What to do? Sherwood

[Mjwolper]

Hey all,

Just a quick question.

Just turned 19 and im working toward my divemaster. Recently, as a gift i was given this this is not a stock picture this is the exact item
Auctiva Image Hosting for about 100$

Im a little worried that because its so old, it may not be safe or reliable.
What do i need to know about this? is this something i can work with for now?

 

[knotical]

I'm not aware of anything inherently wrong with the equipment you've shown, but they are not new and definitely should be serviced before using. Depending on where you live, you might or might not have a problem finding a Sherwood dealer to service them. In turn, the dealer might have a problem finding parts for a system of such an age. The Brut first stage could be circa 2000, but that Blizzard second stage is probably more like 1990. No idea about the other second stage.

The good news, Sherwood still makes the Brut and Blizzard lines, but they've evolved.

 

[chrispete]

The parts are easy to find. Pretty much any dive shop will have LP seats that fit and the orings (the few that it has) are standard sizes. I use older Sherwoods like this (and from the early 2000's) for deco bottles as they are so simple mechanically as to be pretty much bulletproof - there's a reason that the Bruts were the favorite rental regs of dive shops for so long. If you don't want it, I'll buy it.

 

[redacted]

Hey all,

Just a quick question.

Just turned 19 and im working toward my divemaster. Recently, as a gift i was given this this is not a stock picture this is the exact item
Auctiva Image Hosting for about 100$

Im a little worried that because its so old, it may not be safe or reliable.
What do i need to know about this? is this something i can work with for now?

The biggest change in regulators since you were born is in bling and price. While a sherwood blizzard may not set any performance challenges, it is safe and reliable.

I's take a $100 regulator and a $900 dive trip over any of the modern $1000 regulators.

Enjoy.

 

[Rhone Man]

With Sherwood regulators, the older the better (well, within limits). And as an old pilot friend of mine likes to say: I'd rather cross the Atlantic on a 20 year old jumbo than a brand new one!

My Dad bought me my first regulator - a Sherwood Brut - in 1984. I still have it, and it still breathes better than more modern Sherwood Bruts (although not high performance Sherwoods). My 13 year old son uses it when we dive together. That's how much I trust it.

The old ones are very well made, and very durable. Easy to source parts for. If I were you I'd have it serviced and then consider myself good to go. You are fortunate to have received such a generous gift - those older Sherwoods are getting harder and harder to come by.

Good luck with your DM.

 

[Bob DBF]

I'd buy it, but I have too many already.

I have Sherwood's going back to the '70's and still dive them all. For normal service yours shouldn't be a problem however, on a full rebuild of the first stage you might have a problem with parts. On the other hand, I've dove years and hundreds of dives without needing any service on Sherwood's and had them function perfectly. The second stages are essentially the same for decades and easy to repair or replace.

The magnum blizzard second may be from the early '80's as it still has metal on the reg. I never liked the small exhaust on the Brute second stage, and if you don't you can find one like the magnum for it. I'd probably use the magnum for my primary in any event.



Bob

 

[ams511]

Looking at the photos, my best guess is the first stage and the octopus look to be of the same year and the blizzard second is older. The Blizzard looks to be from the mid-80s and octopus and first stage from the early to mid 90s. These regulators are probably older than you are.

As Awap points put, regulator design has not changed much over the years. So these regulators will breath about the same as a new version maybe even better. I do not think parts will be a problem because Sherwood used that design for years. On thing you may want to do is when you get the regs serviced you may want to convert the first stage to a Magnum. The conversion is just replacing some plastic spacers with some washers.

 

[Fishpie]

.......and check that the "dry bleed" is working.
If it isn't the piston will need replacing.....expensive.