Servicing your own regulators

[rhwestfall]

@formernuke - that is an orifice adjusting tool (lever height). A luxury item. Can just use trial & error connecting/disconnecting the hose, making adjustments as necessary with screwdriver/hex key as needed...

 

[formernuke]

Without hijacking this thread, but instead piggybacking on it...

Would you travel and pay $500 for a two-day course that teaches you all the little stuff never covered in manufacturer's seminars, to get you from "interested and capable" to "generically safe to service most regulators" assuming you could get the parts?

I have pondered offering this in scattered locations around the country, assuming I could find a motel with a meeting room. But running the numbers, from equipment transportation to practice regs to tool sets, then adding meeting room rental, doesn't get me under several hundred dollars per student, even assuming I did it for free.

The problem I see with the seminars I have attended is that fully half the audience has never opened a reg, yet the practice equipment is clean and pre-loosened, and all you learn is how to change parts, rather than learn the damage you can do with a steel pick.

Or maybe a one day "advanced course" for those that know their way around regs, but are interested in the fine points that only come after a decade.

Should I start another thread? Does this fit with the OP's question? The logistics hurdle is huge.

How about running it via zoom? Some logistics still yes but cuts the cost for you of room and transport.

Could also cut transport cost for students though add cost for getting a used reg but those are available off eBay I've heard. I will assume either way the students will need to purchase there own tools so I don't include that in cost savings

 

[uncfnp]

I learned to self service when my local LDS Aqualung dealer could not O2 clean a Scubapro set that was gifted to me so I had to go to a distant Scubapro shop. I left there with my set serviced but felt less than satisfied with the experience. And that spurred me to learn to maintain my own gear. Now I can service both my Scubapro and Aqualung regs (my Deep6 has not needed serviced as yet).

Have I spent more on self service? Almost certainly although I could have done without some of the purchases. But would I trade that for the knowledge I gained in care and maintenance? Absolutely not. But that is just a bit of how I am in general.

 

[The Chairman]

Are those picks steel? If so it seems to me that a softer material would be better to help prevent damaging the reg surfaces.

One of the videos I saw the guy was using something he attached between the hose and the second stage to tune the second (it was on a second with user adjustable breathing difficulty)

Yes, they are steel and sharp too. You're not going to reuse that 0-ring, are you? If you don't have chrome in the slot or don't feel you have the dexterity, then just spear the o-ring. I've yet to cause a leak that way, but I have more experience than most dealing with o-rings. I was a tech on a super-con magnet in college. The clearances and seals in Scuba are pretty 'loose', if you catch my drift.

As for the in hose tuner, www.ScubaTools.com has them, but when you learn the trick of how to set up that second stage before you put any pressure to it, you'll find it to be just another weight in the toolbox. I have a lot of paperweights that looked useful when I bought them. Before a lure catches any fish, it has to catch the fisherman first.

1. Scubaboard to become a non profit educational company so we can get cheaper rental room cost and discounted rooms.

My workshop is always open to any instructor who wants to use it: no charge.

 

[The Chairman]

How about running it via zoom?

It would be hard to be hands-on with your reg over the interwebs. I have been brought a lot of regs I don't own to show people how to service them. A few I have never seen, so it takes a moment of fondling it to figure out which way is up with them.

 

[formernuke]

but I have more experience than most dealing with o-rings. I was a tech on a super-con magnet in college.

Kinda my point my experience was rebuilding valves and pumps in the navy. A lot of people don't have any experience though dealing with this kind of stuff.

 

[formernuke]

It would be hard to be hands-on with your reg over the interwebs. I have been brought a lot of regs I don't own to show people how to service them. A few I have never seen, so it takes a moment of fondling it to figure out which way is up with them.

Definitely not ideal but let's say run by saying students find one X regs that the instructor is familiar with from ebay.

Other option would be to join into one of shows across the country ie DEMA, Boston sea rovers etc, but that involves renting the space and transportation of stuff. Definitely not easy either way for a non shop or manufacturer to do.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I would like to take a Deep 6 / HOG service course one of these days.

 

[Centrals]

Apeks kits are low to mid $20’s for the 2nd stage and about $10 more for the first stage. I know @buddhasummer might be doing another order shortly.

I only have experience on Apeks regs excluding MTX and Freight. Elbow grease required is minimal and NO special tool need.

 

[buddhasummer]

Apeks kits are low to mid $20’s for the 2nd stage and about $10 more for the first stage. I know @buddhasummer might be doing another order shortly.

Apeks as of a few weeks ago upped prices by around 40% on kits and other items.