Considering a used reg. Which should I *not* consider?

[Kunundrum]

buying used gear can be a double edged sword, especially a regulator.

1. look for reliable well know brands (Aqualung, Apeks, Atomic, Scubapro, Cressi to name a few) and try to get a cold water rated regulator even if you don't "plan" on diving in cold water, better to have the capability and not need it, than need it and not have it.

2. try before you buy (I have seen people bring in newly purchased used gear that needed many parts replaced because the previous owner did not take care of them and when asked where they got it from the most common answer was "eBay")

You can get great deals on New gear too if you do you homework, one of the best values in our shop is the Apeks AT20 Regulator, MSRP is $300, US4 1st and AT20 2nd, Great starter reg. it can be converted to a Sealed DS4 for about $100 in parts. the AT20 2nd is a balance 2nd with a metal air barrel, and is a great performing regulator, that can follow you throughout your diving career.

The Cressi Elipse MC5 Metal SC is also a great buy on a high performance regulator.

Good luck.

Happy diving.

 

[Ste Wart]

If is has these letters M-A-R-E-S on it.

Avoid like the plague.

I'd try and hook up a 2nd hand Aqualung Calypso or Titan (basically the same reg). Most dive shops seem to have these for rent and sell the old ones on every few years. They're solid, well they need to be to keep up with the demands of rental equipment, but they're also good regs.

 

[hijax]

maybe a staff member wants to "key man" a new setup.

What does "key man a new setup" mean?

Rey..

 

[hijax]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. In terms of service, I have a ton of LDSs here in South Florida which seem to service just about every major brand.

In terms of brands that I'm seeing as recommended in this thread, I read:

• Aqualung
• ScubaPro
• Apeks (Aqualung)
• Oceanic
• Cressi
• Edge/HOG

I see recommendations to avoid:

• Mares
• Dacor (due to lack of parts)

What about Zeagle, Subgear and Genesis?

 

[herman]

Nothing at all wrong with Zeagles.
Clarification, Calypso (modern version) and the Titan first stages are totally different, the seconds are the same. Calypso is a flowby piston, the Titan is a diaphragm. Don't overlook an older Conshelf (US diver) or a SP MK-5 with a 109 second, they are fairly inexpensive, easy to service and rock solid.
Cressi can be hard to find parts for in some areas, make sure you have a good local dealer.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

What does "key man a new setup" mean?

Rey..

@hijax: "Key man" refers to an insider discount only available to dive pros. It can be as generous as 50-60% off MSRP. Essentially, the "key man" program benefits both the manufacturer and the local dive shop selling the merchandise. It's basically free advertising. OW and AOW students see their instructors/DMs diving with the expensive gear and think: "Gee, I wish I could dive like those guys. They seem to know what they're doing. I'm going to buy the same gear that they have." The dive pro gets to dive the latest and greatest gear. It's because of insider discounts like "key man" that gear purchasing decisions made by dive pros are vastly different from those made by the everyday consumer. The "value" equation is entirely different for the dive pros.

Not sure why davetowz mentioned "key man" discounts. Perhaps he was implying that a dive shop employee might sell you his "old" reg so that he could buy a new one at a significant discount.

What about Zeagle, Subgear and Genesis?

Zeagle would be a good choice, too. I have no personal experience with either Subgear or Genesis.

 

[hijax]

Don't overlook an older Conshelf (US diver) or a SP MK-5 with a 109 second, they are fairly inexpensive, easy to service and rock solid.

Really? Had someone at a LDS tell me to not go US Divers at all because the company no longer exists and parts would be difficult to get. Sounds like that's not really the case. Also, is the Conshelf a balanced reg?

Rey

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Key Man = Pro deal = Bro deal.

On another note, some good deals can be found in the classified section here.

-Mitch

 

[herman]

Well that is somewhat true....US Divers changed their name to Aqualung a good many years ago, ever heard of them ?
The same parts that fit in the Titan and Legend regs are used in the Conshelf (and darn near every diaphragm reg USD/AL has made since the mid 60s), parts will be around for a lot of years.
The first stage is balanced but the second is not. Now lots of .....shall we say misinformed people have little clue what balancing actually does and mostly use it as a sales tool. From a practical point of view, all it really means is that the cracking pressure and work of breathing of a second stage remains the same as tank pressure changes. This is done in the first stage by using a design that keep the IP (pressure in the hose) constant as tank pressure changes. The first stage or the second stage can be balanced or both for that matter but balancing both is of little use. If the first stage is balanced, there is nothing really for the second stage to "balance" because it's input is not changing. Depending on the second stage, some of the balanced designs can be made to breath a little better than a nonbalanced one but that is more of function of the overall design rather than the fact that is or is not balanced. The SP 109 for example, is not balanced but a varient of it is- this is a simple modification consisting of changing a few internal parts. Recently some on this board compaired the 2 and basically decided there was little difference and not worth the effort to modify the 109. How well a second stage breathes is more a function of how good your reg tech is than of reg design, at least if we are talking regs that were designed past the mid to late 60s.
The main point is, most any reg from the late 60 up to today will work nicely. The ones you will have problems with are those that you can not find parts for, mainly Dacor, a few very old USD regs (Aquaruis and the old design Calypsos) and a few other lesser known brands that have come and gone. Your biggest challange is finding a good reg tech. A poor tech can make the best reg perform poorly and a good one can make most any reg a pleasure to use.

 

[Paladin]

Herman,
Ya gotta be a pretty inept tech to make a Conshelf breathe bad! There really isn't much to 'em. Simple, tough, reliable. As for the Aquarius, what parts? It only has one moving part and about all there is to replace are a few O-rings. I'm up to my eyeballs in Aquarius regs and every one of them is ready to dive. They make great backup regs to save a day's diving if your primary decides to pack it in. Their only shortcoming, as far as I can see, is the shortage of LP ports. Yeah, they're unbalanced piston regs but that doesn't bother me. They still breathe well and they are extremely dependable. Heck, you know all this, Herman. You have a few of them yourself.