Servicing your own equipment and regs

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Reg repair is a lot like playing golf, just reading about it does not make you good at it. But unlike golf, doing reg repair badly can get you killed.

It is a somewhat controversial topic. There are distinct advantages I think to having divers understand as much as possible about how the equipment works, so that they can understand what may be happening (and how to most efficiently resolve the problem) when something goes wrong at depth. This is essentially the same philosphy as training pilots about aircraft systems.

On the other hand, just like with an aircraft where a poorly maintained or repaired system can precipitate a failure and cause a emergency that then has to be resolved, a badly serviced reg can also precipitate an emergency situation. In both cases doing maintenence and repair properly calls for a fairly high level of knowledge and training. In the majority of cases, the only way to obtain that level of experience currently in the dive industry is to be associated with a dive shop.

If you search this board for the subject of reg service, you may well get the impression that regulator problems following service by a qualified tech are not at all uncommon. Some of these guy are less qualified at their job than the Walmart tire changer. In spite of that, you will have a hard time finding catestrophic failures (diver injury) attributed to service errors.

When you screw it up, it will most likely show up as a leak - at the kitchen table, in the sink/tub, or in the pool. Unless you messed up an o-ring seating surface thru poor cleaning or mishandling, leaks are usually readily repairable. Leave out or miss install a part and it will tell you rather quickly. Another common failure mode after service is improper tightening of connections. Finger tight connections will eventually loosen and leak (I'm especially careful with my wife's reg). About the only thing you can do that could get you killed is overtorque things to the point of damaging connections. With the Mk25, the critical torquing is on the turret bolt (Jesus nut). Damage that one and the turret can seperate from the body anytime - not good. But other than that, there are not many failures due to service that can kill you. Most will be inconviences that may cause you to abort or miss a dive.

 

[Bob3]

Ditto on the Airspeed Press goodies. Another source to look at for tools is http://mcmaster.com - know what you're looking for beforehand, their catalog is vast.

The Conshelf XIV was used as the "pattern" for constructing the regs used on the world's most beloved commercial helmet, the Kirby-Morgan Superlite. They just added a adjustable feature to the 2nd stage so it can function on a wide range of air supply pressures.
If thousands of commercial divers can clean & service the critter in their motel room, back of their truck, & etc. - its a good indication of how straight forward a design the 2nd stage is.
The 1st stage is one of the standards for bailout bottles but those didn't need servicing that often & are usually shipped off for repair.