Service cost comparison

[Couv]

The recommended interval isn't perfect, yes, you can go longer, but how much longer and how does one, who is not knowladgeble and experienced with regulators (i.e. most recreational divers), know when it has gone long enough?

Start here:
Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-7)

 

[Bob DBF]

Being a regulator technician, i found that when our instructors did bring in regs they were in terrible shape. So much so that we had to institute a new policy stating that they would no longer get the staff rate (free labor, discounted parts) if the reg wasnt brought in at least annually.

I think the problem was free service, this makes a lot of people rather lazy about maintainance since it will be fixed for nothing regardless of the problem.

Over the years I have been a technical rep for different equipment and it amazes me how little regard people have, even when it costs them, for user maintainance. That's one of the reasons I maintain and repair my own gear, even though I am not, technically, a tech diver @tbone1004.



Bob

 

[rsingler]

If you have a sealed piston, you can get away with a lot more. Rinse the outside of the reg. Done.
Second stage is a different matter, but with a little training you can unscrew the faceplate and wash out the sand.

I continue to be surprised that with the discussion above, people still pooh-pooh putting Christolube inside their first stage.

Oops! You can't do that with a Mk25 EVO, can you? And that's why I've gone to Atomic for a piston, or use a sealed diaphragm. It's why I carry an IP gauge and use @couv 's checklist. It's why I service my own gear.

 

[Bob DBF]

I continue to be surprised that with the discussion above, people still pooh-pooh putting Christolube inside their first stage.

Or Sherwood's dry bleed system, or whatever they call it now.


Bob

 

[lexvil]

If you have a sealed piston, you can get away with a lot more. Rinse the reg. Done.
Second stage is a different matter, but with a little training you can unscrew the faceplate and wash out the sand.

I continue to be surprised that with the discussion above, people still pooh-pooh putting Christolube inside their first stage.

Oops! You can't do that with a Mk25 EVO, can you? And that's why I've gone to Atomic for a piston or a sealed diaphragm. It's why I carry an IP gauge and use @couv 's checklist. It's why I service my own gear.

You’ve convinced me, it’s why I’m now mostly diving atomic or a MK 17, why fight with crap in the regulator when you can easily prevent it.

So what I read into the terrible condition is complete lack of maintenance, they would be better served with a bucket of water. I do know a lot of those people who don’t have a clue as to what a regulator is or does beyond putting it on and sticking it in their mouth.

As tbone said there are a lot of people who do take care of their gear and can easily ignore the set time or cycle maintenance recommendations.

I have never seen an o-ring “dry out” but I have seen them fail because they aren’t the right material for the application.

 

[ams511]

I have never seen an o-ring “dry out” but I have seen them fail because they aren’t the right material for the application.

I have, but on some of my ebay treasures that haven't been used in years.

What does not get discusses in threads like this is the type of diving done. If you are a tech diver and go into wrecks and cave you can have rust and silt floating around that can get into the ambient chamber of an unsealed regulator. Certainly if you are doing this kind of diving then get a sealed first stage. Same thing if you are beach diving in conditions where you can get rolled in the sand on entries and exits. For divers that frequent clear, warm, and calm waters they should not be getting foreign objects inside a regulator.

Many divers (including instructors) think that post dive maintenance is putting all the gear in a mesh bag and giving it a swish in the dive ops rinse tank.

 

[ams511]

I

Whenever a person tells me regs can go longer than the recommend interval I simply ask them how much longer in terms of time and number of dives. None of those people have been able to give an answer. The manufactures have given a time line based off of past experience.

When the regulator manufacturers switched from a one year to a two year service intervals what changed? Other than competition from Atomic.

As someone that has been on SB a long time I never heard anyone say don't service your regulator. What they say it to check your regulator before diving and if there is performance issues (freeflow, creep, etc.) then get it serviced. Also check the outside of the regulator for verdigris and damage, especially the filter. In addition to checking the hoses.

 

[shurite7]

If you have a sealed piston, you can get away with a lot more. Rinse the outside of the reg. Done.
Second stage is a different matter, but with a little training you can unscrew the faceplate and wash out the sand.

I continue to be surprised that with the discussion above, people still pooh-pooh putting Christolube inside their first stage.

Oops! You can't do that with a Mk25 EVO, can you? And that's why I've gone to Atomic for a piston, or use a sealed diaphragm. It's why I carry an IP gauge and use @couv 's checklist. It's why I service my own gear.

With my Mk25EVO I've never had to worry about it. I've been diving during the winter with others who were using a sealed diaphragm and witnessed their regs free flowing while my piston reg functioned fine. The first time I witnessed this was at an elevation of close to 8000' with water temps in the mid 30s. At the time I wasn't using the EVO, just a regular Mk25 AF. While the first stage is important to take into consideration for cold water, the second stage is just as important.

 

[rsingler]

With my Mk25EVO I've never had to worry about it. I've been diving during the winter with others who were using a sealed diaphragm and witnessed their regs free flowing while my piston reg functioned fine.

I think the Mk25 EVO is a fine cold water reg, as are many sealed diaphragms. As you say, the second stage, or how you breathe it in cold conditions, may play a larger role.

But what I think the focus on this thread is, is the maintenance consequence of an open ambient chamber. My Mk10 is still working great after 30+ years, because I rinse it well. But I have serviced many Mk 20's and 25's that are close to junk now, simply because accumulated salt, corrosion and grit has destroyed the land inside the ambient chamber where the piston rides. Dive conditions? Poor care? Both?

You can take care of your gear, and this stuff lasts forever. But if you are sloppy about maintenance or maintenance schedules, a Mk25 can die in <10 years. And that is where Atomic has helped a non-cold-water knucklehead out. That kind of diver can skip rinsing a first stage and get away with it for years.

I've got an old sealed SPEC Mk10 and an Atomic that are still going strong at 3+ years, and I see no reason to service them. Full of Christolube and EPDM or Viton o-rings, there is just no reason to be concerned as long as IP locks up crisply. An unsealed piston just simply won't last.

Is that good or bad? Well, if you rinse your regs and service them every year, a Mk25 will last forever too! But how many divers do that? I'm not completely sure that a 2-year or longer service interval is as appropriate for an unsealed piston.

 

[rsingler]

Or Sherwood's dry bleed system, or whatever they call it now.

Bob

You're absolutely right, Bob! Sherwood was ahead of their time when they invented that. Perhaps an Achilles' heel when a little excess silicone grease could plug up that air passage on the piston head, but still...magnificent engineering.

And they've fixed that issue with their latest dry piston that doesn't need Christolube, but instead uses a sealed mechanism that pushes on a simple Schrader valve to increase IP as you descend. And their Belleview orifice springs? Another wow.

They struggled briefly with that SR-1 second, but overcame it in the -2. Sherwood may deserve a better reputation for innovation than they get. They sure don't have the mess of Christolube packing at service time.