Which brand of reg is the easiest to get parts for and work on yourself?

[scubarealtor]

I'm still in rent-a-reg mode but will be buying my own pretty soon. I am mechanically inclined and plan on servicing it myself. Which brand of regulator will be the easiest for me to work on as well as get parts for?

 

[Arcaporale]

You shouldn't service regulators yourself unless you have the proper training and equipment. Once you do, most popular regulators will be within your ability to service quite easily, but in the long run, it won't save you much money if any. From what i hear from the guys in the repair department of the scuba shop i work in, Scubapro, Aqualung, and Apeks are the easiest. Geting a hold of parts from most scuba shops wont be a problem, but expect to spend few bucks. Oh yeah and sherwoods are super easy and extreemly durable, you can almost service them underwater.

 

[redacted]

A few distributors like DiveRite and Salvo are making parts and manuals available to the end users. Manuals are often available on the internet with a little searching. Some LDS will sell parts for any brand they carry, but those shops are not very common. I service my own Scubapro regs. Parts are available on ebay at prices a bit over retail. If you have any contacts in Europe, parts seem to be more readily available there. The older Scubapro regs are quite simple and easy to service. Newer ones tend to have more more parts but are still fairly simple to service.

"Proper training", from the mfgr is nice but not necessary. Available general reg repair manuals and specific mfgr documentation will give you what you really need to know.

 

[Arcaporale]

"Proper training", from the mfgr is nice but not necessary. Available general reg repair manuals and specific mfgr documentation will give you what you really need to know.

I would agree that repair manuals should be sufficient in teaching you all need to know to service your reg, but you still wont be able to perform the tests on it that your LDS will do without the proper equipment.

 

[redacted]

I would agree that repair manuals should be sufficient in teaching you all need to know to service your reg, but you still wont be able to perform the tests on it that your LDS will do without the proper equipment.

A $10 adapter on an auto compression guage make a good IP guage. A sink full of water and a ruler lets me measure cracking pressure. Then there is the final test - dive it. BTW, any tools you might decide you need as well as a good general manual are readily available from http://scubatools.com/

 

[Arcaporale]

A $10 adapter on an auto compression guage make a good IP guage. A sink full of water and a ruler lets me measure cracking pressure. Then there is the final test - dive it. BTW, any tools you might decide you need as well as a good general manual are readily available from http://scubatools.com/

I didn't know you could do all that at home so easily, thanks for the info, maybe i'll service them my self now.