Rebuilding regulator and BCD I just bought

[rnln]

Hi everyone,

Can I ask everyone how often do you service/rebuild your regulator (first and second stages). I asked and searched on this more than once and got different answers. Some said annually, some 2 years, some said depend on how often you dive, and some said "when it is needed too" test your IP. I figure I would dive once or twice a month, so let say between 10 to 20 times a year. So to the DIY guru. How often do you service them?

I am working on MK10 now and am almost there, looking for purchasing some + seats at once. I need to have a figure in mind how many I should need to stock them up so don't have to worry about them again in the future. Do you replace seat every time you service it? Knowing it's not easy to find the scubaPro/manufacture seat.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Couv]

how often do you service/rebuild your regulator (first and second stages). I asked and searched on this more than once and got different answers. Some said annually, some 2 years, some said depend on how often you dive, and some said "when it is needed too" test your IP.

If it's a regulator that I've rebuilt myself or one I know the history of I use this checklist to guide me of when it needs a service.

Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

Do you replace seat every time you service it?

On my personal regulators, if I suspect something other than the seat is the reason for a rebuild, no-I do not replace the seat. Fortunately, the seat can be easily replaced and can be the last item on your rebuild checklist. Leave the seat in the seat retainer until you are sure it needs to be replaced. Doing this will help ensure the seat is returned to the exact same position it was before removal.

looking for purchasing some + seats at once.

VDH and @buddhasummer are my go to sources, but they also pop up on eBay every now and then. bigfoot-daisy on eBay, https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/myletenbr? filter=feedback_page:All&_trksid=p2545226.m2531.l4585 & jkirke on eBay often have items like this for sale.

A search on eBay (scubapro mk10 service kit) tuns up several kits. This kit has three seats in it not to mention the seals and filter:
Scubapro Maintenance Service Repair Kit MK 10 MK10 10500045 Dead Stock Sealed | eBay

You'll probably find this thread informative:
Scubapro Mk10 - low intermediate pressure

 

[rnln]

Thanks Couv

 

[Bigbella]

As to where to start I'd get a copy of regulator savvy from ScubaTools and then download the manuals for the 1st and 2nd. The manuals will tell you what tools you need.
If you are going to start servicing yourself, I'd plan on a preliminary budget of around 200-250 bucks for tools.

But there's economical, and there's crazy. Get them serviced by a good shop. Go diving. Start slowly, and you can do this. But not yet. Not with what you've described.

I do have to agree with the concerns of some of the posts above; but an education has to start somewhere. Cracking books is never a bad thing to do.

While I have and read both, I would recommend Harlow's Scuba Regulator Maintenance and Repair over Wolfinger's Regulator Savvy, for its sheer "grassroots" readability and his penchant for cobbling together specialized tools of your own, especially for a beginner . . .

Starting out: Wolfinger or Harlow - Which should I read first?

 

[Bigbella]

In response to a "conversation" over a recent PM, I would still prefer -- owning both -- Harlow's Scuba Regulator Maintenance and Repair, over Wolfinger's Regulator Savvy. The fact that Harlow is not selling anything other than his book; and that he covers any number of applied brand-specific fixes and eccentricities, including that of upstream regulator models (which Wolfinger dismisses over the course of a single sentence -- curiously stating, that "upstream valves have not been used in diving regulators since the late 1960s and will not be covered in this manual") is of greater value, in my opinion, over boatloads of physical theory and glossy graphics.

Harlow also gives some instructions on cobbling together some of your own tools. C'mon, who doesn't wish to build their own cheap-o DYI IP meter or first stage holder?