When to upgrade regulators?

[mbs]

My wife's Mares got really expensive to service. So we stopped servicing it and at about 3 years it had started to freeflow so I just bought her a new kit from Deep Six.

 

[Alex_Garland]

I am going to be contrarian. What the tech means by faster is that they may actually have the parts kits in stock or their supplier has them for right away delivery. I am not a Apeks fan but that is a nice set and if it comes with the octopus or another stage then it sounds like a good deal to me.

Regulators come to end of life when service kits are NLA or some part of the regulator is broken that cannot be replaced. Some brands, Scubapro, have a history of long product support and others, Oceanic, not so much.

Thank you for the reply. Out of curiosity, is there anything you especially dislike about Apeks, or is it just not your cup of tea?

 

[Alex_Garland]

My wife's Mares got really expensive to service. So we stopped servicing it and at about 3 years it had started to freeflow so I just bought her a new kit from Deep Six.

How expensive are we talking? Servicing mine runs about $250 every two years. Around $200 for the full rebuild every other year, with a $50 inspection in between...

 

[mbs]

How expensive are we talking? Servicing mine runs about $250 every two years. Around $200 for the full rebuild every other year, with a $50 inspection in between...

Yea, it was over $200. So if I was to replace with the same quality I could skip service and buy a new kit for the same money in a few years.

 

[Nemrod]

Thank you for the reply. Out of curiosity, is there anything you especially dislike about Apeks, or is it just not your cup of tea?

I have nothing against the Apeks with one exception. They are owned by AL and AL was spun off from it's previous ownership along with Apeks and is now within an investment holding group portfolio. I have been unable to get simple parts ordered from several AL stores and they tell me AL is very difficult to deal with and non responsive to orders. I do not know how much that washes over to Apeks. If I were to purchase a new regulator set I would like to be able to get parts and service. That is my only quibble, otherwise they are a well respected product especially in some tech circles. If the store you are dealing with has no issues getting parts and inventory then that would settle that question. You will need to explore that with them.

 

[207diver]

If they are sending them out for service it sounds like they are not able to service them. Most likely because they are not a dealer for that brand. Find another shop if you want them serviced in a timely manner or maybe take the opportunity to upgrade. I worked in a shop servicing regs for over 8 years. Most old Oceanics are still serviceable and most tusa regs can still be serviced. But there is a point when it’s no longer worth it. Most people won’t drive a car for 30 years. Modern scuba equipment unfortunately is not designed to last that long. That being said I have serviced ALOT of very old regs for stubborn customers that wanted to keep them going and it is possible if parts can be sourced. But don’t be afraid to upgrade you might like it!

 

[NitroxSam]

My newest reg was made in 2007, my oldest in 1987. They both get regular use.

 

[lowwall]

My wife's Mares got really expensive to service. So we stopped servicing it and at about 3 years it had started to freeflow so I just bought her a new kit from Deep Six.

Which Mares and how much do you want for them?

 

[Mobulai]

Love is in the air

Which Mares and how much do you want for them?

 

[lowwall]

My question to some of the long-term divers in this forum is, Is it considered good practice to upgrade regulators every 10 years or so? Could that be considered overkill? Or is this more of a personal preference kind of thing?

The only problem the tech is trying to solve is that his wallet is too empty. If you are happy with the performance of your regs, then it's completely unnecessary to replace them because of age. The parts that have a limited lifespan get replaced during a service.

Regs are not like cars or TVs, there have been no technological breakthroughs in the last 20 years that would have made your regs obsolete. A much better analogy is a mechanical watch. A serviced 30 year old good quality watch will tell time just as well as a brand new one.