Sherwood Magnum Blizzard with Octo...

I recently got a Sherwood Magnum Blizzard with octopus. My questions are:

a). Based on the serial number, can someone at Sherwood tell me how old it is? It's supposed to be "about 10 years old".

b). The octo that came with it says Sherwood, but is not branded with a model name or anything. Is it of equal cold-water capability? Is it a Magnum Blizzard but with yellow plastic, or something else?

c). Are both the 1st and 2nd stage a "Magnum Blizzard" or do they have different model designations - such as the ScubaPro MK25/S600 combo?

I recently had this stuff serviced (picked it up today actually) and will be diving with it tomorrow

Cheers!
nd

The fastest way to try and help you determine what you have is by pictures. Can you take some photos of each item separately and post them here in the forum?

Sherwood SCUBA rep.:

The fastest way to try and help you determine what you have is by pictures. Can you take some photos of each item separately and post them here in the forum?

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Pictures attached. Serial numbers as noted. My questions are:

a). Based on the serial number, can someone at Sherwood tell me how old it is? It's supposed to be "about 10 years old".

b). The octo that came with it says Sherwood, but is not branded with a model name or anything. Is it of equal cold-water capability? Is it a Magnum Blizzard but with yellow plastic, or something else? Is there any reason why I should not use this octo as a primary reg? Can the yellow cover easily be replaced with a non-yellow cover?

c). Are both the 1st and 2nd stage a "Magnum Blizzard" or do they have different model designations - such as the ScubaPro MK25/S600 combo?

Any other info you can provide would be helpful. My plan for this unit is to use the first and second stages on my pony bottle, and for my wife to use the octo as a primary - connected to an Aeries first stage, with a SP Air2 as her secondary.

Thanks!
nd

I would say that it is closer to 20 years old, as I bought the Blizzard model that succeeded it in 1991. I have a friend/ dive buddy who dived a Magnum Blizzard like that, and it was a very reliable reg.

keyshunter is correct. The Sherwood regulators were changed in 1991. The last year these were produced were in 1990. Best case scenario the regulator you have there is 18-19 years old. They are still good regulators and breathe great. They are just outdated. Service parts are not necessarily available for every item in the regulator.

Sherwood Scuba Rep.

Sherwood SCUBA rep.:

Service parts are not necessarily available for every item in the regulator.

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Ah, well THAT certainly sucks. Is that true for the first or second stage - or both?

I just had this thing serviced - they didn't mention anything about not having some parts. I wonder how long that will last. Should I consider getting rid of it?

Thanks!
nd

That is true for the 1st and 2nd stage.

Only the random non-service parts are the items in jepordy at this time. As for whether or not you should sell it, I would say it depends on how often you are diving and how much you paid for it. If you are only diving once or twice a year, I would tell you to keep it. If you are diving monthly, then make the investment and purchase something newer.

Sherwood SCUBA rep.:

That is true for the 1st and 2nd stage. Only the random non-service parts are the items in jepordy at this time.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

As for whether or not you should sell it, I would say it depends on how often you are diving and how much you paid for it. If you are only diving once or twice a year, I would tell you to keep it. If you are diving monthly, then make the investment and purchase something newer.

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Well, I got it with a bag of stuff I bought. I didn't really want it, but I figured I could make use of it. I valued what I wanted out of the bag at $70. I also sold another item from the bag for $50, leaving me having paid $85 for everything else in the bag. This includes:

- the Sherwood 1st, 2nd and octo we are now talking about
- Oceanic wrist-mount compass (like new)
- 1 pair SP Jet fins (size large, been trying to sell for $40)
- 1 UK light (unused, could maybe sell for $30 if I tried)
- weight belt (for soft weights)
- a couple of small "pen-style" UW lights
- extra plastic buckle for the weight belt
- probably a few other small odds & ends

If I could manage to sell the Jet fins and UK light, I would be getting the reg setup for basically free - plus the $120 or so I just paid to get it serviced (parts & labour, all 3 stages).

I'm using the 1st & second on a pony bottle. It seems to be a good way to go for local diving (Alaska). In particular, the sealed 1st stage is nice. My primary reg is a SP MK25/S600. My plan is to dive at least once per month (2 dives on a day), but the reality is more like once every other month. My local diving is strictly cold water drysuit stuff. On my last dive, the water was 38F

The octo I am using for my wife's setup, as a primary reg. She isn't much of a diver - a typical once or maybe twice per year vacation diver. She has my old Air2 as a safe second, and I just got for her some Aeries first stage reg too. When we go to Cozumel next month, it will be her first time using this stuff (for 12-15 dives). It will probably be another year before she uses it again (whenever we have our next vacation).

So - that's my situation. I'd love to have your honest assessment as to whether I should try to get out from under this old Sherwood reg (first, second, octo) any time soon, or if should keep using it for what I'm using it for now.

Thanks again for your time
nd

Sorry for resurrecting this old(er) thread, but I have a question about my first stage, which is the same as the one in the pictures, and this saves me from taking pictures of my own! I'm looking at purchasing tanks, and there's no psi designation on the first stage. Would using HP tanks (3442 psi) be a problem with this set-up? Thanks!

I'm not sure what the approved max PSI is, but I've been using a similar reg on several of my HP tanks with no problems. My HP tanks are often pumped up to close to 38-4000 PSI (I use yoke, not DIN) with no failures so far...not even O ring blowouts.
Higher pressures obviously put higher stresses on all components so service becomes more important.
YMMV