Why Was Support Dropped? Why No Response?

[SkydivingNerd]

I have a Poseidon Triton 2000 regulator.

When I contacted the LDS (which is a Poseidon dealer) they
said the parts to service the second stage were no longer
available but the could rebuild the first stage.

I sent an email to Poseidon using the link on their Web site
about this and never received a response.

Why would you supply parts for only half of a regulator?

Why was support dropped for this specific model? Does
it have some sort of design defect?

Why would you put divers lives at risk by forcing them to use a
regulator that can't be serviced completely?

 

[runsongas]

the first stage is still supported because it is shared with some of the cyklon/jetstream sets of the era, so it is much more common. the triton just never was popular, so it isn't surprising it would be one of the few poseidon has stopped supporting. no one is forcing you to use a reg that can't be serviced. you can either figure out some way to service it aftermarket or get a cyklon/jetstream/xstream 2nd stage that is still supported.

 

[tbone1004]

@SkydivingNerd basically echoing @runsongas
the first stage is shared with other models and was very successful and is still supported.
The second stage was only out for a short period of time and was not successful. You can't fault the manufacturer for ending support for a regulator that is close to 20 years. All of the manufacturers have done it with multiple models and Poseidon is one of the few that still support almost all of their regulators.

Your comment about forcing them to use a regulator that can't be serviced is a bit ridiculous though. They're forcing you to upgrade to a different second stage sure, but you can say that about every other manufacturer. Annoying, but does your car manufacturer still supply OEM parts for a 2000 model car? no.... Sure some parts may still be in use and you can get from the OEM, like the first stage in this case, but you can't go out and buy an OEM radio for a Plymouth Prowler.

Sorry the answer isn't great, but it shouldn't taint your opinion of Poseidon. That said, I don't know when parts were actually discontinued, but they aren't in any of my manuals since 2015, so it's been a hot minute since they were out there.

Now, the news is not all dismal. The Triton is an idiotically simple second stage and while all parts are not available for it like the inhale diaphragm and main body, you can still mostly service them
The 2 o-rings on the swivel are 14x1.78mm and are easily available.
The seat isn't available, but those don't usually have to be replaced.
Replace the o-rings and tune and you should be good to go.

 

[SkydivingNerd]

Thanks for the info but it's a shame I had to come here for those answers. I wouldn't buy a regulator (or second stage) from a company that doesn't respond to customers.

I've sent several emails to Aqualung regarding equipment they no longer sell (Scan 4 computer for example) and they respond quickly, even providing me with PDFs of the manuals.

 

[JohnnyC]

Because Poseidon is like HK, you suck, and they hate you.....

Seriously though, it's always sad when products are no longer supported, but thems the breaks. They came out what, almost 15 years ago? Not super old, but if it's not popular even when new, it's certainly not going to be popular over a decade later. Stocking a bunch of specific parts to supply a tiny market probably doesn't make much business sense, even if it's just a few o-rings and some small parts.

They also tend to be hit or miss as far as contact is concerned. I sent them an e-mail and heard nothing for 3 weeks, then all of a sudden they were super interested in responding, so who knows.

 

[tbone1004]

@SkydivingNerd who exactly did you send an email to? If you don't like companies that don't respond don't buy anything from Huish or Scubapro because they're noted for that. I'm actually pleasantly surprised Aqualung responded, they must be getting better.

 

[W W Meixner]

@SkydivingNerd who exactly did you send an email to? If you don't like companies that don't respond don't buy anything from Huish or Scubapro because they're noted for that. I'm actually pleasantly surprised Aqualung responded, they must be getting better.

TB...

Not better...the light has finally clicked on and they realize...maybe too late...that they don't have a captive audience...

With excellent ''house brands''...Deep 6...and a few others...and with the ''Rise to Fame''...and...''The Fall to Huish''...the few remaining ''War Lords''...have lost what ever power they ''thought'' they had...high time too...

Who ever said the best reg set has to cost $1800...

W.........................

 

[rhwestfall]

Can't believe my dealership can't supply me parts for my '66 Corvair...

 

[SkydivingNerd]

@SkydivingNerd who exactly did you send an email to? If you don't like companies that don't respond don't buy anything from Huish or Scubapro because they're noted for that. I'm actually pleasantly surprised Aqualung responded, they must be getting better.

I used the email address listed on the Contact Us page on their Web site.
I also used their site to try and find a list of products they no longer support and that's not listed.

I was looking because I'm hoping to get back into diving after being out of it for 30 years but a
retirement income doesn't lend itself to expensive hobbies. A guy on craigslist was selling a
whole setup for $200 saying he just wanted it out of his basement. He just happened to post it
30 minutes before I checked the postings and he listed a Poseidon reg but not the model.

I was hoping to take a list of discontinued models with me when I went to check the gear out.
When he told me he bought the equipment about 16 years earlier I assumed (I know) any
reputable manufacturer would still be supporting their regulators.

Regulators are not cars and from what I've seen on different Web sites and YouTube videos
seems to indicate that the number of old regulators that are still being supported by their
manufacturers is considerably larger on a percentage basis than any car manufacturer.

The kits are a very high margin item and some o-rings, valve seats and diaphrams don't
take up a lot of room on a warehouse shelf so it shouldn't matter how many of a given
model were sold if you're going to stand behind your products.

 

[tbone1004]

@SkydivingNerd
the list of manufacturers that support discontinued products from 15+ years ago are very small. Parts are still available for a lot of old regulators because the parts kits have never changed. I.e. the Poseidon Cyklon from 1958 and from 2018 use the same soft parts. Many hard parts are unavailable, but the soft parts are. Same with the Jetstream from the 90's and today.
Scubapro 109's aren't officially supported, but they use the same parts kits as the G250's so they can be serviced.
Apeks uses one parts kit for their TX/ATX/XTX line but if you break a case on a TX50, you can't get a new one.

What you have seen on a lot of vintage regulators is guys going out and making the parts kits for them to keep them alive. They're doing this with regulators that were sold in orders of magnitude of larger quantities than the Triton ever sold, there just isn't a market out there. IIRC they only made a few thousand of those regs total vs say the Xstream where they make a few thousand a year, unfortunately you got screwed because you didn't do your homework.
The problem with making those high margin items on a miniscule size regulator market is that the parts age and you have to make them in bulk. You can't just make a run for 20 seats and diaphragms every 2-3 years because they'll just sit on a shelf and the cost to break into production is fairly high. Those regulators didn't last for a reason, they weren't a popular design and were a right PITA to service and keep maintained. Those were one of the few that actually earned the perception of Poseidons being difficult to service.

If you really want it serviced, call Airtech scuba in Raleigh or @rsingler those would likely be your only hope of someone who still has parts kits.

Thread here that says in 2010 they had already discontinued parts support for it which usually means they were offering a stupid upgrade deal to switch over to a different second stage.
Poseidon Triton - overhaul or replace?