Picked up our regs for a trip in two weeks last night. We did a Scuba Review/Refresher Pool Class immediately after pickup. My reg seemed fine, maybe a little too free flowing, (I need to educate myself on ip). However, on the way home hubby said his reg had an intermittent stutter. The dive shop was closed at this point. Should I call them and have them take another look or is this normal? LDS is about 45mins-1hr each way away or would have run it back today. They gave us a printout of all the values and said everything looked normal and clean. Its an older Aqualung Legend Regulator, but he never noticed this problem before. It had been almost two years since diving and service at the same LDS. Thank you for your input.
Regulator Intermittent Stutter after Service
- Thread starter diverjen
- Start date
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If you are going on a dive trip and what to be sure, you need to talk to the shop.
You may need to clarify what "intermittent stutter" actually means... When he breaths does it take a moment to respond, or is it a slight 'pulsating'?
If yours is a "little too free flowing" expect that to not improve but may get worse as the second stage seat settles. An IP gauge will help determine if the 1st stage has a problem. The second should have been tuned to the 1st, the problem would be a creep in IP that results in the 2nd free flowing after sitting for a while. Your second stage probably just need a slight adjustment. This is not hard to do with a spanner and screwdriver...
Well done doing the refresher and checking the gear
You may need to clarify what "intermittent stutter" actually means... When he breaths does it take a moment to respond, or is it a slight 'pulsating'?
If yours is a "little too free flowing" expect that to not improve but may get worse as the second stage seat settles. An IP gauge will help determine if the 1st stage has a problem. The second should have been tuned to the 1st, the problem would be a creep in IP that results in the 2nd free flowing after sitting for a while. Your second stage probably just need a slight adjustment. This is not hard to do with a spanner and screwdriver...
Well done doing the refresher and checking the gear
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Thanks for the advice. We took it back to the shop and they emailed this back in response, does it sound reasonable?
Response:
I checked your regulator this morning. The breathing resistance nob was turned ¾ of the way towards harder breathing. I like to leave the adjustment 1/8 – ¼ turn in from counter clockwise for easier breathing effort and less air consumption. At this setting the effort to breath is at 1.” of Mercury versus almost 2” turned inward. The knob basically is there to control a free flow swimming into a strong current or to control a small leak from a high demand lever or worn LP seat. Right now the 2nd stage is very smooth and set to 1” on a Manometer. Thanks.
Response:
I checked your regulator this morning. The breathing resistance nob was turned ¾ of the way towards harder breathing. I like to leave the adjustment 1/8 – ¼ turn in from counter clockwise for easier breathing effort and less air consumption. At this setting the effort to breath is at 1.” of Mercury versus almost 2” turned inward. The knob basically is there to control a free flow swimming into a strong current or to control a small leak from a high demand lever or worn LP seat. Right now the 2nd stage is very smooth and set to 1” on a Manometer. Thanks.
Get back in the water and test it out again.
Make a more detailed mental note of what it is actually doing (if it's still doing it).
As said above, some regs will do this above water.
Test under water.
Make a more detailed mental note of what it is actually doing (if it's still doing it).
As said above, some regs will do this above water.
Test under water.
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NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
Personally, I think it's dangerous to turn the adjuster simply to compensate for low air.
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- Messages
- 17,268
- Reaction score
- 9,470
- Location
- Somewhere between here and there
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
Well, I'm relieved. lol I guess I'm too used to supposedly trained divers saying ridiculous things that I thought you were one of them. You gotta include a winky face when you do that & I gotta get more sleep so I don't fall for it.
snowdog61
Contributor
Adjuster is to tune the cracking pressure of your 2nd stage - the point at which it starts to open the valve and flow (a vacuum in this case typically @ 1-1.5" of water column). If you notice it starts to dribble into your mouth too easily or has a slight leak when all the way out, dial it in a bit until it stops flowing. It shouldn't need much - 1/4 turn or so. If that does it, then it doesn't mean it's defect but it does have a 'performance' tune (which the low cracking pressure shows). If it takes a lot of turns, then it needs an adjustment at a minimum. That's why some rental gear stages either don't offer the adjustability (just plugged) or they have been tuned so as not to initiate flow so easily. If you really want to know what is going on with your regs (which you have already alluded to), get the IP gauge that QDs into your inflator hose - very handy especially just before any extended dive trip. Most reg issues unfortunately seem to happen right after servicing which inevitably seems to coincide with the start of the dive vacation trip (happened to me). IP gauge will help you diagnose which side is having the issue and help guide your now informed decision on when to service rather than blindly going by a calendar date just because of 'free parts'.
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