Regular with a longer then normal service interval?

[buddhasummer]

I use an older Titan inlet fitting instead of ACD on my newly made from parts "Helix Pro" as I like the fact that you only need an 8mm hex to undo yoke inlet fitting. Super easy.

 

[mdwalter]

Thanks for all the comments. Next year I'll probably pay the $50 for service and then the year after if I don't go diving I'll just let the warranty lapse as you are all right, paying all this money just to keep a free $30 service kit isn't a good idea.

Yeah, if you make really good friends with your LDS who services your brand, you can probably get them to pick you up a "free" service kit now, but defer the actual service until the reg actually needs servicing. At the rate you are (almost not) diving, that may be several or even many years. This could get you at least one more "free" kit but still save you the cost of the unnecessary servicings until one actually becomes necessary.
BTW, my experience has been (across several makes and models) that even under fairly heavy diving I have hardly ever needed to have any regs serviced. For example, I have 4 sets of Poseidon Jetstreams that I bought used in the early 2000s (probably between 2002 and 2005). Once I got to 4 sets, I figured I could get one set serviced each year on a 4 year rotating basis and this would leave me with 2 sets to use on my doubles and a spare set in case anything broke before its year for servicing rolled around. As it turns out, even that has not been necessary. It's been 7 or more years since any of them have been rebuilt and the latest plan is I will only service one when it starts to fail and just use 2 of the other 3 until it comes back. Another example, I have 3 Dive Rite second stages and 4 Hog second stages that I use as sidemount and/or stage regs with assorted first stages of various manufacture. None of them has needed service more than once in the 10 to 15 years I've had them, so I literally save enough money on not paying for unneeded servicing to cover the price of buying another reg every couple years.

 

[mdwalter]

Yeah, if you make really good friends with your LDS who services your brand, you can probably get them to pick you up a "free" service kit now, but defer the actual service until the reg actually needs servicing. At the rate you are (almost not) diving, that may be several or even many years. This could get you at least one more "free" kit but still save you the cost of the unnecessary servicings until one actually becomes necessary.
BTW, my experience has been (across several makes and models) that even under fairly heavy diving I have hardly ever needed to have any regs serviced. For example, I have 4 sets of Poseidon Jetstreams that I bought used in the early 2000s (probably between 2002 and 2005). Once I got to 4 sets, I figured I could get one set serviced each year on a 4 year rotating basis and this would leave me with 2 sets to use on my doubles and a spare set in case anything broke before its year for servicing rolled around. As it turns out, even that has not been necessary. It's been 7 or more years since any of them have been rebuilt and the latest plan is I will only service one when it starts to fail and just use 2 of the other 3 until it comes back. Another example, I have 3 Dive Rite second stages and 4 Hog second stages that I use as sidemount and/or stage regs with assorted first stages of various manufacture. None of them has needed service more than once in the 10 to 15 years I've had them, so I literally save enough money on not paying for unneeded servicing to cover the price of buying another reg every couple years.

My best example, though is the vintage double hose single stage regulator (Healthways SCUBA) I bought used. This thing was manufactured in 1962 and may or may not have ever been professionally servicedsince the day its original owner took delivery of it. All I really know is the guy I bought it from got it from somebody's barn where it had been for some time, used it for a few years of diving, and then had it in his garage of about 10 years. So let's just say it's likely this particular unit had not been opened up in about half its lifetime (30 years). I dove it for about a year and a half "as is" and then decided it was breathing a little hard (and I do mean just a little), so I cracked open the canister, gave the adjustment screw (one of only 4 moving parts in this design) a half turn, and put it back together with all the same original parts. Now it free flowed, so I backed it off a quarter turn and now it's perfect again. That was 2 years ago, and it is still working great. So, why did we (the world) stop making these indestructible regulators 50 years ago? Because they (almost) never need service, and when they do it's DIY using only a single flat head screwdriver to disassemble the housing, adjust the mechanism, and reassemble. Who makes money on that? Nobody. Yes, I know there are other reasons, like because it is single stage, there is no IP stage to run inflators, safe second, etc. and there is no accommodation for a pressure gauge (unless you have a banjo fitting). But wouldn't it be nice to have a device that just works (virtually) forever? Oh, wait, modern single hose two stage regulators are also (for the most part) almost that reliable, too.

 

[BoltSnap]

if you make really good friends with your LDS who services your brand, you can probably get them to pick you up a "free" service kit now, but defer the actual service until the reg actually needs servicing.

But isn't this kinda of stealing? If you don't get clear permission from the manufacturer to do this directly, this is fraud and stealing.

 

[Bob DBF]

My best example, though is the vintage double hose single stage regulator (Healthways SCUBA) I bought used. This thing was manufactured in 1962 and may or may not have ever been professionally servicedsince the day its original owner took delivery of it

I have a great example, as it involved a '62 Nemrod Snark III that ran perfectly when I dove it 35+ years after it was put up.

I learned to dive on that reg, which my dad bought and we both learned how to dive that summer. I used it until I went into the Navy in '65, and went on to other gear. I didn't think of it again until I went back to my dad's funeral and my mom asked me if I wanted it. He didn't dive it a lot and went on to other hobbies, as a mechanic he insured it was operating perfectly and was packed and stored, in case he wanted to use it later.

I still dive it.