec so it doesn't freeflow with the diaphragm. A bit farther down if you're worried about high flow applications and free flow-octo, scooter, deco etc
Adjust cracking pressure with allen key until it just barely free flows, turn it back to where it stops. That's about all there is to it. You can put the expensive gauges on, make your own etc, or just do it to where you want it.
I'm not paying $120 for labor on my regs PLUS parts every year to have that done...

O2 cleaning is really a bitch. I clean my own but they aren't as clean as what some of the shops can do because I don't have the equipment. I deco on 80% instead of 100% since I rarely will do multiple dives a day requiring deco, and if I do I'll just up the SIT a little bit.

 

[LenC]

how hard is it to tune a reg?
First stage adjustment
IP-on a diaphragm that equates to one allen key....
2nd stage-adjust lever to within spec so it doesn't freeflow with the diaphragm. A bit farther down if you're worried about high flow applications and free flow-octo, scooter, deco etc
Adjust cracking pressure with allen key until it just barely free flows, turn it back to where it stops. That's about all there is to it. You can put the expensive gauges on, make your own etc, or just do it to where you want it.
I'm not paying $120 for labor on my regs PLUS parts every year to have that done...

O2 cleaning is really a bitch. I clean my own but they aren't as clean as what some of the shops can do because I don't have the equipment. I deco on 80% instead of 100% since I rarely will do multiple dives a day requiring deco, and if I do I'll just up the SIT a little bit.

I didn't say it was hard, I said it took specialized equipment and experience to do it correctly. If you want your cracking pressure to be optimum you have to first know what it is and then you need a mag guage to get there. If you want your IP pressure set correctly you need an IP guage. You can do it the way you describe, but if you get your best results that way it will be pure luck. If you are happy with your results, then that is ok. When I compared my results with someone who did it enough to get good at it, I had no problem deciding to pay for the service. There is no way I can do something once a year and consider myself competent at it.

 

[mitsuguy]

how hard is it to tune a reg?
First stage adjustment
IP-on a diaphragm that equates to one allen key....
2nd stage-adjust lever to within spec so it doesn't freeflow with the diaphragm. A bit farther down if you're worried about high flow applications and free flow-octo, scooter, deco etc
Adjust cracking pressure with allen key until it just barely free flows, turn it back to where it stops. That's about all there is to it. You can put the expensive gauges on, make your own etc, or just do it to where you want it.
I'm not paying $120 for labor on my regs PLUS parts every year to have that done...

O2 cleaning is really a bitch. I clean my own but they aren't as clean as what some of the shops can do because I don't have the equipment. I deco on 80% instead of 100% since I rarely will do multiple dives a day requiring deco, and if I do I'll just up the SIT a little bit.

Definitely agree on adjustment of regs... follow a few guidelines and you are golden... Intermediate pressure between 125 and 145 psi - on a diaphragm reg equates to turning an allen key one way or the other as mentioned, on most piston regs equates to adding or removing a shim... I have a dive rite IP gauge - Dive Rite Intermediate Pressure Gauge discounts on sale Dive Rite costs $18... Once you have IP adjusted correctly, the second stage is just as easy if not easier - many regs don't even have a lever position adjustment - they are fixed, but either way, as mentioned, adjust the lever position, then you can either trial and error to set the seat on the second stage, or you can buy a little tool that screws inline from scubatools.com for $69... either way, its still easy - adjust until the reg barely leaks, then a 1/8th or so of a turn back...

stick the thing in your mouth and see how it breathes... done...

 

[mitsuguy]

I didn't say it was hard, I said it took specialized equipment and experience to do it correctly. If you want your cracking pressure to be optimum you have to first know what it is and then you need a mag guage to get there. If you want your IP pressure set correctly you need an IP guage. You can do it the way you describe, but if you get your best results that way it will be pure luck. If you are happy with your results, then that is ok. When I compared my results with someone who did it enough to get good at it, I had no problem deciding to pay for the service. There is no way I can do something once a year and consider myself competent at it.

