Rust inside MK25/A700 after using with steel tank

[redacted]

Good question if the service policy covers such accident. free parts for sure, don't know about the service itself.

No doubt, you are going to pay for the service unless you can get the tank provider to pick up the charge.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Given the volume of material that appears to have made its way through the filter I would remove the SPG and blow the hose out too.

 

[sphillips3]

Agreed, therefore, the OP should not dive this reg and take it to service immediately.

OTOH, a complete service means 2 things:

1. Cleaning of all the parts, including the o-rings and seats. That should deal with the rust
2. Replacement of some soft parts. Assuming step 1 is done properly, maybe with some extra time in the ultrasonic, this step doesn't add any value, apart from some 40-ish extra dollards on the bill for the kits

First of all, even for both kits (1st and 2nd stage) it would not be 60 bucks for the parts. As far as coverage under warranty/PFL goes, if the owner is the original purchaser from an authorized SP dealer, then I would call Jules at SP and discuss the issue. If SP declined to cover and it was our customer we would try to help out as much as we could.

Finally, even if the customer had to pay for everything, my strong recommendation would be a complete cleaning and complete service kits and get a new service date for annual service.

If I am going to all the trouble to take the units apart and clean everything, it would be, IMHO, false economy to put in any of the used soft parts, possibly with embedded abrasive material, back into the unit. Frankly, that's just stupid.

Yes, it MIGHT be ok to reuse SOME of the parts, but which parts are OK and which are not? What is the long-term implication of operating the regulator with foreign material still contaminating the soft parts? This is life support equipment. I am not going to go to the post-accident deposition and try to explain to the widow how I saved her dead husband 20 or so dollars.

The owner spent some 600 dollars on the reg set, and hundreds if not thousands on the dive trip and now we are arguing about less than $100 total to put the unit back into prime operating condition? Typical Internet discussion group crap.

 

[knowone]

He lives there.
Cool.

He washed the filter on the reg making muck then blew it in himself.
Not cool.

 

[Zung]

First of all, even for both kits (1st and 2nd stage) it would not be 60 bucks for the parts. As far as coverage under warranty/PFL goes, if the owner is the original purchaser from an authorized SP dealer, then I would call Jules at SP and discuss the issue. If SP declined to cover and it was our customer we would try to help out as much as we could.

Finally, even if the customer had to pay for everything, my strong recommendation would be a complete cleaning and complete service kits and get a new service date for annual service.

If I am going to all the trouble to take the units apart and clean everything, it would be, IMHO, false economy to put in any of the used soft parts, possibly with embedded abrasive material, back into the unit. Frankly, that's just stupid.

Yes, it MIGHT be ok to reuse SOME of the parts, but which parts are OK and which are not? What is the long-term implication of operating the regulator with foreign material still contaminating the soft parts? This is life support equipment. I am not going to go to the post-accident deposition and try to explain to the widow how I saved her dead husband 20 or so dollars.

The owner spent some 600 dollars on the reg set, and hundreds if not thousands on the dive trip and now we are arguing about less than $100 total to put the unit back into prime operating condition? Typical Internet discussion group crap.

Nice sale pitch. You deserve a raise. Forward this to your boss.

 

[halocline]

Yes, it MIGHT be ok to reuse SOME of the parts, but which parts are OK and which are not? What is the long-term implication of operating the regulator with foreign material still contaminating the soft parts? This is life support equipment. I am not going to go to the post-accident deposition and try to explain to the widow how I saved her dead husband 20 or so dollars.

Speaking of "typical internet crap"

A scuba instructor who seems to think that reg failure in recreational diving will cause death? I'm not sure I'd want to study diving with someone like that.

In terms of knowing what parts to re-use, that's easy. CLEAN AND INSPECT THEM. If you can't do that, you have no business working on regulators or even advising people about working on them.

But, in a way you have a point that it's hardly worth arguing about from a money viewpoint; the added cost of the repair kits is minimal compared to the overall cost of diving. So, if it makes the OP feel better, go ahead and replace everything. There's certainly no actual benefit, but psychological benefits are worth something if they make you happy.

 

[JanK]

Speaking of "typical internet crap"

A scuba instructor who seems to think that reg failure in recreational diving will cause death? I'm not sure I'd want to study diving with someone like that.

Indeed. Because your buddy is always within a few metres of you, checks you every few tens of seconds and there's not a single known incident where OOA prompted a rapid ascend and barotrauma, right?

 

[halocline]

there's not a single known incident where OOA prompted a rapid ascend and barotrauma, right?

If you go OOA and you have no choice but to ascend too rapidly in recreational diving, the problem is one of diver behavior, not equipment failure.

There is a great deal of confusion, actually outright misinformation, about the relationship between recreational dive safety and recreational dive equipment. Why do you think that is?

 

[redacted]

Indeed. Because your buddy is always within a few metres of you, checks you every few tens of seconds and there's not a single known incident where OOA prompted a rapid ascend and barotrauma, right?

Regulators are going to fail. It can not be prevented. the failure rate curve for regulators is going to look something like this: The Bathtub Curve and Product Failure Behavior (Part 1 of 2)


That is, a higher failure rate when new (or newly refurbished), followed by a lower, fairly stable failure rate through the useful life (until another required service) and then an increasing failure rate due to wear and tear.

So, whatever your plan is to handle the infrequent but inevitable failures, have one that you really expect to work.

 

[knowone]

The most important component to safe scuba diving is the air in your mask so you can see what you are servicing.