Are these Poseidon Jetstreams worth servicing/rebuilding?

[tbone1004]

I have to credit @Fibonacci with teaching me how to restore a servo. Most with a "bent" tip turn out to just have a degraded seat that is half gone, causing the tilt.
I have now restored three servos that were leaking badly, to one tiny 0.05ml bubble every ten seconds, by replacing the seat with a homemade punched seat.
Reassembly is a challenge, as the circlip is only 2.5mm in diameter. And restoring the seat with Micromesh is working on a 3mm seat deep in the tip.
It's mostly been a challenge to see if I could do it on my own regs. It's completely unauthorized. But if I don't have to buy a new $50 servo, it's worth it.

Thank you, @Fibonacci!
@Fibonacci is an absolute design and CAD guru who is preparing the illustrations for the Poseidon Regulator Geeks session, one of these days.
He's the guy who's created those Poseidon adapters to Atomic Swivel hoses that are so magical.

I've rebuilt a couple servos and will second that, though I haven't punched any seats out....

 

[DHDixon]

I assume, also being unable to see the images, that you have either 2960 (Odin) or 3960 (Jetstream) first stages, and not the MK3 or Xstream?

Regardless of what many have to say, Poseidon regulators are quite straightforward to service and to tune -- provided that the manuals are followed and everything, especially in the 1st stage, is kept scrupulously clean. I have worked on them for years, without any issue.

An all-too common problem with used Jetstreams, however, is damage to the servo valve, the "needled screw-on cap" at the very tip of the second stage. If that is the case, it or they will have to be replaced. Once bent, they cannot be straightened.

Parts, though increasingly pricey, are readily available over the counter in the US and Europe, even for regulator models that haven't been produced for thirty-plus years; and I wouldn't think twice about using any of those older models as primaries, which were all very well made and quite bulletproof.

My current pony bottle is even fitted with a Cyklon 300 from the mid 1970s, which still breathes beautifully, and I commonly use the Jetstream with either the 2960 or MK3 for rough surf entries . . .

Thanks for the info! As with most things built then, it does seem they are quite a bit more resilient than the equivalent today. That was the main reason I had hope they weren’t too far gone.

Out of curiosity, is there a specific reason you’ll favor them for rough entries? My best guess would be the higher supply of gas favors more taxing conditions?

 

[Bigbella]

Out of curiosity, is there a specific reason you’ll favor them for rough entries? My best guess would be the higher supply of gas favors more taxing conditions?

No, nothing like that.

I am just fond of the switch on the Jetstream, which simply prevents a free-flow, since I prefer not to have anything in my mouth during those entries -- and I adjust mine just short of that, at the far lower end of specs and with effortless breathing.

I also use their Atmosphere full face masks which feature a positive pressure version of the Jetstream (but has the very similar but shorter Xstream guttiwuts); always enjoyed its breathability when well-tuned and wanted to duplicate that as much as possible with the conventional model . . .

 

[DHDixon]

That's a fairly nice set. Absolutely able to return to good service.
Based on the color of the diaphragms and the corrosion on the Jetstream second, I'll guess you might need 1-2 new valve inserts and maybe a new diaphragm or two. But the 2960 is the newer model with UNF ports. That's critical.

Standard labor and service kits would likely be $190 for the three regs (yeah, I know, but Poseidon first stage kits have gone thru the roof).

Add $0 in new parts to $20-40 for new diaphragms
Add $0 in new parts to $20-40 for new valve inserts
Add $0 in new parts to $50-100 for 1-2 new servo valves.

Best case $190
Likely case $280
Worst case $370
You could save a bit using aftermarket orings and seats.

That's an easily restorable set that's in great condition. But Poseidon retail parts prices are getting nuts.

Hope this helps you decide.

Wow. Thank you so much! I guess if they are getting more expensive I better get on it. @tbone1004 mentioned even sending them to you for service (if that’s something you do please DM me as, from what I hear, when you get Poseidon regs serviced you want someone who knows what they are doing.)

Also, as a bit of a tangent, is there a good place to learn the intricacies of Poseidon gear?

