Regulator Advice (Beuchat)

[Squirm88]

I have been out of diving for awhile and was hoping I could get some advice. My fiance is looking to get her C-card next month which means I'll finally have a dive buddy to dive with. The majority of our diving will be from my personal boat in the Miami and upper Keys area. So warm water diving that is not too technical or too deep.

Currently have a Beuchat 1st stage with a Beuchat VX-10 2nd stage and Beuchat octopus (circa 1995). I hadn't used the gear in a couple years. I tried it out last week and it seems like the second stage has frozen up. No air comes out when breathing or by purging. However, the octopus is working like normal. I assume the problem is with the 2nd stage and not the 1st.

It appears that since I've been out of the loop, Beuchat has closed its doors in the U.S. I've called a local dive shop and they no longer service Beuchat and mentioned how hard it is to find parts.

Is there some shops that still work on Beuchat? Is it cost effective to have the gear repaired or should I be looking into having it replaced due to its age and availability of parts? Can I replace the second stage with another brand of regulator and still use the Beuchat 1st stage that I have?

Thanks!

 

[Squirm88]

Searching Beuchat online I found a shop still selling the same 1st and 2nd stage that I have in an "attic sale", new for $80. So now I assume I can purchase new cheaper than the cost of a repair to my unit.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[idocsteve]

I'm diving with a Beuchat for several years now. I bought it on Ebay when saving a few bucks was more important than my life.

Turns out it was money well spent, it's a great regulator, my dive shop told me when they initially serviced it that it was equivalent to a $400 reg...it's even got that adjustment to make it less likely to freeflow.

However parts are no longer available. They can still service it to some extent, and replace some of the more universal parts such as O-rings but this past year they told me it's days are numbered.

It doesn't owe me anything.

 

[ajduplessis]

Based on the parts not being available anymore, and the fact that is oldish equipment, it might be a good idea to upgrade and buy new stuff. Regs need to be serviced at least once a year depending on your diving outings. Since you have to get something for the misses, you could negotiate some discount for buying 2 sets.

At the end of the day is up to you and your budget.

 

[halocline]

Don't listen to this BS about "your life being worth it" and "oldish equipment" and "regs need to be serviced at least once a year". The fact is that regulators have not really improved in decades, so if you can get your beuchat working, I'm sure it would be fine. I'm sure there are techs around that could do a good job with it, you just have to find the right one.

Safety in diving is a factor of diver behavior, not cost of regulator. As long as people continue to spread that myth, I guess it will continue to be an effective sales tactic.

However, if you can't get parts, you can't parts, and seats/o-rings/seals do wear out. The useful life of any regulator is limited primarily by the availability of rebuild parts. That's why I like scubapro regs; I have several that are 20+ years old and parts are everywhere.

 

[idocsteve]

Don't listen to this BS about "your life being worth it" and "oldish equipment" and "regs need to be serviced at least once a year". The fact is that regulators have not really improved in decades, so if you can get your beuchat working, I'm sure it would be fine. I

If you can "get your old reg working it is sure to be fine to use"?

Regs "don't have to be serviced once a year"?

Two extremely poor pieces of advice that with rare exception are placing you at extreme risk of injury or death.

 

[tfsails]

Some shops offer trade-in discounts on new regs regardless of the condition of the old one. I know ours offers 20% off retail on new Aeris regs with a tradein. Beauchat has gone the way of Dacor--fine regs that are no longer supported. Too bad.

 

[redacted]

If you can "get your old reg working it is sure to be fine to use"?

Regs "don't have to be serviced once a year"?

Two extremely poor pieces of advice that with rare exception are placing you at extreme risk of injury or death.

If you want to experience "extreme risk of injury or death" let some unknown regulator adjustable wrench turner screw with your regs. Reg service error failures are the type of failures that can make a regulator fail completely (as in stop delivering gas to the mouthpiece of your 2nd stage) and force you to resort to your emergency plans. Failing to service a reg until it shows some performance indication of a need for service is quite unlikely to create a serious failure. It will probably result in either noticeable performance degradation or a small leak (gas out or possibly water in). Of course, should any of these things occur, it is best to find and fix the problem soonest as they seldom get better on their own.

Or you can choose to learn as little as possible about your regs and just pay the annual rental fee on the regs you own and hope your LDS tech does a good job.

EDIT: BTW, it looks like that 2nd stage is an balanced barrel poppet design which is a good performing design. But the failure you describe suggests either a failed lever or poppet which may be difficult to get parts to repair. Still worth troubleshooting and giving repair a try.

 

[NCadiver]

Don't listen to this BS about "your life being worth it" and "oldish equipment" and "regs need to be serviced at least once a year". The fact is that regulators have not really improved in decades, so if you can get your beuchat working, I'm sure it would be fine. I'm sure there are techs around that could do a good job with it, you just have to find the right one.

Safety in diving is a factor of diver behavior, not cost of regulator. As long as people continue to spread that myth, I guess it will continue to be an effective sales tactic.

However, if you can't get parts, you can't parts, and seats/o-rings/seals do wear out. The useful life of any regulator is limited primarily by the availability of rebuild parts. That's why I like scubapro regs; I have several that are 20+ years old and parts are everywhere.

As a dive professional you should not be giving out bad advice like that. Some of the old and low end regulator and O2 regulators do need to be service every year while some of the upper end regulators do not. Why would manufacture have parts for service if nobody is serving their regulators? See what happened to Beuchat.

 

[redacted]

As a dive professional you should not be giving out bad advice like that. Some of the old and low end regulator and O2 regulators do need to be service every year while some of the upper end regulators do not. Why would manufacture have parts for service if nobody is serving their regulators? See what happened to Beuchat.

What "old and low end regulators" require more frequent service and why?

BTW, I suspect regular service parts for the Beuchat, like o-rings, LP seat, and perhaps even the exhaust valve and diaphragm are probably still available but under some other manufacturer's label which means he may have to find a tech who really knows what he is doing.