Regulator Advice (Beuchat)

[divad]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I think I may give repairing the regulator a shot. In its day it was consider a top end regulator that met the Navy class A requirements. I was very satisfied with it in the less than 50 dives that I used it. I thought it breathed great although I never used it below 120' and don't intend to now.

Here's a picture of the regulator in question:

The 2nd stage reads "VX 10". Not VS or VXT.

You could call Bob Sheridan @ Anchor Scuba in Pompano and ask him about servicing them; he used to be the educatuonal trainer for Beuchat North America.

 

[widget]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I think I may give repairing the regulator a shot. In its day it was consider a top end regulator that met the Navy class A requirements. I was very satisfied with it in the less than 50 dives that I used it. I thought it breathed great although I never used it below 120' and don't intend to now.

Here's a picture of the regulator in question:

The 2nd stage reads "VX 10". Not VS or VXT.

Yeah, standard VX10 unit as matched by the factory, I just checked my specs and it was introduced in '93.

If you want schematics etc just pm me and I will send em to you.

These were (and still are) excellant regs and I have one myself which I dive regularly, I certainly think its worth an effort to get it back into dive condition.

If you are a little patient the old distributor of Beuchat was based in Miami, I knew him well, but lost contact over the years, I will have a squizz at my files later and see what info I still have if any, and let you know. Otherwise just get the Apeks parts, they will work fine.

 

[widget]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I think I may give repairing the regulator a shot. In its day it was consider a top end regulator that met the Navy class A requirements. I was very satisfied with it in the less than 50 dives that I used it. I thought it breathed great although I never used it below 120' and don't intend to now.

Here's a picture of the regulator in question:

The 2nd stage reads "VX 10". Not VS or VXT.

Okay, I have sent a PM of the details I have. - hope it helps.

 

[divad]

Okay, I have sent a PM of the details I have. - hope it helps.

Nice one widget.

 

[Squirm88]

Thanks Widget! Looks like I'll be able to get it back into service.

 

[NCadiver]

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.

Most low end regulators don’t have adjustment know to relieve the pressure of the LP seat on the second stage or the Atomic setup to save the LP seat. And most manufacture have changed their HP seat material to last longer. You remember the performance diver and IDI regulators they always need to be serviced.

 

[redacted]

Most low end regulators don’t have adjustment know to relieve the pressure of the LP seat on the second stage or the Atomic setup to save the LP seat. And most manufacture have changed their HP seat material to last longer. You remember the performance diver and IDI regulators they always need to be serviced.

I ask because I dive mostly old Scubapro regulators including the "low end" HP or 108. I have no trouble getting a number of years between service. But the LP seat and o-rings are now modern materials and I do store it with the purge depressed so no problem with taking a set in storage. As long as the older regulators will take modern soft components, service life should be on par with modern regulators.

 

[ams511]

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.

The once a year servicing is a hold-over from the earlier days of scuba when the materials were not as good. Also typically lower-end regs probably require less service because they are simple designs with few moving parts. I do agree on the O2 regs.

 

[ams511]

My recommendation is to contact Laura at 123Scuba at 954-747-7140. She purchased the inventory of the Beuchat distributor a few years back. Let me know how it goes because I have 3 VX-10's from about the same time period. If she cannot help you, there is a local dive shop in Miami that I use that may be of help. My only other recommendation is that you find a shop in your area that sells Apeks or Zeagle. The older VX-10's I thought were rebadged Apeks AT-50's so an Apeks dealer should be able to help you. Also Zeagle Tec-50's are very similar to the VX-10's.

 

[JB]

Before you ditch a very good regulator. Parts are readily available, just need an authorised dealer. You can order the parts from Home (That is Scuba geek in Canada.) and then get a technician of your choice to service the regs. My 1994 VS10 is still working perfectly. Nothing much has changed in Reg design in 20-30 years so don't believe the hype. The exact reg is still manufactured and marketed by Beuchat as a VX10 the only substantial change is the 2nd stage VS to VX, the first stage is the same.