How much is involved in rebuilding your own 1st, 2nd stages?

I just had my regulators serviced, and I couldn't help but think that if I bought the rebuild kit myself (for cheaper then I get at the LDS) and did it myself, it would be alot cheaper than paying roughly $70 to have someone else do it. But I have no idea what's involved in doing it. Is it something one should not attempt to do unless they have extensive knowledge of the internal parts and such or is it something anyone can learn to do?

DawgDiver:

I just had my regulators serviced, and I couldn't help but think that if I bought the rebuild kit myself (for cheaper then I get at the LDS) and did it myself, it would be alot cheaper than paying roughly $70 to have someone else do it. But I have no idea what's involved in doing it. Is it something one should not attempt to do unless they have extensive knowledge of the internal parts and such or is it something anyone can learn to do?

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I think anyone with a reasonable mechanical mind can quickly learn to disassemble and reassemble regulators, with the proper tools and the aid of a service manual. Unfortunately, rebuilding a regulator has only a little to do with disassembly and reassembly. It is primarily about trouble shooting, proper adjustment, and proper testing. Those skills are best learned through experience or an apprenticeship with someone willing to help you grow in knowledge. Thanks.

Phil Ellis

There is nothing wrong with rebuilding your own regs. Many people do it as I have for years. If you are doing it to save $75 then you should maybe rethink your reasoning behind it. If you want to be in charge of your own scuba gear and to be in charge of quality control of what you are diving then look at Vance Harlow's book on rebuilding. He can be found on this board as Oxyhacker.

First off, $70 for a good job on a complete reg (1st, 2 X 2nds, & SPG) is a pretty good price. But half-azzed work at twice that price is not uncommon.

Servicing regs is not difficult but you need some basic mechanical ability including troubleshooting. If you work on your own car, I'd put it on par with doing a brake job or rebuilding a carberator. If you would not do that kind of maintenence to your car, then you probably should leave your reg service to a good reputable tech (some of them are not).

A good place to start in the quest for the necessary knowledge is www.airspeedpress.com. Even if you decide DIY reg service is not for you, the information will still be useful in understanding how your regs work and in selecting a service tech/shop.

Parts to support DIY are the long pole in the tent but some brands and retailers are now showing a willingness to sell parts to divers and others have enough leaks in their system to make DIY possible.

Edit: I forgot to warn you that some folks in the industry will do their best to scare you away from such ideas. A few others are a real credit to the industry and will not try to deceive you.

i just made my first attempt on a old us divers second stage,i cant believe how few parts are inside,i took it apart,flipped the seat and cleaned out some crud inside,reassembled it ,hooked up to the tank the freeflow was gone,needs a water test now. next attempt is a old scubapro mk 5 that has some ip creeping going on.

Although I'm interested in learning how to do this, I prefer to trust my rebuilds to a shop and tech who have a lot of experience doing it, know what to look for and have the proper tools and testing equipment. It is life support equipment.

I remember when I completely rebuilt my old M38A1 military jeep in the early 70's. When I started, I thought I was too much of a geek to be able to do it successfully. I learned I could handle it quite competently. Well, escept for the distributor being 180 degrees out of phase (but the flames sure looked cool when they belched uip through the carburetor as each spark plug fired!). Of course that was an easy fix, but a mistake like that on a reg could be a disaster if it happened at 180 ft.

DawgDiver:

I just had my regulators serviced, and I couldn't help but think that if I bought the rebuild kit myself (for cheaper then I get at the LDS) and did it myself, it would be alot cheaper than paying roughly $70 to have someone else do it. But I have no idea what's involved in doing it. Is it something one should not attempt to do unless they have extensive knowledge of the internal parts and such or is it something anyone can learn to do?

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If you have the aptitude to rebuild a small engine carburetor or perform some other similar task you are capable.

If you can get a source of parts you are able.

If you study with a mentor and or get a copy of SCUBA Regulator Maintenance & Repair by Vance Harlow you can become qualified.

If you trust yourself more than whoever is in the back room of the LDS then you should do it.

If you start by acquiring knowledge and learn to track your regulator performance you can ease into it.

Pete

I've done brake jobs before, transmission swaps (manuals), suspension lifts, axle swaps, very little in the way of engines, never messed with a carburetor...

It's not that i don't trust the people at the shop, i'm just wondering if it's worth it to do it myself.

I may look into that book by Vince Harlow. Just got the regs serviced so it should be awhile before I need it again, guess that gives me time to educate myself.

DawgDiver:

I've done brake jobs before, transmission swaps (manuals), suspension lifts, axle swaps, very little in the way of engines, never messed with a carburetor...

It's not that i don't trust the people at the shop, I'm just wondering if it's worth it to do it myself.

I may look into that book by Vince Harlow. Just got the regs serviced so it should be awhile before I need it again, guess that gives me time to educate myself.

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Brakes are close enough, you are capable!

The book is a very good read if only to understand care and correct operation. It really breaks it down nicely.

Keep in mind that you may find the need to pick up some special tools though there are work-arounds for many. I dropped $100. in tools but that's largely because I'm a tool junkie.

You may be leaving free warranty parts on the table and have difficulty buying parts. Getting a kit is one thing but if something odd needs replacing you might experience delays. Unless you have DiveRite regulators (parts openly available) and I see you have Aqualung parts are the big hitch. With tools out of the way a single diver should be $$ ahead in year two at worst. If there are multiple divers in the household then it's quicker.

Pete

drbill:

I remember when I completely rebuilt my old M38A1 military jeep in the early 70's. When I started, I thought I was too much of a geek to be able to do it successfully. I learned I could handle it quite competently. Well, escept for the distributor being 180 degrees out of phase (but the flames sure looked cool when they belched uip through the carburetor as each spark plug fired!). Of course that was an easy fix, but a mistake like that on a reg could be a disaster if it happened at 180 ft.

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I installed an OH cam shaft 180 out once. Thankfully I found an easy way to correct the problem. Just switched the plug wires 180 on the distruber cap. BTW, 180 out should be firing on an open exhaust valve, not an open intake valve. Sounds like your timing was pretty far off also.

It would be pretty hard to create a disaster on a reg. For the most part, if you do it wrong, it will show up as leaks in the sink. But there are a few things that might be an inwater problem if overtorqued. Unfortuately, I have not found too many "techs" with torque wrenches