Regulator self-service

[jpirtle2003]

How does one go about learning to service regulators? I am quite mechanically inclined, understand regulator basics, and possess plenty of quality tools. I would like to be able to service my own equipment. Any suggestions?

 

[PCBCaptChris]

There are a number of texts available. A good general text is scuba regulator and repair (a lot of grammar errors in it-beware...): SCUBA REGULATOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR by Vance Harlow

Each brand has it's own requirements and rules for who it allows to be trained and service regulators with the manufacturer's approval. Each course comes with it's own costs. As with most large companies, the larger the company, the more rules (which could also mean more quality assurance/cost for training).

The best thing I could say to you if you want to become approved by a particular manufacturer is see if you could pay for the class yourself and work with the local dive shop. Not just working on your life support but others as well. That way they would have some benefit to helping you get setup into a class...

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board and the dark side. I would suggest you start by getting and reading these 2 books.
"Regulator Savvy by Pete Wolfinger" Scuba Tools
"Scuba Regulator Maintenance and Repair by Vance Harlow" Airspeed Press Homepage - Books For Serious Divers

Between the 2 you can get the majority of the information you need. Next get some old beater regs to toy with, old Sherwoods are a good choice, easy and inexpensive to find, easy to get parts for and easy to service. Like the rest of us, getting parts is going to be your biggest problem. Buying regs that support us on the dark side is a good idea and "gray market" parts are starting to become easier to come by, otherwise your going to have to get hooked up with a shop that will sell you parts.

 

[jpirtle2003]

Thanks for the responses. At least I have a place to start. My regs are: 2 Sherwood primaries, 1 Sherwood octo, 1 Oceanic octo, 1 AL primary, 1 AL octo. I understand the AL will be the biggest problem to obtain parts for. I just have a hard time paying someone else for work I am perfectly capable of performing and interested in.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Thanks for the responses. At least I have a place to start. My regs are: 2 Sherwood primaries, 1 Sherwood octo, 1 Oceanic octo, 1 AL primary, 1 AL octo. I understand the AL will be the biggest problem to obtain parts for. I just have a hard time paying someone else for work I am perfectly capable of performing and interested in.

Some manufactures will sell parts to the end user without problem. For example Dive Rite Express sells kits for Dive Rite regulators. Also the majority of the parts are o-rings which can be purchased from a number of sources. Of course if you are not buying direct from the regulator manufacturer some caution about getting right material type, and right material hardness, is in order.

 

[jpirtle2003]

Any suggestions for alternative sources of o-rings? I'm sure they're available somewhere besides dealers, one would just need to verify proper sizes and material types.

 

[halocline]

I think the name of the place I have bought from is oringsusa.com.

 

[Couv]

Here is a website that has o-ring info worth reading and o-rings for sale: Oxygen-Compatible O-Rings and Lubricant for SCUBA Applications

If you want to buy in bulk, see Matt's guys:
O-Rings, Inc. Since 1958 - Buy Online

For your first question, which has been answered by other usual suspects, I will just add my standard cut and paste info so beg pardon for repeating the other guys:

Welcome to the DIY club. Both service manuals usually discussed here are great ; Vance Harlow's "SCUBA Regulator Maintenance …." http://www.airspeedpress.com/newregbook.html and the Scuba Tools book, "Regulator Savvy" http://www.scubatools.com/ are well worth the money. I own both and recommend getting one of each. If you are dead set on getting only one, then Vance's is a little more suitable for the DIY guy while the ScubaTools book is more suitable for the shop worker. ScubaTools has some pretty decent tools too, so if you order from there pay a few extra bucks and get the bullets, spanners, etc that you need with your first order and save on shipping. After just one or two seasons of servicing your own gear, you will have recovered your investment.

​

Here are a couple of websites with tons of regulator specific manuals:

Regulator manuals

http://www.frogkick.dk/manuals/

Good luck,

couv

 

[OldNSalty]

So do the manuals specify what type of o-rings to order? What about the other parts or are there other parts? I thought I have heard people say that there are some nylon nuts that have to be replaced.

One more question-can an SPG be adjusted? I have 2 and when I hook them up to the same tank they show a difference of about 200 pounds (2800 on one set-3k on the other) Of course, I don't know which one is right so I don't know which one to adjust but I am sure there is a way around that as well.

 

[PhilEllis]

Some manufactures will sell parts to the end user without problem. For example Dive Rite Express sells kits for Dive Rite regulators. Also the majority of the parts are o-rings which can be purchased from a number of sources. Of course if you are not buying direct from the regulator manufacturer some caution about getting right material type, and right material hardness, is in order.

Regulator manufacturers, even the self-service friendly ones, will NEVER recommend standard industrial o-rings for their regulators. If you are mindful of the liability climate that the manufacturers think they face, this is understandable. Regulator makers/marketers will provide THEIR part number for any part in your regulator. What you will have some difficulty finding is a cross reference that takes THEIR part number to an AS568 -dash number, if a direct industrial match even exists. You can send factory o-rings to most o-ring manufacturers and they will provide a size match or you can search other resources to find size matches. What is slightly more difficult is matching the exact material formulation. While some will not think this is important, I am positive that the ergulator manufacturers would disagree.

There is also the issue of diaphragms, seats, and metal parts. In most cases, there is brand interchangeability on these items. In many cases, these parts are unique to a particular brand or model.

Good luck with your service. I think EVERYONE should understand more about how their equipment works. Self-service is one way to get that understanding.

Phil Ellis