Self Servicing Your Regulators

[captain]

OK, all you torque wrench advocates: when was the last time you had your torque wrench calibrated?

I spent 36 years in the USAF, 12 of which was in the shop that was responsible for calibrating the torque wrenches for the whole base. I wish I had a nickel for every torque wrench I've calibrated--from 1/4" 5-15 in-lb teenies to 3/4" 2000+ ft-lb monsters. They all vary widely in their accuracy. Some are spot on; some are not even in the same ballpark as the standard.

In calibrating so many torque wrenches, I developed a "calibrated elbow" and now have the ability to tighten regs to specs without using a torque wrench. Which is better? Using an uncalibrated wrench or the calibrated elbow? For the liability argument: can you show proof that your torque wrench was recently calibrated by a means traceable to the national standard?

For those who use torque wrenches--do you account for the length of the spanner wrench adapter you're using on certain first stages when you torque the parts? How about the crow's foot? Do you jerk torque the item or do you apply torque smoothly? Which way are you supposed to do it?

Go to Costco someday and watch their tire changers "torquing" the lug nuts on the cars they're servicing. They set the wrench to one torque (it's the breakaway type), keep it there forever (a serious no-no), slam the wrench on the lug nut and bounce on the wrench with their body weight (jerk-torquing) until it clicks, then throw the wrench on the floor when they're done (another serious no-no). Can you honestly tell me that that technique is better than careful non-torque wrench tightening??

Lotsa questions, lotsa answers. Bottom line: a good mechanic who knows the difference between under- and over-torquing fastners can do as good a job torquing without a wrench as an average mechanic who has a torque wrench.

I'm not arguing against using torque wrenches. I'm merely stating that regulators can be safely rebuilt by a good technician who knows torque limits even if he has no torque wrench at his disposal.

I might add that the bending beam type wrench the least likely to go off calibration. Old tech but very reliable and accurate.

 

[pescador775]

Helicopter pilots sometimes did minor repairs using our tools at our shop. Man, if we didn't have a current calibration tag on that fancy click wrench it was panic time.

Yeah, personally, I use a torsion beam for larger jobs; click wrench for small stuff. If it breaks it's tight enough, LOL. Even if a wrench is not perfectly calibrated it counts for a lot to have all bolts on a head at the same torque.

I guess one could use a fish scale to check calibration in a pinch. Of course, the scale would have to be checked using a known weight like a jug of water or lead ingot

 

[cmburch]

I do not use a torque wrench. Once when I was explaining how easy it was to change a yoke to DIN, CompuDude got all over my case. I can understand why though. I am assuming the other person is competent. I have had engineers at work screw-up hundreds of dollars in damage to expensive instruments because I assumed they could follow directions, read a manual, and do easy repairs without stripping or over torquing something.

 

[redacted]

The only calibration I have ever done is one torque wrench against another. But when you are working with a spec of 275 to 325 in-lb, calibration is not too critical. And I always account for the torque arm length variable. Just put that crows foot socket at the base of an equilateral triangle and there is no problem.

 

[halocline]

I wonder what kind of look I would get down at the LDS if I asked them when was the last they calibrated their torque wrench? This is the same place where the tech kept insisting that SP never made a diaphragm reg, right up until I went over to the wall, pulled off a MK16 and handed it to him.

Yep, neurosurgeons, astrophysicists, chess champions, nobel prize winners, certified regulator technicians.

 

[dive_forever]

Someone said if youÃÓe mechanically inclined then no biggie:

I am very mechanically inclined. I was a mechanical designer for years, (think engineer) and I am a certified motorcycle mechanic. I have worked on many cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Last week I completed the equipment specialist course, a very good course when taught by a great technician. While the inner workings of a regulator are very simple, when compared to a ducati engine...

I would not even think of servicing my reg. 3 words life support equipment.

I would rather leave the annual service up to the tech that
1) Services them on a regular basis,
2) Gets the tech updates from the manufacture
3) Gets the training from the manufactures
4) Already has all the special tools and parts
5) Has easy access to the parts that they need.

 

[redacted]

Someone said if youÃÓe mechanically inclined then no biggie:

I am very mechanically inclined. I was a mechanical designer for years, (think engineer) and I am a certified motorcycle mechanic. I have worked on many cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Last week I completed the equipment specialist course, a very good course when taught by a great technician. While the inner workings of a regulator are very simple, when compared to a ducati engine...

I would not even think of servicing my reg. 3 words life support equipment.

I would rather leave the annual service up to the tech that
1) Services them on a regular basis,
2) Gets the tech updates from the manufacture
3) Gets the training from the manufactures
4) Already has all the special tools and parts
5) Has easy access to the parts that they need.

It is good to know your limitations.

 

[ToddK]

It won't save you any money, and you won't do it enough to do a good job at it. (Kind of like fixing your car, but you can save money fixing your car because the car hand tools are not really specific). And you can destroy some expensive (and impossible to buy) parts when you do it, leaving you with no choice but to take it to a dive shop to pay the service and parts cost, plus the extra cost of replacing the part you destroyed.

Torque wrench: $100
Nice IP gauge & magnehelic: $200
Various tools & christolube from scubatools.com: $100
Getting several kits + spare parts from a dive shop selling on Ebay: $150
Lots of hours surfing the web for manuals & bulletins: $ 0

Never having to set foot in an LDS that doesn't allow a customer
to take home the old parts for fear of something untoward
happening: PRICELESS!

 

[HenrikBP]

While the inner workings of a regulator are very simple, when compared to a ducati engine...

I would not even think of servicing my reg. 3 words life support equipment.

AWAP is of course correct, that it is a good (and rare) thing to recognize your own limitations. But if you can reliably adjust the valves on a Duc, then ...

I got my first nudge towards DIY when I saw what an LDS tech had done to a brand new first stage in order to try and make a wireless pressure transmitter seat and seal in the HP port ... in short "Wow". Apparently a tech with many years of experience too ...

Henrik

 

[herman]

..........................
Never having to set foot in an LDS that doesn't allow a customer
to take home the old parts for fear of something untoward
happening: PRICELESS!

I know a shop that stopped that silly policy when they were politely informed that refusing to return someone's property is illegal. Warranty parts are one thing but if you pay for the installed parts, the removed ones are YOURS, refusing to return them is stealing and distroying them before returning them is distruction of property. They are your parts, demand them back and intact....then learn to do your own repair.