How often do you service your reg?

I have alway heard service reg annually. Just for grins, I was looking around at Scuba Toys Forum and they had a similar thread. Some people said they service theirs when they feel they need it, if it breathes different or every couple of years. One guy claims that a friend of his services his every 7 years. I think that that guy is asking for trouble. Some people even said that annual services cause more reg problems than they solve.
I tend to believe in the annual.
Comments.................
Thanks

I don't think there is a rule that applies to all. Obviously it is easier to follow just one rule instead of analyzing each particular case.
If the scenario is a number of regs that get rented out, I'd like to think the people in charge (owners?) keep a maintenance log of each unit and do a complete service once a year.
If it is a diver that uses the regs a couple of weeks a year, then stores them in the garage for the other 50 weeks of the year, and doesn't do his own service I suppose it wouldn't hurt to service them once a year to make sure nothing happened to it while stored in the garage, (moisture, mold, ants, gremlins?)
Now for people that dive every week and service their own units. I see no reasson to service each and every unit when the 365 day count is up. I personally dislike the change after a service, yes the unit breathes correctly but not exactly the way it did before the service, it takes me 4 or 5 dives to get over it. To me is like changing the band in the mask, I have to change it every 4 or 5 years and is just not the same.
So, you keep how ever many service kits you need at home, that way when any of your units start acting funny you go ahead and service them. This past month it happened to one of my units, checking dates it turned out to be over 3 years since the last service. The unit could've been used longer but I felt it was time. After opening it and going thru the process my husband decided he'll service the unit he's using these days too. His decission was not based on dates or on the unit behaviour, he just thought he has the time these days and has been long enough since the previous service.

So the answer in my household is "depends"

It depends on how much you dive or how less you dive and how much the reg sits around.

If you dive salt water or fresh water or under the ice or in very cold waters.

Up here, Service is usually done spring time- once a year. That is for the average Joe. Some will service before they leave on a trip and after they get back. And some will service it for ice diving. Then again for the summer.

Depends on the user. and the quality of the reg.

I service my regs twice a year. again personal preference.

Once a year for warranty work.

I service my primary reg yearly, about this time of year. The regs I use for stages (i don't use stages very often) I service before use if its been more than a year since last service and I have used them in the meantime.

For regs in warrentee do what the mfg wants.

For me it depends on the reg and service.

Regs being used in silty, sandy FL retention ponds and stormwater pipes, 5 days a week service was at something like 3-6 months.

A sport diving reg with one or two dives a week in clear water then something like two years.

Sitting in storage can be hard on o-rings so after 6 months to a year of no use the reg is tested and a quick visual at least before use. If anything doesn't seem right it gets more detailed inspection and service as needed.

I usually service mine every January, so to keep it simple. The more you use it the better, if it just sits around in a closet for a extended period of time than i would get it serviced before i dive it.

tlmainer:

I have alway heard service reg annually. Just for grins, I was looking around at Scuba Toys Forum and they had a similar thread. Some people said they service theirs when they feel they need it, if it breathes different or every couple of years. One guy claims that a friend of his services his every 7 years. I think that that guy is asking for trouble. Some people even said that annual services cause more reg problems than they solve.
I tend to believe in the annual.
Comments.................
Thanks

Click to expand...

about every 5+ yrs or so.........this thinking has never 'failed me' yet.........why fix it if it ain't broken(you do know when most reg failures occur, don't you).............GEAUX TIGERS...........

It's not about time.
It's about both use and time.
We dive more in month than most people dive in a year. For nothing more than erring on the side of safety we service our regs every couple of months on a bad weather day.
On the other hand I will say any reg hanging in a closet for 11 months should be checked/serviced prior to diving. Again on the side of safety. Warrantees are really nonsense. Your own personal safety is/ should be the most important thing.

Other posters have indicated that it is largely dependant on the frequency of your diving and the conditions you dive under. Of course the manufacturing quality of the reg in question is a consideration as well.

I do 300+ dives a year in "cold" water. I should probably get my regs serviced every 6 months. However, I dive the old Scubapro Mk10/G250's which many consider one of the more rugged, durable and dependable regs around. I rarely get them serviced more frequently than every two years. However, I did have one first stage that my tech labeled "RIP" after he opened it up.