Scubapro service tools

[Rhyno]

After a few years of diving, and doing standard gear maintenance, I have a desire to start getting a little deeper into my own regs. I'm wanting to be more self sufficient and further my ability to resolve small to moderate problems between dive days. I'm mainly concerned with the Mk17 and Mk25 1st stages and A700, S600, G260 2nd stages in addition to an Air2.

Outside of either the scubatools or scubapro official 'multi-tool' and an IP gauge, what should I look to purchase?

I've ordered the 'regulator savvy' book which I'll soon be going through, and already have all the basic hand tools I'll ever need. What I'm interested in is what scuba specific tools that I would actually benefit from. Looking at the service manuals for the above regulators, it seems as though Scubapro wants me to have an entirely different tool cabinet just to service regs.
I'm considering the field handle (to steady the first stage in a vice), and 'Dual Drive Inline Adjusting Tool'. ScubaPro manuals state the S600 needs a 'Balance Chamber Adjusting Tool' yet others state it's not required.
I've noticed the Air2 has a specialty tool for adjusting cracking pressure and removal of the exhaust valve spider. Both of these functions can be handled with simple hand tools. I'm not opposed to buying the right tools, I want to avoid buying something simply because scubapro says so.

I apologize if this question has been asked numerous times, it didn't come up when I was searching. If there's another resource someone could point me to I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm in the DM program for a local shop and have access to a great deal of knowledge there. Whenever it's convenient they don't mind sponsoring me in the official Scubapro technician course. Until that time I'd like to get a jump start for the upcoming season.

Thanks!

 

[DIY]

Here's what I have for Mk25, S600 and Air2. Most came from Scubatools.com

eBay:
Magnehelic Gauge $25.00
Scubatools.com:
Magnehelic Mouthpiece Adapter $20.50 - Mouthpiece Adapter Assembly, Acetal
Inline Tool and Pressure Gauge $71.00+$26.25
Inline Tool for Air2 $44.25
IP Gauge $28.00
Scubapro Wrench $16.00
1.5" Spanning with .240" Pin $14.50+$1.85
Mk25 Assembly Tool $17.00
Air 2 Assembly Tool $30.00
1st Stage Handle $23.75
Hose Protector Tool $23.75
Christolube 111 $15.50
Brass O-Ring Tools $14.00
Common Tools:
7/8" and 1" Short Sockets
1/2" Socket Wrench and Extension
Metric and Standard Allen Wrenches
9/16" and 5/8" Wrench
Small Flat Blade Screwdriver
1/4" Nutdriver
Homemade:
Air2 Gen4 Cover Tool

 

[redacted]

That is a rather impressive set of tools but mostly unnecessary unless you want to go professional. It is largely a matter of how much you want to spend. Wait until you read Harlow before you make too many purchases. But do start with a simple IP gauge.

 

[Wookie]

And those brass o-ring picks will save you a bunch of scratched piston barrels over using dental picks. I highly recommend them for the novice regulator technician....

 

[67macoshark]

That is a rather impressive set of tools but mostly unnecessary unless you want to go professional. It is largely a matter of how much you want to spend. Wait until you read Harlow before you make too many purchases. But do start with a simple IP gauge.

The Harlow book referenced is SCUBA Regulator Maintenance and Repair.
SCUBA REGULATOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR by Vance Harlow

 

[DA Aquamaster]

For the Mk 17 you'll ideally get the Mk 17 socket ($35.00) from Peterbuilt and, along with a 3" 3/8" socket extension and a torque wrench, torque it properly.

However, it's not as torque sensitive as some other parts so you can also do it with a 1 1/4" wrench with jaws that are both long enough and thin enough to fit on the flats on the ambient chamber. That's actually a tough combination to find but I found an adjustable wrench at Harbor Freight that works quite well.

The Mk 17 socket however is not a bad investment and it will let you properly torque both the inner and outer diaphragm retainers.

You didn't mention whether you use DIN or yoke connections. For a yoke reg, you'll either need to get a 1" yoke nut socket , or shorten and turn down a 1" socket so that it will be short enough and thin walled enough to fit. For a DIN reg you'll need a 6mm long reach allen head socket to remove the DIN retainer. Either way you DO want to torque this fitting properly so a torque wrench is a must. You are however not assembling rocket engines for NASA so don't go crazy and spend $300 on a wrench. Scubapro uses a range for torque values so shoot for the middle and if your torque wrench is less than perfectly calibrated you're still good to go.

