Your opinion regarding regulator service intervals

[ElizaDoolittle]

I would be more concerned about your inactivity than the regulator, hope your condition improves rapidly. As long as it is rinsed clean and dry and stored in an indoor environment suitable for human habitation the regulator will be fine. I keep my regulators in their bags. Others may disagree on that but I have been doing it for decades and with no harm. The hoses can take a mild set, try as you say, to avoid acute angles, a loose coil is what you want.

Thanks a lot for your advice and your good wishes. I'll keep the regulator in its bag far from the heating and sunlight.

I am concerned about my inactivity, too. I wasn't too expert a diver when I was forced to stop, anyway, so what is clear to me is that I will have to take one of those refresher courses first thing after I've recovered completely. But that will still take some months, I'm afraid. I hope to be able to be in top form again by next spring, or next summer at the latest.

 

[Micko1974]

I use my regs all the time (Aqualung Legends), and just service them when needed, which can be from a few years to more often. As advised above, the only issue is that occasionally it's difficult to open the first stage after a long time.

 

[SoCalDiver1]

Its either 2 years or 200 dives. I wouldn't skip a service on life support equipment

 

[Divedoggie]

I can't even begin to count the number of times I've seen equipment failures on dive trips. We guide dive trips all over the world and I always bring extra regulators, hoses, spools, o-rings, various kits, ...you name it. I've always used up almost every little bit of spare supplies for people by the end of the trip. Why? The common denominator: They hadn't had equipment serviced or at least checked before the trip.
It is life support equipment. Everything is cool until something goes wrong. When it goes wrong, it goes bad quickly.

So should you service your reg at a regular interval? My regs get serviced twice a year, because they get used constantly. Other people can wait longer. Ultimately, you should know your gear is going to work. It can't be a guessing game. Have your tech throw it on the bench and check IP. Do a bubble check. What is the condition of your hoses? Mouthpieces? Swivels and SPG spool look good? If it all checks out, you can probably wait a little longer for service.
Make sure that you check your BCD and inflator too. Does it hold air and inflate and deflate properly? Can LP hose be disconnected quickly and smoothly?

 

[mr_v]

There was an aviation study that may be relevant to regulators. The study concluded that most issues happened shortly after service, so the advice was to avoid unnecessary service.

As my regs don't have much use -- they're on bailouts, as I dive CCR - I use the Couv's checklist monthly. I add a few modifications around steps 6, 10. I connect the reg set (1st, 2nd, HP gauge, LP hose) to a tank, add an IP gauge to the tank and breathe ~10 times to ensure that IP recovery is consistent and there there is no IP creep. Then I turn off the tank, note SPG and IP gauges readings and leave the tank sitting for at least 4 hours. I am okay-ish with a tiny bit pressure drop at the end of the test.

 

[Twiny]

Hi, servicing regs every 2 years makes sense to me but not before if they work fine.
But when reg manufacturers say that servicing has also to be done every 100 dives, it is for me just a way to protect themselves and avoid responsability in case of an accident ...
For 02 clean regs, I also service them every 2 years ...