The pros and cons of rebuilding your own regulators...

[Genesis]

SP's turret swivel bolt spec (the one that will blow off the swivel if you overtighten it, or lose the swivel if its loose) is 55-70 in/lb. Good luck getting that one within range "by hand"

 

[joens]

It is common for a LDS to use liability as a reason to not sell parts however not using a torque wrench on every reg is opening up a huge liability . if a reg comes apart at 100 feet anyone who had been working on it should be able to prove they did everything by the book.if the shop does not even have a torque wrench there is no way they can demonstrate they are qualified to rebuild equipment. If an individual working on his own reg chooses to torque by feel it is his [or her] neck on the line but anyone doing it for someone else had better do it exactly the way the manufacturer says.
And they wonder why we want to work on our own equipment .
joens

 

[Mark V]

I just read five pages of Crap . I don't think any of you are technicians and your all just babbling off the top of your heads about things you no nothing about. I'm running to the hardware store to buy all you guys pooper scoopers.

Mark V:bonk:

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

I could torque down to the exact ft/LB, +/- one or two percent depending whether I ate or not, provided that the wrench is strong enough to hold my weight.

 

[MikeFerrara]

joens once bubbled...
A previous post implied that the manufacturers dont say to torque regs I looked through the manufacturer published repair manuals and found torque specs in all of them but first I will agree that it is not always necessary for instance in one of my Aqua-lung books they gave a torque spec of 40 inch pounds for the low pressure port plugs I have never seen anyone torque the port plugs but the spec is important because it gives you an indication of how tight it needs to be 40 inch pounds is not much I would bet most portplugs are severely over tight.now forthe examples
Poseidon- valve cover -22 foot pounds
Apeks - yoke or DIN connector-12 foot pounds
Zeagle- diaphragm cap- 25-30 foot pounds
Aqua-Lung - spring retainer -25 foot pounds
Abyss -valve cover -40 foot pounds

If someone is not using torque specs on critical parts they better be able to prove they can do it by feel.
joens

Yes, I know what the repair manuals say. What I am telling you is that we are trained (by the manufacturer to service Zeagle, Apeks, Sherwoog, Genesis, Cressi andOcean Reef and I never saw a torque wrench during a repair class. Never was a torque wrench mentioned.

Maybe it's just another plot to overcharge you while endangering your life. Or...maybe you guys just don't know what your talking about.

 

[Aquamaniac]

Mark V once bubbled...
I just read five pages of Crap . I don't think any of you are technicians and your all just babbling off the top of your heads about things you no nothing about. I'm running to the hardware store to buy all you guys pooper scoopers.

Mark V:bonk:

Where exactly did anyone in this thread declare they were a technician?

 

[redacted]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...


Yes, I know what the repair manuals say. What I am telling you is that we are trained (by the manufacturer to service Zeagle, Apeks, Sherwoog, Genesis, Cressi andOcean Reef and I never saw a torque wrench during a repair class. Never was a torque wrench mentioned.

Did they at least mention the concept? Did they point out components that could be damaged from too much force? Or things that could come loose or fail to capture an o-ring if too little force is applied?

While many connections may have torque specs, I agree that some are much more forgiving than others. When dealing with softer metals like brass or aluminum, it's pretty easy to damage things with a heavy hand.

 

[joens]

first off I am not a scuba tech I have been repairing my own for about 2 years .sometimes I will buy the ones on e-bay that look as if they were run over by a truck just for the experience of working on them I buy any repair book I can get my hands on.and I know most of the actual repair techs know a lot more than I do.But I have been a mechanic for 15 years and my shop wall is papered with certicates from heavy equipment manufacturers courses none of them mentioned torque specs in their courses either there is no way you can learn everything about a 4 wheel drive tractor in a 2 or 3 day course any more than you can learn all there is to know about a reg in a 2 hour or even a 1 day course. that is why we have referance manuals so we can look up details that we would have forgotten if we had just been told what they were
joens

 

[Genesis]

of knowledge of hand tools that is assumed when dealing with any kind of mechanical assembly.

One of those "basic level" things is that if there is a torque specification on an assembly, it is to be adhered to.

The only way to do that is with a torque wrench.

Second, most regulators have brass bodies (or even worse, aluminum.) Anyone care to guess what one of the primary reasons outboard shops like people doing their own spark plug changes is? Its because MOST "backyard mechanics" will overtorque the spark plugs, and rather frequently strip the aluminum head in doing so, which means the shop gets to charge you a significant amount of money to install a helicoil!

If you need to be instructed in this, or shown how to use such a wrench, then perhaps the basic knowledge you are assumed to have before starting the class is lacking - kinda like showing up for a Cave class without knowing how to dive first.

:flame:

 

[jamiei]

I think Mark V must not be that great of a reader...