Dacor Extreme Plus

[xagudo]

Hi,
I have a Dacor Extreme Plus regulator. I bought it used and I´m having a hard time trying to find information about this reg. The little I´ve read is that is an old regulator and parts for it are very hard to find. I´ve been diving with it and I feel comfortable, although the first stage is rather clumsy and heavy. I´m about to have it serviced and I think I´m gonna have trouble getting the parts for the overhaul. I would appreciate any comments, reviews or general information about this regulator and other people´s experiences with it. Thanks.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I would have never bought that reg. Dacor has decided to stop supporting that reg, and many other older Dacor regs. That means that the parts are no longer being manufactured. Orings are not a problem, they are standard sizes. The problem is getting the HP seats for the first stage. Good Luck... I hope you didnt invest alot of money into that reg. Because its not worth it.

 

[scubatoys]

LUBOLD8431 is right... should have stayed away from that. Even if you find someone who does have the parts - an annual will probably cost you more than the reg did. We've had a bunch of customers in that situation, and normally, they just get a brand new - current edition 1st stage that has parts available and swap out the 1st stage, use the Extreme for a paper weight.

The new Dacor first stages, like the D-16 are under $90 - and uses the same internal parts as the Mares regs so service is no problem.

 

[xagudo]

Hey, thanks for the replies. That´s what I was afraid. What about the second stage? Should I keep it and use it with a new dacor first stage? or should I change it all?

 

[LUBOLD8431]

No, get rid of everything... Change it all out to a newer model.

 

[ken foster]

Hello,
This is the best reg. ever made but parts are hard to find.
there is a guy on ebay this week selling extreme and extreme plus repair kits for $13.50.
Just type in dacor extreme plus repair kits on ebay.
hope this helps

 

[Fishpie]

Best reg ever made?????.....it's a fine breathing reg, I'll give you that.
I use it as an example in class. The worst designed (modern) regulator ever. It's really no wonder Dacor went bust soon after the introduction of this series of regs.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I will agree to not being a fan of Dacor's second stage designs of that era (Quantum, Extreme, Viper, etc) - they were not all that well made, could be difficult to adjust and were harder to work on than they needed to be.

Some of their first stage designs were very interesting and were overall very well made, but they were very different comnpared to most other designs. The modular design had some promoise and their unique approach to what was otherwise a diaphragm design was very interesting but it was also much more prone than most other designs to corrosion due to tigher tolerances and generally larger areas where two moving surfaces were in reasonably close proximity to each other.

I would not call the best reg ever made as it does nto even come close, but on the other hand it is also not the worst designed (modern) reg either.

I don't think it was an issue of Dacor going bust, and in fact one of Dacor's greatest assets when Mares acquired them was their patents.

And in light of the way Mares handled the Dacor aquistition and essentially screwed Dacor customers with lifetime warranties in hand by discontinuing support for any reg Mares did not keep in production even though Mares retained the Dacor name and as such Dacor's obligations to customers, I am not inclined to buy any Mares products. Ever.

 

[Fishpie]

.....ok, not the worst designed. But the Extreme Plus must come a very close second to the Triton!

Here are some of it's highlights:
Logo falls out of purge cover on first dive.
Purge cover falls off and is lost 2nd dive.
The yellow purge cover remaining looks like crap as it is covered in stains.
The 2nd stage is almost all poor quality plastic.
The end of the balance chamber is not thick enough and fails.
LP hoses are unique to Dacor.

Environmental diaphragm is paper thin.
No one used, needed or wanted the modular design.
The plus has swivels on swivels....unnecessary and over complicating service.

As I said before it's performance...especially in the cold. was very good. It must have been one of the first (if not the 1st) to use a dry environmental seal....

 

[keyshunter]

Fishpie,
That pretty much is what I remember about the original Extreme. LOL I remember one Keys shop putting 6 of the "revolutionary" Extremes into rental, and every one lost its purge cover during the first week. I believe Dacor later made some changes in the cover.