My thinking is not only may you digital is not accurate (it happens) but it may be to precise for the job, sort of a TMI for the job at hand??
You have a point. It is very visible how IP moves with the digital one. I admit, a digital gauge accuracy can be questioned, but if the readings change, they change. I may after all add a proper "Festo" or other certified unit from reputable brand 100/120mm gauge to my service stand.
When they indicate it might be a problem with the hose, you kinda got your answer right there.
How? If it leaks, IP will drop. If it doesn't leak, then what you see is the measured IP. I like SP hoses, but I use Miflex ones as well. And Miflex hoses are good, these are not some cheap colorful garage-crimped hoses.
I’m not defending ScubaPro here: if the gauge works fine on other equipment, it’s clearly not the culprit. I assume you do not see a creep in the rest of your first stages when using the gauge. But I can certainly understand their hesitation when they see what is, essentially, a 30-cent gauge being used to measure intermediate pressure.
I am not blaming their customer service either, I expected a similar answer. I am puzzled if a regulator with such IP behaviour is passing QC according to their standards. I am even thinking about equipping the set properly with SP hoses all over, hooking 2 IP gauges - analog and digital and recording a proper video with the whole setup visible... or just visiting Nuremberg during my next trip to Germany and taking it there personally
Correct, I have 4 other 1st stages from Scubapro. 2 MK10 old sharp piston ones and 2 modern diaphragms. Pistons lock up immediately, diaphragms are a bit laggy compared to pistons, but they drift 2-3 psi max before complete IP lockup.
I hate those digital guages but if I understood the OPs post the creep never stopped rising. That is not the guage, that is a faulty regulator.
Correct, after inhalation returns to 135psi (now that I adjusted it slightly), creeps up to 140 slowly (around 20sec) than creeps rapidly to 145 (5-10 sec for 5 psi creep which i find strange) and then keeps creeping slowly until 150 after a couple of minutes.
Talk to your dive shop. They need to make it right - which they did it seems like.
I was under the impression if you buy regs from your LDS, they would check the IP and tune them if need be.
Again, just in case you missed it, the dive shop you bought it from should have checked it before they shipped it to you. This is the standard procedure for any professional dive shop, big or small. NO exceptions.
No LDS folks, this is bought from an authorized reseller in other EU country, although I am aware who the local SP reseller is, this is not bought through them. Why should I bother them with my purchase from their competitor abroad. This is the model SP has in Europe, and a business decision they made: you can buy SP gear from LDS, SP official site, or any other reseller that is allowed to sell SP in Europe.
By the way, if you check the SP website, you will be surprised that you no longer can see the map with resellers/dealers/authorized service centers in Europe and it's been like that for at least a month since I last checked. Sometimes IT upgrades take a whlie
Thanks for the insights, comments and feedback guys. This is a great community indeed. I have a plan what to do next.
For now, this regs will see some diving. The IP shift is repetitive enough (far from optimal but not dangerous) and would like to see if it starts "behaving" better after some 15 dives.
