Zeagle F8 reg

[BoltSnap]

What about on the second stage? I remember watching a promo video on it which said not to soak it in a bucket but rinse with the hose/second stage facing down so water cant enter. It was specifically the orifice seat saver in the second stage that lifts when not pressurized to reduce wear, but in turn it doesnt seal like typical. Is this not the case? Can you soak it completely submerged in a rinse bucket no problem?

I keep the hose connecting the first stage to the second stage higher than the two stages and no issues at all.

 

[tbzep]

What about on the second stage? I remember watching a promo video on it which said not to soak it in a bucket but rinse with the hose/second stage facing down so water cant enter. It was specifically the orifice seat saver in the second stage that lifts when not pressurized to reduce wear, but in turn it doesnt seal like typical. Is this not the case? Can you soak it completely submerged in a rinse bucket no problem?

If you are worried about the 2nd stage, leave it hooked to the tank and under pressure while it soaks.

 

[Anthony A.]

If you are worried about the 2nd stage, leave it hooked to the tank and under pressure while it soaks.

Most of my diving is travelling abroad and I rinse/soak after I get back to my hotel or apartment. I guess I could buy just the first stage and use an older zeagle second that doesnt have the seat saver.

 

[buddhasummer]

I don't really think it's that big of a deal with some mindfulness and a modicum of care.

 

[Anthony A.]

I've had a F8 for a little over a year. Excellent reg! It replaced a F7, which was also excellent, that's why I went with the F8. Super easy breather. Couldn't think that it would be that much better over the F7. The adjustability is fantastic for dialing in the perfect flow. The first stage is a little lighter than the FH. My main and octo are both F8. So, it sharing the partner has the same adjustability. Great for training activities.

Recently, picked up an Aqualung Legend LUX. I'd say the Legend is on par with the F7, but not quite the F8. Not as easy to breath. The F8 on 1/4 open was about equivalent to the Legend wide open. Just my opinion.

A friend of mine let me try his month old F8 in the pool last night and for some reason neither the venturi knob nor the breathing effort knob did much to open the airflow. My main setup is a 50D with ZX 2nd stages that has worked flawlessly for many years and the breathing effort is incredible. I checked his IP and it was 125. Could that be the reason why it wasnt as easy to breath as my 50D? Or could it just be that the seconds were detuned way more than necessary to stop freeflow. Curious what the recommended IP should be on it.

 

[buddhasummer]

The working ip range on "most" first stages is 125-145, I'd doubt that ip was the cause.

 

[lexvil]

A friend of mine let me try his month old F8 in the pool last night and for some reason neither the venturi knob nor the breathing effort knob did much to open the airflow. My main setup is a 50D with ZX 2nd stages that has worked flawlessly for many years and the breathing effort is incredible. I checked his IP and it was 125. Could that be the reason why it wasnt as easy to breath as my 50D? Or could it just be that the seconds were detuned way more than necessary to stop freeflow. Curious what the recommended IP should be on it.

I would want the IP to 135/140 for the first, the second stage wasn’t tuned very well if it didn’t change from knob turned in to turned out. It should have the lever height adjusted first as traditional orifice adjustment, next pop the rubber plug out of the center of the knob and back the adjuster out until you like the breathing effort, it can be really light and have amazing flow, you may have to go back to the orifice adjustment and work the both to get the perfect tune. The ZX with a blue diaphragm (more flexible than the black one) and the breathing improvement kit installed can come real close to the F8 performance, I have several and really like them. I dive the DS V or FH VI more often in cold water where I like the excessive weight of the first stage, they are all the same on the inside.

 

[jgttrey]

A friend of mine let me try his month old F8 in the pool last night and for some reason neither the venturi knob nor the breathing effort knob did much to open the airflow. My main setup is a 50D with ZX 2nd stages that has worked flawlessly for many years and the breathing effort is incredible. I checked his IP and it was 125. Could that be the reason why it wasnt as easy to breath as my 50D? Or could it just be that the seconds were detuned way more than necessary to stop freeflow. Curious what the recommended IP should be on it.

Recommended IP range on F8 is 130-145psi, 135 nominal.

I really like the F8. I have, I think, 6 of them altogether. I have them on bailouts and a couple of recreational setups and have several hundred dives on them.

The first stage is bullet proof and easy to service. Not ideal for sidemount hose routing, but otherwise very nice and easy to service. Zeagle sold Apeks manufactured regs many years ago, and there's still some common DNA in the first stage, aside from flip flopping the hard and soft seats.

The second stage is a good breather. Bulkier than some, smaller than others. To me, it hits a good sweet spot of being robust without being a tank. It has benefited from some of the Atomic changes, like the seat saver.

Yes, the seat saver does mean you need to exercise a bit more care in rinsing, but it is hardly a challenge. It also takes the pressure off the seat in the second stage when it's not in use, extending the life and service interval to 2 years. All things considered, I like it.

I find the venturi does make a difference. You'd probably notice better on a real dive as opposed to the pool. The cracking pressure knob, not as much. It's really there to let you detune the reg a little if you get a freeflow. The second stage is tuned/set up with the knob turned fully counterclockwise, the idea being you can tighten it up later, detuning the reg by increase the cracking pressure if it's too sensitive or, for example, on an octopus or bailout that you want to be more resistant to free flow. On the primary, I don't view that knob (on any second stage) as a "breathing effort" control. The second stage should be properly set up to breath with it wide open, so you can detune if you need to.

 

[buddhasummer]

I would want the IP to 135/140 for the first, the second stage wasn’t tuned very well if it didn’t change from knob turned in to turned out. It should have the lever height adjusted first as traditional orifice adjustment, next pop the rubber plug out of the center of the knob and back the adjuster out until you like the breathing effort, it can be really light and have amazing flow, you may have to go back to the orifice adjustment and work the both to get the perfect tune. The ZX with a blue diaphragm (more flexible than the black one) and the breathing improvement kit installed can come real close to the F8 performance, I have several and really like them. I dive the DS V or FH VI more often in cold water where I like the excessive weight of the first stage, they are all the same on the inside.

I'm gonna get some F8 second stages one day. They've been on my list for a while now.

 

[Anthony A.]

I just got an F8 color change kit and wondering how to remove the adjustment knob? I popped the rubber cap off and see the hex screw but not sure if that needs to be removed and then the adj. knob will unscrew off? And if so, this hex screw will need to be readjusted again together with the orifice adjustment to get the perfect tune, correct?