Sherwood MAXIMUS SRB5600 - worth keeping / paying to have serviced?

[Livin]

I bought my Sherwood MAXIMUS SRB5600 new. It has around 100 dives on it. I have not use it in around 13 years... yea, sitting the well conditioned closet so it looks new.

My son just got certified so I will be diving again... question is, how does it compare to current model regulators? My local shop told me the cost is at least $150 to do a full tune up and recertify. Alternatively the local shop say I should considering getting an Atomic Z3 instead, they say it will perform better and is smaller/lighter.

We won't do a ton of diving but we will take 2 dive trips a year to Cozumel, Key West/Largo, and similar warm places.

Thx for the thoughts and advice!

 

[keyshunter]

You do not state your location, but I would find another dive shop, preferably one with experience with Sherwood regs. They are taking the opportunity to upsell, when there is likely nothing wrong other than possibly a second stage seat which can either be replaced or flipped in minutes. It should be fine for a resort diver. Sherwoods have a reputation as poor breathers compared to the latest and greatest, but, back in my deep air and reg poor days, I used a Sherwood Oasis for my back gas on repeated dives to the Curb (~180') and the Wilkes Barre (~220').

 

[BoltSnap]

There is a world of difference in performance between the Atomic and this much lower performance Sherwood regulator. I wouldn't spend a penny on the Sherwood.
I would go with the Atomic Z2 (not the Z3). The only difference between the Z2 and Z3 is the grossly overpriced second stage swivel, everything else is the same.

 

[axxel57]

I guess it's right that the Atomic reg is the 'better' one concerning components, breathing comfort and air delivery, but who needs that when you have an almost new reg, which worked fine and when we are talking about rec diving.....?
If you have been happy with your Sherwood years ago, chances are that you will be happy also now with it.
The SRB5600 Maximus is a solid reg, just find yourself a shop which will service it for reasonable price, shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Livin]

thx for the input guys!

 

[Boarderguy]

Put it on a tank and see if it breathes fine. Put it in a tub of water and check for free flow. If it works why bother with a $150 service? Go to a different lds that wants to help divers and not one that wants to bankrupt us. I had 2 full reg sets (20 years old each) serviced for less that $75 each. I told the shop owner I just wanted them checked out and in working condition. 2 2nds were free flowing and all o-rings needed to be replaced. Easy money for him to adjust the regs and new o-rings and I got back in the water after a long break.

 

[BoltSnap]

Atomic reg is the 'better' one concerning components, breathing comfort and air delivery, but who needs that

Seriously??

If you have been happy with your Sherwood years ago, chances are that you will be happy also now with it.

He didn't know any better then, he got a bottom of the line regulator then. I would service it and use it as a back up but not a main regulator (the Atomic regulator is SOOO reliable and top performer with a long service cycle, he will be amazed with it compared with the Sherwood however).

 

[jakehbk]

The Maximus isn't a bottom of the line regulator. It's one of the only Sherwood's that have a breathing adjustment on the 2nd stage and comes standard with an elbow for under arm hose routing. Even comes with a fairly wide exhaust tee for good bubble clearance. I'm not the biggest fan of some of their current stuffs, but their old regs were reliable and decent performers.

Service from a dealer in the US will probably run in the neighborhood of $200. The big thing with the old Sherwood's will be if the dry bleed system still works or not. If it's not bubbling thru the little rubber cap then it'll have severely reduced performance at depth.

If you want the shiny newness, by all means upgrade. The Atomic won't be significantly lighter or smaller, but it might breathe a bit better, and have hard parts available for it should something like the faceplate break

 

[Jcp2]

The bubbling dry bleed effectively “seals” the balance chamber, without the need for expensive grease.

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

...

The big thing with the old Sherwood's will be if the dry bleed system still works or not. If it's not bubbling thru the little rubber cap then it'll have severely reduced performance at depth.

...

I vaguely remember reading about this performance reduction at depth, but have not experienced it while diving with a non-functional dry bleed system.**

Can you provide an explanation of why a failed dry bleed is expected to lead to a change in performance? And would any change be expected to be noticed?

** Yes I dove a plugged reg for a while after my LDS did a christolube pack of the cap. The only side effect was moisture and crud in the cap which required a little extra cleaning to remove. AND a piston replacement (this was an older model) to get the dry bleed to work again.