Spring life expectancy - Scubapro 2nd stages

[rsingler]

What DA aquamaster posted a long time ago was that SP technicians putting together the regs simply sorted out the springs used in the G250 et al from the ones used in the R190. Like, they got a big batch of springs, supposedly the same, tested them for some tolerance, then used the better ones in the G250s and left the others for the downstream poppets.

What a memory, @halocline !
Found it...
Scubapro Mk-5 and 109 service kits.
I miss @DA Aquamaster 's input...

 

[shurite7]

And the G250HP, those all have reputations for being “finicky” I had an HP that I spent a lot of time on, at best it performed like it needed a tune, the 600, 260 tune easily.

The G250HP didn't have the reputation as G250, yet I had really good luck with mine. It wasn't hard to service, not really that much difference than the S600, and it was simple to tune. I made over 600 dives in less than a year on that reg in the tropics, then took it to Yellowstone Lake, water temp of 39 degrees, and had no issues; all but one other person experienced reg free flow during that dive. I even tuned it to breathe at .8" and took it to the Crater Dome in UT. It breathed really nice during those dives.

One thing that irks me is people who crank the adjustment knob all the way in and leave it there. These should be stored all the way out, only cranked in when in use.

Not to mention they are putting more engraving pressure on the LP seat.

Agreed!! Several experienced technicians, whom I learned a lot from, told me to simply replace the spring if the reg came in with the adjustment knob turned all the way in, regardless of brand.

 

[Sevenrider860]

The G250HP didn't have the reputation as G250, yet I had really good luck with mine. It wasn't hard to service, not really that much difference than the S600, and it was simple to tune. I made over 600 dives in less than a year on that reg in the tropics, then took it to Yellowstone Lake, water temp of 39 degrees, and had no issues; all but one other person experienced reg free flow during that dive. I even tuned it to breathe at .8" and took it to the Crater Dome in UT. It breathed really nice during those dives.



Agreed!! Several experienced technicians, whom I learned a lot from, told me to simply replace the spring if the reg came in with the adjustment knob turned all the way in, regardless of brand.

Springs are interesting things. If someone designs a product where it's expected that a spring be able to be compressed all the way for a given lifetime, then compressing it all the way won't matter. The material selected should still be in it's elastic region, and it doesn't matter how long you hold it there, it should still return to it's normal size, and all should be good.

I am not saying that is the case with every manufacturer, but selecting a correctly engineered spring for it’s intended use is not NASA level engineering. Of course external factors, rust, corrosion, etc do affect the spring material over time and can change the properties...however simply compressing a spring designed to be compressed for an extended length of time should not degrade the function of that spring.