Regulator Service "Inspection"

[James79]

That would be cool. Closest I got is,

Alec Peirce showing how to use a Magnehelic:

And a DIY thread here for making a Slanted U-Tube Manometer from a fish tank hose & some wood:
DIY Magnehelic Gauge

I'll let someone who knows how to present a video do it, but the simple version is to put the pressurized second stage faceplate down into a bucket of water slowly and look at the water level on the reg when it just starts to hiss. The depth of the diaphragm below that water level is your cracking effort.

What regs are you diving, if I may ask?

 

[Johnoly]

.... A short YouTube video on how to measure cracking effort with a bowl of water and a ruler.

PLEASE,,,PLEASE,,,PLEASE
DO IT !!!

I don't rebuild but I have learned so much when talking (ie-Telling) my rebuilder how to fix my B2 to lock up my IP. I have my own IP gauge and use it once a month or so. I tell everyone it gives me the 'creeps'.

My favorite video of yours is the the Twirling seat on the Allen Tool !!!!

 

[tbone1004]

Maybe next up? A short YouTube video on how to measure cracking effort with a bowl of water and a ruler.
Anybody want to do it and beat me to the punch, go right ahead!

My wife almost aborted her OW Dive #3 on the shared air ascent, which would have failed the class (or required "remedial learning").
She was used to pool training and her initial open water dives on my regs.
The octo her instructor handed her was so stiff and out of tune, she thought something was wrong and almost bolted for "lack of air".

Fortunately she stuck it out and passed. Now she's a stickler for a properly tuned second.

I'll just keep my Xstreams where the engineers were nice enough to put a mark on the body for me!

 

[rsingler]

That U-tube manometer is a great tool, and cheap!

I got lazy. Instead of making a new video, here's a 5-minute extract from the first evening of the Regulator Repair Seminar. The workbench is already trashed from all the regs we'd been taking apart. But there's how to do it. It ain't a dressy presentation, but that's the kind of instruction you'll get during the Seminar.

 

[vinsanity]

What regs are you diving, if I may ask?

I've got Apeks XTX50/DST and Aqua Lung Core Supreme.

OK, if you’re digging up resources like this and are comfortable with them: take the darn class.

It can't be any more complicated than other pneumatics, and I probably have half the tools, which makes me very interested in taking the class. I'd have no concerns doing it while supervised, but worry about missing something important while reassembling when it's something I only do every year or 2. Lots of time to forget something.

Unfortunately, since I've never taken one apart, I don't really know whether I should be concerned about this or not.

 

[James79]

I'd have no concerns doing it while supervised, but worry about missing something important while reassembling when it's something I only do every year or 2. Lots of time to forget something.

Unfortunately, since I've never taken one apart, I don't really know whether I should be concerned about this or not.

As someone smarter than me said, Reg maintenance isn't hard... it's just precise. A copy of the manual, and patience can get 90% of it (all of it if things are nominal).

Sent you a message.

Respectfully,

James

 

[vinsanity]

That U-tube manometer is a great tool, and cheap!

I got lazy. Instead of making a new video, here's a 7-minute extract from the first evening of the Regulator Repair Seminar. The workbench is already trashed from all the regs we'd been taking apart. But there's how to do it. It ain't a dressy presentation, but that's the kind of instruction you'll get during the Seminar.

Ok, That was even cooler than I expected!!! Thank you sir. Time to head downstairs and try this... just because.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

That U-tube manometer is a great tool, and cheap!

I got lazy. Instead of making a new video, here's a 7-minute extract from the first evening of the Regulator Repair Seminar. The workbench is already trashed from all the regs we'd been taking apart. But there's how to do it. It ain't a dressy presentation, but that's the kind of instruction you'll get during the Seminar.

I also have a plastic ruler that I hold against the case to measure as it's going in.

 

[rsingler]

I guess the natural follow-on to this last discussion is that if it's more than 1.5" from the plane of the diaphragm to the water's surface before your reg just begins to hiss, your primary second stage is in need of adjustment. Whether or not that value is acceptable in an octo is a whole 'nother argument.

 

[Johnoly]

But there's how to do it.

Just watched the video. That's really easy for us to understand.
Thank you so much for the video. I dove Friday and didn't like the cracking pressure on my reg. Now I can test it and at the same time, test my spare reg that I know I like and compare the two measurements. Some diver's say "it gives me air" but many of us want a consistent repeatable, known air flow so we never have to even think about it. Set it and forget it. Thank you again!!!!!