Without naming shops, there are Sherwood retailers in Canada refusing to sell the SR1 due to the increased likelihood of free flows in cold water at 85’+. I had my SR1 free flow in 54 degree water at 108 feet. The LDS serviced it, which did not correct the problem, and the regs were sent back to Sherwood for “adjusting”. The LDS owner tried blaming me for “playing with” the Venturi knob. I borrowed his SR1 and I had 2 free flows on separate 100’ dives in low 40 degree water with the Venturi completely closed.
So I called Sherwood (Cramer Decker Inc. 1-800-347-9766) which did nothing for the situation. Their answer was to get the reg adjusted. They claimed all the free-flows were caused by incorrectly adjusted regulators. They said the SR1 was good for the temps and depth I was at. I asked what the SR1 was rated to and he could not answer. I asked for a document stating the depth and temperatures the SR1 was tested to and he said to check the manual. I told him the manual did not state that info, and he said the retailer would have that information in the service manual. Any refunds or exchanges would have to go through the retailer, not them. Sherwood post-sales support for me was NON-EXISTANT. I believe Cramer Decker is simply pushing as many sales as possible, as they seem to have no actual knowledge of the product. Needless to say, the LDS did not have the SR1 rating information either.
I’m done with Sherwood. Our club has been made aware of the multiple free flow problems we’ve had on 3 different Sherwood SR1 regs, and the complete lack of support we’ve received.