 

[DHDixon]

well, you know your alma maters position on Poseidons and how much both Matt and I love ours so we are a bit biased in that regard. Unfortunately with both of us being as busy as we are, I would recommend biting the bullet and sending them to @rsingler , he's a good guy, and a great reg tech.
Based on the pix and my unlucky history with these things where people abuse the servos, I think you're probably in for the "worst case" pricing wise, but I certainly love these regulators and they are my primary reg sets, at least once Rusty gets the probably 12-15 of mine back to me that he's servicing

School definitely introduced me to them and I was stoked to find these. I’m actually a rising senior and will finally be getting around (gotta love how busy mechE keeps me) to taking scuba 2 in the fall.

Unfortunately, after closer inspection, they did appear slightly bent (whether or not I’ve just convinced myself they are from staring at them all night I don’t know) so I’m assuming the worst as well

 

[tbone1004]

Also, as a bit of a tangent, is there a good place to learn the intricacies of Poseidon gear?

bribe one of the three coaches you have with the scuba program who use Poseidons as our personal gear and service our own regs and we will help you? ;-)

School definitely introduced me to them and I was stoked to find these. I’m actually a rising senior and will finally be getting around (gotta love how busy mechE keeps me) to taking scuba 2 in the fall.

Unfortunately, after closer inspection, they did appear slightly bent (whether or not I’ve just convinced myself they are from staring at them all night I don’t know) so I’m assuming the worst as well

Send to @rsingler , he won't lead you astray and it's worth the hassle of shipping to Cali. I will say that AirTech in Raleigh is home of the factory trainer for Poseidon regs so they are certainly more than qualified to do it, but I would recommend sending to Rob.

 

[DHDixon]

bribe one of the three coaches you have with the scuba program who use Poseidons as our personal gear and service our own regs and we will help you? ;-)

By the end of the semester someone will have more bojangles biscuits and Krispy Kreme than they know what to do with

Send to @rsingler , he won't lead you astray and it's worth the hassle of shipping to Cali. I will say that AirTech in Raleigh is home of the factory trainer for Poseidon regs so they are certainly more than qualified to do it, but I would recommend sending to Rob.

I was a bit hesitant to move forward with that route because I sent them the same pictures and they quotes me 985$

 

[Bigbella]

I have to credit @Fibonacci with teaching me how to restore a servo. Most with a "bent" tip turn out to just have a degraded seat that is half gone, causing the tilt.
I have now restored three servos that were leaking badly, to one tiny 0.05ml bubble every ten seconds, by replacing the seat with a homemade punched seat.
Reassembly is a challenge, as the circlip is only 2.5mm in diameter. And restoring the seat with Micromesh is working on a 3mm seat deep in the tip.
It's mostly been a challenge to see if I could do it on my own regs. It's completely unauthorized. But if I don't have to buy a new $50 servo, it's worth it.

Thank you, @Fibonacci!
@Fibonacci is an absolute design and CAD guru who is preparing the illustrations for the Poseidon Regulator Geeks session, one of these days.
He's the guy who's created those Poseidon adapters to Atomic Swivel hoses that are so magical

All hail Fibonacci! That's a new one on me.

I still have a few heavily-tweaked servos that came with a cache of old spare parts, a while back, and will have to experiment a bit -- wouldn't mind, at all, saving a tank of NorCal designer gas on a servo replacement.

It does seem that a repair should conceivably work, considering that, in the early Jetstream models (when it was still the Cyklon Maximum), the servo mechanism was not simply the familiar screw-on tip but was once composed of a few replaceable components, with the spring set at the opposite end (so too, the original valve insert had its separate "LP sleeve"), that were rebuilt with each servicing . . .

 

[tbone1004]

By the end of the semester someone will have more bojangles biscuits and Krispy Kreme than they know what to do with


I was a bit hesitant to move forward with that route because I sent them the same pictures and they quotes me 985$

get with @rsingler and get them sorted out, when they come back to you then we'll go dive and I'll help you out before you get into 227

 

[Shabaday]

Heres another folder with the images as JPGs. Was it a google drive issue or image type?

Jetstream Pics- JPG – Google Drive

drive.google.com

Google drive...it says I do not have permission to view images. However it looks like you got all the information you need!!!