Service new regs?

[Superlyte27]

Sitting on the shelf should have had no effect on them.

Not true.

A spring applies pressure to a Teflon seat that sits against a sharp edge of brass. Being used or not has little bearing on the imprint that edge outs into that seat.

 

[Superlyte27]

I checked the ip on every regulator I ever sold 99% were fine but I have found some that were not

Awesome practice. We should start doing this.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I checked the ip on every regulator I ever sold 99% were fine but I have found some that were not

I believe most reputable shops do this. All the ones I've bought new regs from checked and adjusted, if needed, before it left the store

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Not true.

A spring applies pressure to a Teflon seat that sits against a sharp edge of brass. Being used or not has little bearing on the imprint that edge outs into that seat.

If you are talking 1st stage, it shouldn't be pressing on it unless it's pressurized. The spring keeps things apart while sitting!

If you are talking second sage, should be a silicone or EDPM rubber seat and it's not going to be that affected by sitting a year. This is assuming no seat saver feature.

 

[Superlyte27]

If you are talking 1st stage, it shouldn't be pressing on it unless it's pressurized. The spring keeps things apart while sitting!

If you are talking second sage, should be a silicone or EDPM rubber seat and it's not going to be that affected by sitting a year. This is assuming no seat saver feature.

On the 1st stage, we press the Teflon against the cone to screw the port in. It's definitely mated together before pressure is applied, provided IP is set at around 140. I can show you the imprint made before ever pressurizing the reg

 

[halocline]

Not true.

A spring applies pressure to a Teflon seat that sits against a sharp edge of brass. Being used or not has little bearing on the imprint that edge outs into that seat.

If you're talking about the 1st stage seat, which is the only teflon one, this is false. The 1st stage valve is open unless pressurized. If you're talking about the 2nd stage seat, which is usually EPDM or some other synthetic rubber, yes the orifice is pressed against it with a spring. However, with balanced 2nd stages that spring pressure is very light, as most of the pressure keeping the valve closed comes from the balance chamber. The OP of this thread was talking about an aqualung legend, which has a balanced 2nd stage.

Several high end 2nd stages go one step further with a seat-saver that essentially removes all pressure from the seat/orifice when the reg is unpressurized. I'm not sure if the legend uses a seat-saver, but even if not, the spring pressure is minimal. Nothing to worry about for several months in storage. I have balanced 2nd stages I store for years, then pressurize and use with no problems.

Edit: It looks like Rusty beat me to it!

 

[Superlyte27]

If you're talking about the 1st stage seat, which is the only teflon one, this is false. The 1st stage valve is open unless pressurized. If you're talking about the 2nd stage seat, which is usually EPDM or some other synthetic rubber, yes the orifice is pressed against it with a spring. However, with balanced 2nd stages that spring pressure is very light, as most of the pressure keeping the valve closed comes from the balance chamber. The OP of this thread was talking about an aqualung legend, which has a balanced 2nd stage.

Several high end 2nd stages go one step further with a seat-saver that essentially removes all pressure from the seat/orifice when the reg is unpressurized. I'm not sure if the legend uses a seat-saver, but even if not, the spring pressure is minimal. Nothing to worry about for several months in storage. I have balanced 2nd stages I store for years, then pressurize and use with no problems.

Edit: It looks like Rusty beat me to it!

Guys, on most regs, the Teflon is against the brass cone, even when not under pressure. There's a spring that holds it against the cone.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Could you please expound? You are talking the first stage, right? The oriface and the high-pressure seat?

 

[bletso]

On all 1st stages the HP seat rests against the HP orifice held in place by its IP spring. Some IP's are adjustable only by spacers. Seat material on HP side is much harder than on the 2nd stages.
On some 2nd stage regs there is a way to relieve the spring pressure on the seat/orifice. Most don't bother

 

[jakehbk]

Some regs at some point in time during assembly do in fact have the HP seat against the orifice. I believe a lot of the aqualungs have the HP side of the reg assembled first. But then the LP side gets assembled and the seat and orifice are separated. And that is how they sit, completely open.

2nd stages are another story