The Mk 20/25 assembly tool ($17.00) is almost a must for assembling and installing the bushing and piston stem o-ring in the Mk 25. You can do it without them, but the results are often less than optimum. You want to be sure you get them firmly seated, and you want to ensure the lubricant stays in place when you seat everything.

You'll also want a piston bullet to ensure you don't damage the piston stem o-ring when you install the piston. You can insert the piston without one but you risk nicking the piston stem o-ring, and it's a dirt cheap tool ($6.75) so there's no reason not to have one.

The Mk 16/18 assembly tool ($22.25) is also a necessary tool on the Mk 17 to properly install the orifice. Again you want to be sure you snap it in place properly, and you don't want to damage it. It also serves as a tool to properly stack, lubricate and insert the balance chamber backing ring, o-ring and spring centering ring.

If you are doing an Air 2, get the Air 2 spider tool. It is $30 well spent and it will make re-assembling the poppet assembly much easier, it makes adjusting the Air 2 much easier, and it will ensure you don't dick up the wagon wheel that supports the exhaust diaphragm - which is what happens if you try to remove it with common hand tools.

The Air 2 seat slider ($13.50) isn't essential but it makes a few things on the Air 2 much easier to do.

Similarly, you don't need the Air 2/Inflator bullet kit, but for $12 it saves you a lot of trouble and makes the job a lot easier.

You also don't need the Air 2 adapter for the dual drive adjusting tool ($44.25). You can adjust an Air 2 without it, it's just a process of disconnecting, making a slight adjustment and re-connecting until you get it right. But it's a great tool and makes the job something you can complete in seconds. It's nice if you do a lot of Air 2s, although the irony is that if you do a lot of them, you get so good at the preset that not much adjustment is needed and installing the tool takes as long as just doing it manually.

You will need a tube of Christolube. Peterbuilt's price ($33.00) for the 2 oz syringe is as good as anyone else's price. You can use Tribolube as well but it costs about the same now ($28.00). Both work fine. For regulator applications both are better than silicone, and there are some areas in Scubapro regs (the balance chamber in the Mk 17, the piston stem o-ring in the Mk 25 and the piston head O-rings in the Mk 25) where it really does provide better performance, particularly after you've got 50 or so dives on the reg.

You'll need a brass o-ring pick set. Peterbult charges $19. You can probably find them for less some where else, but you may lose any savings in additional shipping costs.

You'll also want an inline adjustment tool. Once again you can get by without one, but it means a lot of assembly/disassembly between each adjustment attempt. Peterbuilt want's $71 for their tool and it's a great tool that works on multiple brands, but $71 is a bit steep.

You also need a first stage body tool. You can use an expended threaded CO2 cartridge at the low end. Peterbuilt's lightweight tool sells for $23 and works well. Their larger brass tool is $33 and will do double duty holding the first stage in a vice while you work on it. Dive Gear Express sells one that will do the same thing however for $14.

You'll need an IP gauge, and you can spend a little or a lot on one. I've had both cheap and expensive gauges that worked well, and I've had both end up 20 psi off. In most cases the needle is pressed onto the stem with a friction fit. If you drop the gauge and it lands wrong the momentum of the mechanism will cause the pin to rotate inside the cup on the needle as the needle is prevented from moving by the stop pin at 0 psi. The end result is the gauge will subsequently read low. If you drop one, you'll want to verify the reading against a first stage where you know the IP, so that you can verify the reading, and if needed reset the needle to read correctly.

Dive gear express sells a compact model for $9 as well as a more usable model with a larger scale and a pressure relief for $20, while Peterbuilt sells one for $28. All three work and all three can be plugged into a BC QD fitting.

A Magnahelic gauge is very useful and gives you a better feel for exactly where the reg is adjusted. Peterbuilt sells a 5-0-5 Magnahelic for $129. +/- 5" of water is nice, but +/- 2" of water is plenty an you can usually find a new Dwyer 2-0-2 for under $50 on E-bay. For that matter, since you can't adjust exhalation to any extent, a 0-2" of water gauge also works and you can often find those on e-bay for $25-$35.