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The DVT plugs on Oceanic and Aeris regs and whatever Aqualung calls their plugs are designed to keep the wayward splash of water from entering the reg. They are not designed to be a substitute for the dust cap. A properly installed dust cap on a yoke reg is sufficient for soaking in the rinse...

Looks like you have to remove a washer between the purge cover and the plastic cover over the diaphragm before you try to unscrew the plastic cover. Proceed with caution here; you don't want to use some kind of tool that could rip the diaphragm. Tearing the diaphragm will probably kill the reg...

I bet if you look around long enough you can find a Proton Ice or two to replace your plastic second stages. Same basic second stage, just made of metal. My experience with Protons has been 95% Ices and 5% plastic Protons. I've never seen a problem like this on the metal Ices. Just a...

If I were getting my reg serviced at an LDS, I would insist on hooking it up and checking it out before I left the shop when picking it up. Any shop worth its salt will allow you to do that. If the shop won't allow you to do that, I wouldn't use them unless I had no other choice. I've never...

As a former reg tech for an Aeris dealer, I can confidently make two statements about the Ion/Pro regs. First, the AT400 is a damn fine first stage. I don't like DVT technology because the huge majority of them make an objectionable hissing noise when you breathe on them. I've had several...

Aeris has the same problem with their DVTs. I have one customer who asked me to de-DVT her reg because she found the noise objectionable. I did it and she's a happy camper now. In my experience, whether a DVT is noisy or not is a crapshoot. Some are, some aren't. And, it doesn't seem to...

If the original shop "rebuilt" the second stage only and just replaced the filter on the first stage, you got ripped off. I am a semi-retired service tech at our local dive shop and I do Atomics. They are not hard to rebuild, and they are about the easiest breathers available, but they require...

I'm not going to get into the competence (or in-) of the guy who serviced the OP's reg. I will state from my own experience on two fronts: first, the competent service tech will inhale on a reassembled second stage with his finger clamped over the inlet to see if he has a hard vacuum. If he...

They're bulletproof and deliver a lot of air. You can hardly go wrong with it IMHO. The $200 price is pretty good, too.

I was just there last week. The lip on the bathroom door is still there and my roommate just about killed himself a couple of times. I got lucky and managed to remember it every time. This was my first trip there and it was all good except the weather--a tad chilly and rainy early, ok middle...

I've seen water in the air chamber inside Sherwood first stages whose air bleeders did not work. You shouldn't get any water in there, but if the rubber bleeder plug is in the least bit worn, a drop or two could get in there. If the bubbler is not working, the reg cannot sense how deep the...

All Zeagle second stages use a metal air barrel. Zeagle's replacement orifices are now metal. Can't say I've paid a whole lot of attention to what orifices their new second stages are coming with.

That looks a lot like some of the Hollis line that we sell. Don't tell anyone, but Oceanic, Aeris, and Hollis are all built by the same company. If you can't get satisfaction from your local Oceanic dealer, try a Hollis dealer. Aeris doesn't have a similar model, based on the pictures I googled.

I'd almost be willing to bet that that second stage belongs to a Public Safety diver. Those folks dive UNDER the mud. We service a lot of PSD regs at our shop and we see a lot of octos that are that dirty. It's a testament to the engineering of the reg that they still work after that abuse...

I once rebuilt a Zeagle first stage that had a slow creep that I shut down when it got over to 180 psi. Turns out the body was cracked. I sent it back to Zeagle and they replaced it under warranty. Zeagles should have no IP creep at all. They should lock up immediately. The biggest...

I think I'd keep either the Mk 25 or the Atomic AND the Hollis. Hollis makes good regs--they're fairly new in the market, but come from the same ilk as Oceanic and Aeris. Besides, the Hollis is probably environmentally sealed which is good for cold water. The T2 is also (probably--I've...

There are three sizes of BCD fittings: the standard one which is by far the majority, the ScubaPro one which looks like a standard air chuck fitting and the Mares/Zeagle fitting which looks more like a straight pipe with an indentation near the opening. The Scubapro hose fitting is pretty big...

UWS--There's a 90% chance that you can swim, you just don't know it yet. Once you realize that you can float with absolutely NO effort, all you have to do is learn how to push water from your head to your feet and you'll be swimming. I say 90% chance because about 10% of the people in the...

Speaking from a maintenance standpoint, if you have an environmentally sealed Atomic, the first stage is a royal pain in the ass to service. The technician has about 2oz. of Christo-Lube MCG-111 (at $200/lb.) to dig out of from behind the pistion and in the main spring. Very messy!! We also...

I own Regulator Savvy, and highly recommend it. I've glanced over the other book and would like to own it. Both give you good insight into how a reg works, but after seeing Regulator Repair & Maintenance I'd still recommend Regulator Savvy over it. If I were just starting out again, I'd buy...