Not true at all... first off, why do you need a magnehelic? I've got one... sure its cool to see what the results are, but if they aren't good, and everything is adjust properly, what do you do??? To this date, in over 2 years of servicing regs, I've never had one be way off what it was supposed to... (if it is, then there is something wrong with a hard part in the reg, which is extremely rare)

Literally, the reason I use the magnehelic is to measure what the reg was doing prior to me servicing it, and then after, just to show an improvement and so if somewhere down the road someone complains, well, it worked great when it left here... Cracking pressure should be as good as you can get it, regardless of what the reg is, unless, of course, you want it to have more resistance for reasons like big currents and such... For instance, if my reg has an advertised cracking pressure of 1.2 and I got it to .9, do you think I'm going to detune it? of course not...

now, experience, sure, everyone needs experience - wanna know how I learned? I got a parts kit, couple of the specialized tools, downloaded the service manuals from frogkick.de and tried it out... its quite easy if you have ANY mechanical ability...

 

[LenC]

Not true at all... first off, why do you need a magnehelic? I've got one... sure its cool to see what the results are, but if they aren't good, and everything is adjust properly, what do you do??? To this date, in over 2 years of servicing regs, I've never had one be way off what it was supposed to... (if it is, then there is something wrong with a hard part in the reg, which is extremely rare)

Literally, the reason I use the magnehelic is to measure what the reg was doing prior to me servicing it, and then after, just to show an improvement and so if somewhere down the road someone complains, well, it worked great when it left here... Cracking pressure should be as good as you can get it, regardless of what the reg is, unless, of course, you want it to have more resistance for reasons like big currents and such... For instance, if my reg has an advertised cracking pressure of 1.2 and I got it to .9, do you think I'm going to detune it? of course not...

now, experience, sure, everyone needs experience - wanna know how I learned? I got a parts kit, couple of the specialized tools, downloaded the service manuals from frogkick.de and tried it out... its quite easy if you have ANY mechanical ability...

Then do it yourself.

 

[mitsuguy]

Then do it yourself.

I do... many times a day sometimes!

 

[Lead_carrier]

how hard is it to tune a reg?
First stage adjustment
IP-on a diaphragm that equates to one allen key....
2nd stage-adjust lever to within spec so it doesn't freeflow with the diaphragm. A bit farther down if you're worried about high flow applications and free flow-octo, scooter, deco etc
Adjust cracking pressure with allen key until it just barely free flows, turn it back to where it stops. That's about all there is to it. You can put the expensive gauges on, make your own etc, or just do it to where you want it.
I'm not paying $120 for labor on my regs PLUS parts every year to have that done...

O2 cleaning is really a bitch. I clean my own but they aren't as clean as what some of the shops can do because I don't have the equipment. I deco on 80% instead of 100% since I rarely will do multiple dives a day requiring deco, and if I do I'll just up the SIT a little bit.

I wouldn't pay that either, I'd find a someplace that was more reasonable to have them serviced. Have you checked out ScubaToys?

 

[tbone1004]

I wouldn't pay that either, I'd find a someplace that was more reasonable to have them serviced. Have you checked out ScubaToys?

still have to ship it and then pay for Apeks parts which are through the bloody roof. I've been servicing my own regs almost as long as I've been diving, 3 months after I started my OW class and actually OWT in regs that I had serviced myself *our class was through the university so it was a LONG class*
As a tech diver with the amount of regs I have, it's just easier to head to a buddies house every 6 months, throw some burgers on the grill, grab a case of beer and service them. New parts kits when the seats are needed, new o-rings as needed, and call it good. Much cheaper that way and it's something to do on a lazy Sunday. They are really not complicated at all, and for the few hours it takes to service 6 first stages and 6 2nd's it's not worth it. Plus, by servicing them I can do quick diagnostics in the field and not say "oh sh!t my reg is busted there goes the rest of my dive trip because I blew a turret O-ring or something stupid like that

 

[LenC]

I do... many times a day sometimes!

Then you are qualified. If I were to do it I would do it maybe twice a year. I am not qualified and there is no way I could get qualified doing it that seldom. So what I do is find people like you and pay them to do it right. As I said, a good repair guy is worth the money. When it comes to this stuff, I want it done by the best and the best is not cheap. The best is also not me. A man's got to know his limitations.