ScubaMax Regulators

[oly5050user]

Annual repairs are not a problem. There are over 900 ScubaMax dealers in the US. That regulator is made by Ocean Divers Supply Tiawan, an OEM manufacturer for a number of companies whose representatives are active on this board. They are plenty easy to get repaired. In fact, it is the same regulator as several "name" brands.

Most local dive stores won't do ANYTHING if you haven't demonstrated perfect loyality. Of course, attrition is quickly changing that. THanks.

Phil Ellis

Annual repairs may not be a problem,but where? I did a search for dealers on scubamax site and none are listed.Did a product search and almost if not every dealer for the line is a online vendor.So as I said it may be a problem to find a LDS that will be able to service that line.If there are 900 dealers in USA thats like 18 per state.Which ones actually have a storefront location that a local diver can walk in and if needed get service in a reasonable amount of time.None that I know of in the NYC area within 100 miles.If there are I would be surprised.

 

[Bob Vincent]

You can tell just by looking at several brands. For instance, DiveRite, Salvo, Oxychek, Sea Elite, ScubaMax, and ProMate are obviously the same. There may be others that I have not seen yet. I do wonder if Ocean Divers Supply Tiawan makes different style regulators as OEM for others.

Well, see you learn something everyday. I knew people that dove the Scubamax reg. and their Octo with the swivel. The LDS close to me sold Scubamax, Zeagle, Oceanic and Sherwood.

Everyone that purchased one loved the low price and how good it worked. To many people still don't know some regulators will out breathe them. The best of us can only take so much air even at the most needed time. So lets say that number is X. Most regulators on the market breathe at X+. Lets say the best made breathe X++. Now say we are 125ft down. We are salvaging a boat. All at once we see the boat isn't raising on an even keel. We race to the opposite side of the boat and put more air in the lift bags are barrels. We are cold, we are out of breathe and breathing hard and sucking huge amounts of air. But guess what? We are still only capable of breathing in X amount of air. The + or the ++ really don't matter. But the manufactures and mags put it up for people to see.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Annual repairs may not be a problem,but where? I did a search for dealers on scubamax site and none are listed.Did a product search and almost if not every dealer for the line is a online vendor.So as I said it may be a problem to find a LDS that will be able to service that line.If there are 900 dealers in USA thats like 18 per state.Which ones actually have a storefront location that a local diver can walk in and if needed get service in a reasonable amount of time.None that I know of in the NYC area within 100 miles.If there are I would be surprised.

Not sure why you need an LDS to service your regs. I send mine back to the shop I purchased it from ... Phil's Dive Sports ... which is an LDS, just not local to me. I actually get better service and quicker turn-around doing it this way. My reg is pretty much gone for about 2 weeks. The LDSs here require you to turn in your reg and they hang onto it even though they typically don't get to it for at least 2-4 weeks!!! Yes, that's right. It sits in a bag on their shelves gathering dust until they get to it. I send it back to Phil, he services it timely and then ships it back. I don't see why this couldn't also work for the ScubaMax regs. The whole idea that you need a local LDS to keep your gear services just isn't the case in the vast majority of situations. It really only applies to tanks.

 

[MMDiver]

Well, see you learn something everyday. I knew people that dove the Scubamax reg. and their Octo with the swivel. The LDS close to me sold Scubamax, Zeagle, Oceanic and Sherwood.

Everyone that purchased one loved the low price and how good it worked. To many people still don't know some regulators will out breathe them. The best of us can only take so much air even at the most needed time. So lets say that number is X. Most regulators on the market breathe at X+. Lets say the best made breathe X++. Now say we are 125ft down. We are salvaging a boat. All at once we see the boat isn't raising on an even keel. We race to the opposite side of the boat and put more air in the lift bags are barrels. We are cold, we are out of breathe and breathing hard and sucking huge amounts of air. But guess what? We are still only capable of breathing in X amount of air. The + or the ++ really don't matter. But the manufactures and mags put it up for people to see.

It does matter if there is suddenly two divers on one reg, then you have x times 2......
Not a super issue with todays regulators(any brand) but even only 10 years ago there were many regs(including the big name brands) that couldn't manage that feat.

regarding Sea Elite regs, on the Tek X only the first stage comes from Ocean Divers. The second stage does not. Our new second stage is not made by Apeks, which is something I have heard.

Pretty much all of us that do use them spec out different features, mostly cosmetic but also some material choices, spring specs etc to get the product we want.

I read an awful lot of confusion on here, many times from "experts" on these regs regarding them.

