Piecing together two kits, need advice on gear I already own.

[flyboy08]

Just put my wife’s Sherwood regs on the Pony....new regs last year with 20 dives on them....the octopus free flowed like crazy....took it apart cleaned out some sand and ran it through fresh water and the flow decreased to a slow and steady, but obvious free flow still?

I see this is more common than not with these Sherwood’s which I find a bit surprising. Going to bring the regs back to where they were purchased for a professional checkout.

 

[boat sju]

Monkeyface,

Do you have an IP gauge yet? You'll want one.

 

[diversteve]

Sherwoods with the designed in slow air bleed?

I don't think I'd use that on a pony unless it has an accurate pressure gauge.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Just put my wife’s Sherwood regs on the Pony....new regs last year with 20 dives on them....the octopus free flowed like crazy....took it apart cleaned out some sand and ran it through fresh water and the flow decreased to a slow and steady, but obvious free flow still?

I see this is more common than not with these Sherwood’s which I find a bit surprising. Going to bring the regs back to where they were purchased for a professional checkout.

Is it a free-flow or a leak? What happens if you slowly immerse it in water with the diaphragm facing down and the mouthpiece facing up? It should start to free-flow. Without seeing it to me it sounds like your demand lever might be too high or your orifice needs a bit of adjusting and/or cleaning. You could try removing the hose from the second stage, hold down the lever, and turn the screw clockwise about 1/8" of a turn. Repeat if necessary, but that might indicate it needs more than an adjustment. Reconnect the hose and connect it to a tank and see if it stopped. If it's now a slow bubbling then you probably have a bad valve seat. The trouble with this adjustment is that the demand lever also needs to be the correct height or your reg won't breathe well. If this didn't do it then you can check the IP of the first stage. It should be less than 150 psi and constant. 145 seems to be good on mine.

@Monkeyface the air bleeding from the first stage should be between 13cc and 27cc per minute on older models and 20cc to 30cc on the newer ones. I use the shot glass from a bottle of cough syrup held upside (do you have a swimming pool?). Many are calibrated so it should give you a fairly close measurement even if it's only a good guess. Sherwood says that if no air bubbles are present it's still safe to dive with but might be harder breathing at depth. No bubbles also mean it needs parts. On the older ones it would need a new piston, not sure about the newer ones.

 

[JamesBon92007]

We have since accumulated some used gear in great shape and I plan on rebuilding the regulators so we can use reliable gear on a budget.


I am shopping for a fourth 2nd stage as well and I would like it to “match” one of the other regs so my son will have two of the same to choose from. I also want his kit to be of the highest quality and reliability. I am an engineer and I am comfortable rebuilding all of these components.
.

An eBay seller called one-more-chance-scuba sells some good, used gear. I've bought a few things from him and they have always been exactly as described and if something was wrong I'm pretty sure he'd make it right. You might want to take a look at his "store" and see if he has what you are looking for. He takes his listing pictures against a diver's flag so they are easy to spot.

One_More_Chance_Scuba | eBay Stores

 

[Bob DBF]

Sherwoods with the designed in slow air bleed?

I don't think I'd use that on a pony unless it has an accurate pressure gauge.

At 27cc per minute, thats about 16 hours per cubic ft. (1 atm). I use my old ('80) Magnum on my pony because it was drop dead reliable for the 28 years I dove it, even when the dry bleed quit. I turn on the pony just before I splash, and off immediately after I get out. For a day of diving the pressure drop Is minimal.


Bob

 

[flyboy08]

I only used the pony to check our gear (we’re heading to Coz in two weeks)...it still has a slow bubble when immersed in water. Taking to the shop this week for a look see.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Sherwoods with the designed in slow air bleed?

I don't think I'd use that on a pony unless it has an accurate pressure gauge.

Used mine on a pony for years. The amount of air lost on a one hour dive due to the dry bleed system is about a tenth of a breath. If that.

 

[flyboy08]

Used mine on a pony for years. The amount of air lost on a one hour dive due to the dry bleed system is about a tenth of a breath. If that.

These Brut’s We’re purchased new last summer from a local DS....do the newer versions dry bleed too? I’ll have to dig out the owners manual....the primary didn’t bubble, the Octo does..?

 

[flyboy08]

Just connected the Bruts back up to the pony....no bubble or air noise whatsoever? I guess when I removed the faceplate and cleaned out a few bits of sand, did the job?

I’m no reg expert...but going from major freeflow to a slight bubble to now nothing....we’ll makes me feel like a genius....for a moment or two anyway.

As always, I appreciate my fellow divers replies....this is one great community!