Is it ok to reuse regulator parts?

[Just_Me]

Is the place I'm going to choose to save money in my life really suggested by anyone to be on the very inexpensive small parts that insure my breathing gas is delivered without fail as I'm underwater?

I can think of many other ways to save less than $100 per year on the very high side.

 

[redacted]

Is the place I'm going to choose to save money in my life really suggested by anyone to be on the very inexpensive small parts that insure my breathing gas is delivered without fail as I'm underwater?

I can think of many other ways to save less than $100 per year on the very high side.

Do you actually get some kind of an insurance policy when you pay for unnecessary service? I mean something other than "if you have any problem, just bring it back".

Do you really believe your life is seriously put in jeopardy by a regulator failure? If so, why6 to you continue to dive?

And then there is the question of whether most LDS Scubapro techs could do a better job on my gear than I can. Most have probably never seen Scubapro regs like mine.

 

[halocline]

Is the place I'm going to choose to save money in my life really suggested by anyone to be on the very inexpensive small parts that insure my breathing gas is delivered without fail as I'm underwater?

I can think of many other ways to save less than $100 per year on the very high side.

Well, we had a good run....11 posts before someone trotted out the tired old 'life support' bit.

 

[Just_Me]

Can you breath under water without your, I guess recreational doo dads?

---------- Post added June 10th, 2014 at 12:16 AM ----------

The question was would I reuse a no ring. The answer was that I would absolutely not choose to skimp on the service of my regs. No where in my answer did I say that someone other than you had to do it. I will say that not everyone should go grab a wrench, it's not difficult work but I have seen the bag o parts show up at the dive shop before.

The statements earlier were about who makes the o rings and what they cost. Take it apart, clean it, REPLACE the o ring and the reg will continue working.

Or, don't change your oil til you've burnt it all, don't put air in your tires until they are flat.

Part of DIY is still to do the maintenance but simply so it yourself. Or so I thought.

 

[WhiteSands]

Thanks for the replies.

I'd like to learn more about aftermarket replacement parts for our regs.

Reg Saavy makes it very clear that all parts (especially o-rings) in the replacement kit were carefully selected based on how much stresses they can take etc. and that it wasn't a good idea to use other parts for replacement.

That being said, is there a ANSI standard or something for o-rings and seats? Also, where do you order replacement seats from? I saw a link to trident, but they are not an online store AFAIK.

Thanks.

 

[kwinter]

Trident does not sell directly to the public. But I think every dive shop in the world has an account with Trident and can order something for you. The catalog is a huge PDF file that you can download.

O-rings come in different harnesses (durometer) as well as sizes. Knowing what the manufacturer calls for is critical. For the most part the high pressure side gets 90 duro rings and the LP side gets softer 75 duro rings. But there are specific exceptions and requirements. A great online source is oringsusa.com.


iPhone. iTypo. iApologize.

 

[redacted]

Can you breath under water without your, I guess recreational doo dads?

I always have a redundant gas source available in case there is a "doo dad" failure. Don't you?

The question was would I reuse a no ring. The answer was that I would absolutely not choose to skimp on the service of my regs.

That is an evasive statement. Do you reuse o-rings or not? There are very few service kits that provide replacements for all o-rings. There are even some o-rings that can not be replaced (Scubapro Mk20/25 composite piston). Inspecting and reusing o-rings is a normal part of service as recommended by most manufacturers. It is not "skimping".

 

[ams511]

In short, I would only reuse the static o-rings and the filter (if clean). You can try to reuse the seats and diaphragms but I would make sure I had a new ones ready.

 

[Just_Me]

I was not being evasive, I felt that I was clear. I apologize if you did not understand what I wrote. If I remove an o ring, I replace it.

If I didn't have a source for parts or the know how to do my own work, I would pay to have it done.

 

[redacted]

I was not being evasive, I felt that I was clear. I apologize if you did not understand what I wrote. If I remove an o ring, I replace it.

I do understand that idea. They are dirt cheap. Still, I don't practice that and I doubt if most techs do. Or if they do then they are either not doing a proper service or replacing a lot more o-rings than they get in a kit. After all, isn't the tech supposed to remove, clean, and inspect all o-rings? But most kits only provide replacements for dynamic o-rings in the stages. So static o-rings and hose and SPG spool o-rings are usually not provided.

All my 1sts are pistons and I always replace the HP o-ring and at least one (Mk20/25s have two) of the piston head o-rings when I remove them. Although sometimes I disassemble just to inspect and lube so they may all see continued use unless I was having (or found) a problem. I rarely mess with static o-rings or even hose o-rings unless I had a problem. But, if I take a spool apart to clean it, it gets new o-rings. I put enough lube on them and do long soaks so they usually just need to be wiped and heavily re-lubed. Heck, I still have a fair number of red (larger size only), blue, and purple o-ring (20+ years old) in many of my Scubapro regs. For some reason, the smaller red o-rings just don't seem to stand the test of time. I have yet to have found a red one on an orifice that has not degraded into a brittle plastic. (They leak but are just an inconvenience rather than a danger for recreational divers.)

Decent quality o-rings are quite reliable so the few defective parts that could be introduced is probably insignificant (avoid those made in china o-rings). Still, there is little to be gained by replacing an o-ring that is in good condition and performing well. And, o-ring failures should not be anything more than a PITA for recreational divers. If it is a serious safety issue, the diver is doing something very wrong.