Regulator Service Technician Training - Unrestricted

[lowwall]

Will you include "It's not scary in there" advertising for those that may be able but not willing to tackle regs

If a reg passes bench tests and an 8' pool test, is there something catastrophic that can still occur at 80'?

Anyway, scary was the first ride in Los Angeles traffic after rebuilding the front brake on my motorcycle when I'd never worked on anything more complicated than a (pre-suspension) mountain bike.

 

[rsingler]

If a reg passes bench tests and an 8' pool test, is there something catastrophic that can still occur at 80'?

No, and yes. If your reg passes @couv's Regulator Checklist, and it breathes like it should in the pool, you're probably okay. What you haven't ruled out is an undertorqued part, or a wrong duro substitute o-ring (because you used inexpensive, but incorrect McMaster Carr o-rings rather than the $36 service kit), where the consequences don't show up right away.

If the undertorqued low pressure turret loosens, you're going to lose ALL your gas in 2 minutes, and you won't be able to use your regs on the way up. If your diaphragm extrudes because you don't believe in expensive torque wrenches, your reg fails instantly. If your HP oring extrudes and blows because it was 70 duro instead of 90, your intermediate pressure might stay breathable, but HP air is going to leak out the ambient holes very quickly. You might be able to use your regs on the way up.

You should have picked up the turret loosening with @couv's checklist, though it's not a specific call-out. You might have seen a subtle change in your IP lockup as the HP oring began to extrude, but only if you're used to using the IP gauge on a regular basis.

It's really like crossing the street. If you just follow the same simple procedure each and every time, you're fine! Even though a car is less than 2 feet from your face zooming by at 40 mph! But if you don't keep following ALL the steps EVERY time (look both ways, every time), you can die.

Is that scary? Not really.
Crossing the street isn't scary any more.

 

[rsingler]

yeah, that's what one thing that prompted me to buy Deep 6 regs and take their training. I'm definitely interested in your training down the road for just more knowledge.

If this works out okay, the next stage might be an Advanced Tips and Tricks seminar, where a few of us can spend a day discussing and demo'ing some of the arcane stuff we've discovered the hard way over time. No one should think this is "Secret Stuff", no matter what attitude the shops take about Life Support Equipment. Sharing knowledge is a good thing. There's just no textbook for some of the stuff that has happened. Most of it is just the slow accumulation of "OMG!" when you take apart some guy's reg that isn't working quite right, and find out what the previous tech did.

I still don't know how that Atomic B2 went three years without an oring between the ambient chamber and the reg body, but it did. God looks after little children and fools.

 

[rhwestfall]

I personally like the transmitter on my sealed diaphragm being installed upside down...

 

[p_kos]

I personally like the transmitter on my sealed diaphragm being installed upside down...

Adrenaline junkie!

 

[rsingler]

There is one slot still unclaimed for Round #2.
I'm sending out a query to those currently on the list to see if we need to hold the seminar on a different schedule than two long weekend days.
If that's what's held you back, send me a PM with your desires, or an email to napascuba@gmail.com .
We'll either shift Round #2, or hold Round #3 on a more creative schedule, like four weekend evenings, or six (shorter) weekday evenings, which also might accommodate some interested parties in Europe and the Pacific Basin due to the time zone problem.

Round #1 preparations are proceeding apace, and there's lots of dialog among the group already!

 

[rsingler]

Well, the last three weeks have been interesting, I'll say that much!
It's one thing for me to have taught reg service in a controlled setting with a uniform set of demo regs and a uniform set of tools. But this is the Wild West!
On the down side, having everyone with their favorite reg to service has meant that recommending tools has probably been absolutely bewildering for those attendees without prior experience. Do I need a hook spanner? What size? What pin size? Oh, I've got a beautiful new Apeks FSR, but it's not quite like the TX100 that preceded it. I need a hook spanner and what!!?? A $50 34mm wrench with a broach for a torque wrench!!? No, can't do that. Well, here's a workaround.
Can I use a luggage scale instead of a $194 dial torque wrench? Sure! Do I need to torque at all? Well...

On the up side, it's going to be fantastic to share video of each of these regs peculiarities over our two long days! The experience will be so much better than a single mfr forum with just a few examples. But getting to the starting line has been frustrating for several folks. Figuring out how to approach this will make things much smoother for Round #2. I guess one could require at least one or two eBay regs of similar design to facilitate early work, but in my mind, learning the similarities amongst all these different brands will clear up a lot of misconceptions about one brand being significantly better than another. And we'll learn which brands are a PITA to service!

Lots of demo regs now set up for class,

so I'll have a close to equivalent example for most any student working on his or her own gear.
And a few that are crusty and untouched, so folks can learn how to disassemble a neglected piece of gear from scratch.

It's been fun lining up basic tools for folks with nothing to start with. I've tracked down some sources that are saving $30-40 total on the basic stuff. I now have commercial accounts with Trident and A-Plus Marine, and of course a longstanding account at McMaster-Carr. Bruce has been very helpful at Scubatools, though we've not been able to secure a discount for our small group. He's still got some of the best specialty stuff around!

One of the fun discoveries was using a 2.5mm crochet hook in lieu of the specialty Apeks tool to remove that tiny hard 2-006 o-ring in the diaphragm balance chamber.

It's all coming together, and I anticipate that once the workspace hurdles have been worked out, the Zoom experience will turn out great!

 

[lexvil]

 

[happy-diver]

Magnificent!

Anyway, scary was the first ride in Los Angeles traffic after rebuilding the front brake on my motorcycle when I'd never worked on anything more complicated than a (pre-suspension) mountain bike.

Hey at least they sell us the parts man!

 

[ChrisMBC]

Any spots left on Round 2? Or, if there was a weekday evening group coming up, would prefer that