Regulator self-service

[Jimmer]

I can think of at least one manufacturer (Oceanic / Aeris) whose O-ring part number clearly spells out the standard O-ring numbering system with some added prefix. It is very easy to identify the O-ring size from the part number.

Zeagle's manual lists their O-ring part #'s as 160-xxxx-Nx. The first 4 x's appear to be the standard O-ring # with an extra 0 in front. ie. their LP port O ring is 160-0011-N7. All of them either end in N7 or N9, which makes me wonder if that doesn't refer to the durometer of the Buna-N ring that is used.

 

[OldNSalty]

Do both read zero when disconnected from a pressure source? As Thal says, it is possible to 'tweak' them, but care is required.

Yes they both drop to zero. I never knew about it till I bought a second set up and noticed that the gauges were off. Not sure which one is right(well, actually i assume that the one reading 2800 is correct because the tank was just filled and I dumped some air when I was playing around showing the kids.

I suppose I could hook both up to one reg and work it down to see if the gauge is off by the same amount throughout the range or if its accuracy changes with the pressure.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Regulator manufacturers, even the self-service friendly ones, will NEVER recommend standard industrial o-rings for their regulators.

Phil Ellis

Well of course they are using standard industrial o-rings, what else would they use? There are differences in hardness and elastomer type which may be hard for the end user to know about. That said it all of the scuba shops I have known use generic o-rings and get away with it. It may be that the performace is not ideal, but in the end regulators seem to be pretty tolerant of what is put in. That might not be the case for some special cases like using pure oxygen however.

 

[coasterp]

I just went to one of the sites listed that shows manuals. I found both my first and second stage. I looked at the exploded view diagrams and feel confident I could easily take my regs apart and re-assemble. I am very mechanically inclined and in fact am a technician that works on equipment used for manufacturing ophthalmic solutions. I have even taken apart regs at work and rebuilt them. My only question here is, while everyone seems to be talking about "o" rings and where to buy, as well as how to identify, what about all the other parts you can't take off the shelf from your local "o" ring dealer? There appeared to be poppets and seats and various springs that may be a little difficult to acquire. How do you guys go about dealing with that?

 

[Luis H]

Under normal use you should never need to replace a spring.

Seats and poppet you will need to get from the manufacturer, but some of the seats are generic and you could use from other manufacturer.

I have found that it is best to make friends with an LDS that will sell you parts.

Also many service kits are often available on eBay.

As someone mentioned above parts are sold freely on most countries outside of the US. With a bit of search you may find a foreign dive shop that will sell parts on the internet. I did see one European shop on the internet that had some regulator parts, but I was not paying attention since it was brands that I don’t deal with.

Good luck

 

[widget]

As someone mentioned above parts are sold freely on most countries outside of the US. With a bit of search you may find a foreign dive shop that will sell parts on the internet. I did see one European shop on the internet that had some regulator parts, but I was not paying attention since it was brands that I don’t deal with.

Good luck

Sure, theres lots of shops internationally that will sell parts, - springs, poppits etc are very small and fit in one of those small padded envelopes so mail should be minimal.

However, most (if not all) manufacturers make a "complete annual service kit" available to dealers for all regulator models, this usually includes all the necessary replaceable parts, o-rings, seats etc to carry out a complete basic service in one neat kit - ask for the kit rather when ordering, instead of itemising individual parts, unless of course they are not in the kit.

Makes it a lot easier too if you are only doing your own regs, its pointless buying 50 o-rings from a o-ring dealer when you only need one a year.

Anyway, hope that helps but I cant understand the reasoning behind the "not selling parts" issue, is it perhaps a legal issue or perhaps more just the lds preferring to do the work themselves?

To be honest, my feeling (I do stress "my feeling" ) is, they are my regs, I paid for them and I will do whatever I want with them, and if that includes self servicing, why should it be an issue.?

 

[pescador775]

What gauges are you referring to?
I own laboratory grade gauges, SPG's of various ages and brands and so called "tank checker" gauges. The tank checkers that I have used and tested are accurate. With the exception of some 30 year old USD SPG's, all SPG's that I have tested read 100-200 psi lower than actual tank pressure. I presume that this is more of the liability stuff that is engineered into products. I was forced to look into this issue after complaints from other divers who declared that I was short filling their tanks (and those fills were free). After calculating for heat related loss there was a remaining discrepancy and it was the gauges. It's always something, some kind of crap that can be traced back to the soft shoe routines and fancy footwork of industry.

Yes they both drop to zero. I never knew about it till I bought a second set up and noticed that the gauges were off. Not sure which one is right(well, actually i assume that the one reading 2800 is correct because the tank was just filled and I dumped some air when I was playing around showing the kids.

I suppose I could hook both up to one reg and work it down to see if the gauge is off by the same amount throughout the range or if its accuracy changes with the pressure.

 

[Couv]

...I was forced to look into this issue after complaints from other divers who declared that I was short filling their tanks (and those fills were free)....

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

 

[OldNSalty]

pescador, I am ref the my standard SPG, not a tank checker. They are both USD pivot. One I bought new several years ago and assume it to be the accurate one as it shows 2800. The other was a recent purchase(used of course) and it shows 3k

 

[pescador775]

Salty, borrow a tank checker gauge or gas integrated diver's computer and compare to the SPG's. A good gauge will have an accuracy of +- 1% of reading. The cheaper ones will show 1% of SCALE. A couple years ago, I tested three new Genesis SPG's. Each was exactly 200 psi low at full tank press. Before that, similar results obtained with other SPG's except the old USD type as mentioned. Other gauges, like cheap utility gauges are typically in error by +- 50 psi due to cheaper mechanisms. However, the SPG's all look to have accurate movements but are calibrated to the low side.

I also heard that some car speedo's are deliberately calibrated to some arbitrary offset like 5 mph HIGH. IOW, they are not accurate, by design.