First of all they are not made by Dive Rite, nor is the Salvo or Scubamax adjustable second stages the same as Dive Rites. Our last generation Tek X (first and second stages) was very similar to the Dive Rite(closer than any other on the market then or now) but our new one out performs our old one. (extrapolate that if you wish)

 

[PhilEllis]

Annual repairs may not be a problem,but where? I did a search for dealers on scubamax site and none are listed.Did a product search and almost if not every dealer for the line is a online vendor.So as I said it may be a problem to find a LDS that will be able to service that line.If there are 900 dealers in USA thats like 18 per state.Which ones actually have a storefront location that a local diver can walk in and if needed get service in a reasonable amount of time.None that I know of in the NYC area within 100 miles.If there are I would be surprised.

If one values the ability to get a regulator serviced by a local scuba store, the one you visit and trade with on a daily basis....then I agree completely that you should by the brand sold by your local store. ScubaMax is not unique in not being available in every store and every city. The same might apply to Aqua Lung, Oceanic, ScubaPro, or any other brand. If you happen to live in north Alabama, you would find it difficult to get your ScubaPro regulator repaired in an local store.....the closest ScubaPro dealer is over 100 miles from where I am currently located.

On the other hand, many people simply prefer to send their regulator out to a store that can handle all of the service on almost all brands. We receive about 25 per month from people far from our store.

Companies like ScubaMax provide a good service by bringing products to the market that can be purchased at a very reasonable price and dealers like us purchase in volume high enough to offer some really good prices. It would not be fair to criticize this brand, this regulator, or any other regulator because YOUR local store will not provice the service. Anyway, just my thoughts.

Phil Ellis

 

[PhilEllis]

Well, see you learn something everyday. I knew people that dove the Scubamax reg. and their Octo with the swivel. The LDS close to me sold Scubamax, Zeagle, Oceanic and Sherwood.

Everyone that purchased one loved the low price and how good it worked. To many people still don't know some regulators will out breathe them. The best of us can only take so much air even at the most needed time. So lets say that number is X. Most regulators on the market breathe at X+. Lets say the best made breathe X++. Now say we are 125ft down. We are salvaging a boat. All at once we see the boat isn't raising on an even keel. We race to the opposite side of the boat and put more air in the lift bags are barrels. We are cold, we are out of breathe and breathing hard and sucking huge amounts of air. But guess what? We are still only capable of breathing in X amount of air. The + or the ++ really don't matter. But the manufactures and mags put it up for people to see.

To be quite honest, I think it might be difficult to find a scuba regualtor that would out-breathe the RG1008/XR2002 that the original poster purchased. We have compared the atmospheric breathing resistance of this regulator up again many other brands and it is difficult to find one with a better flow performance. We have a website page that shows the result of a test on this very regulator. Just as a reference, you can take a look at the link below for a result of a test on this regulator.

Atmospheric Inhalation Test for ScubaMax RG1008/XR2002 Regulator

This certainly should not be confused with a work of breathing test, but it is the best analysis that can be done in a standard scuba regulator repair bench. A glance at Graph 4 (the most likely diving setup for this regulator) shows a regulator that really performs quite good. Inhalation effort remains essentially level up to a flow rate of about 7.5 CFM. There is then a decrease in breathinig effort (due to the venturi effect) up to the crossover point at about 13.7 CFM. It is most important to note that the maximum flow rate of this regulator is over 25 CFM, a mark that only the best of regulators can achieve.

Thanks,

Phil Ellis

 

[EastcoastdiverLLC]

I carry Promate which is also manufactured by the same company whom produces Scubamax and I can't tell you how pleased we are with the product line. Kudos on the statement about performance!

 

[ScubaAl]

Original poster here,
Regulator still working great. Have done several dives to 170FFW many scootering with no issues at all. Water temp 40. So there you go. Al

 

[skdvr]

I have the RG-1008/XR-2002 on my pony and a XR-2002 as my Octo and I love the regs. No problems with them at all and would recommend them to anyone. Great Reg...

Phil

 

[ShagMan]

Can anyone chime in on their recent experiences with these regulators?

I have been diving a Dive Rite RG2500, and have been VERY impressed with it, and ScubaMax carries an equivelant design for about 60% of the street price of a Dive Rite 1st/2nd set... I'm putting together a doubles set, so it's a ~$200 difference for what looks like the same hardware to my uneducated eyes.

Anyone know what the difference is between the turret design, and the "flathead" designs?

Phil, are you going to have a tax holiday anytime soon I'd do more biz with you if I wasn't in the same state as you!

Before anyone asks, yes there are two dealers near me that sell ScubaMax and will do service (Dive Sports north of me, and Cave Adventurers, my primary shop).