Assembling a New Regulator/Octo/Gauge

[Teamcasa]

put it together Jamie... odd's are really in your favor.. but i would ask how much its worth for the comfort of knowing all aspects of the assembly and bench testing were checked by a certified pro who has experience in these matters.

Wayne, The odds are just the same with the certified tech vs the factory initial settings that something will fail.

Most regulator problems occur after servicing or out of the box. There are no certainties with Scuba gear. If you are really serious about testing, after assembling the gear, jump in a pool.

 

[waynne fowler]

Wayne, The odds are just the same with the certified tech vs the factory initial settings that something will fail.

with the tech, there will be no boxing it up, shipping it to a store and jostling around of the reg in shipping.. it goes from their hand to yours.. If there is indeed something wrong HOPEFULLY the tech fixes it before they put it back in your hands.

Most regulator problems occur after servicing or out of the box. There are no certainties with Scuba gear. If you are really serious about testing, after assembling the gear, jump in a pool.

those exact issues are exactly my point TC. Divings all about mitigation of potential problems.


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edit to add.... TC i just saw your tagline... I fell off the bench laughing.. thats halarious!!!

 

[pedo]

Bought a reg from LDS out of the box. "Set up" consisted of, "This part goes on the tank, this part goes in your mouth" and the octo was extra.

put it together Jamie... odd's are really in your favor.. but i would ask how much its worth for the comfort of knowing all aspects of the assembly and bench testing were checked by a certified pro who has experience in these matters.

I know that many, many folks here either hate or mistrust dive shops, their employees and their technicians... but the truth of the matter is you trusted these people with training that your life may depend on, why should you not trust them to help you set up and configure your equipment on this very first time? You have an opportunity to learn some very important and valuable stuff for, most likely, a very minimal investment.

Some may see my view as a bit over the top, and I'll be the first to admit I am a bit of a safety nut How much would it cost to have a tech set things up? my guess is 20-50 bucks (50 seems high to me but some may want that) AND any tech worth their salt will be glad to have you sit in while they do it. It could be a great learning experience for you and you'd not be relaying on trying to ferret this stuff out over the internet. Heck if you read careful there even a bit of distention about lube (do you or don't you use it) A tube of Christo is gonna cost about 30 bucks if you use that. Silicone will cost you 5-10. Spits free but if you don't know how to tell whether an o-ring needs lube I think your making a mistake putting it together and missing out on a great opportunity to learn something that will prove very useful later on.
But as I said... Odd's favor everything being ok if you choose to DIY

Good Luck Jamie, glad to have you in the family!

 

[vkalia]

with the tech, there will be no boxing it up, shipping it to a store and jostling around of the reg in shipping.. it goes from their hand to yours.. If there is indeed something wrong HOPEFULLY the tech fixes it before they put it back in your hands.

Take apart a reg. There is nothing that can go wrong with it during shipment that will NOT be blatantly obvious when you assemble and test it.

If a washer or O-ring is going to go due to a manufacturing fault, you really wont know till it goes either. Testing wont reveal much. People overstate the importance of what the regulator technician does.

Still, you are right - it buys peace of mind and that's probably worth something.

V.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Wayne,

Can you explain exactly what life threatening scenario is going to transpire while screwing in a hose or afterwards?

It seems to me that any major leak you are going to hear right away and fix, and minor leaks which hopefully you would find anyway do not result in enough gas loss to be significant. Also it may come as a surprise but many people feel qualified to turn a screw even without exhaustive training. I understand you feel wholly unqualified to turn a screw or pick up a wrench and that is of course your right. Your concern about protecting the OP from this difficult task was touching.

Perhaps you could champion the hose turning specialty course, apparently there is a need for one.

 

[Jupiter31]

Not everyone is disagreeing w/you Waynne - I made the same point (getting a tech to assemble and check it) a few posts up - its not a bad idea, and at the risk of repeating/reposting, the OP lives in the Tampa area; should be a number of LDS' willing to do the work.

 

[EODiver]

Cristolube is what you said was recommended, then use it (just enough to make the o-rings shiny). When you screw the hose(s) in don't go gorilla tight, the o-ring is the seal. Torque specs may or may not be available, but snug is the goal. Use two fingers to tighten the wrench. Put it on a cylinder and listen for leaks, then try in a pool.

Learn by doing things, and question everything if you feel it's necessary.

By the way, you don't need a large tube of Cristolube, just the small compac. I maintain about 20 regulators and don't use very much in a year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Wayne,

Can you explain exactly what life threatening scenario is going to transpire while screwing in a hose or afterwards?

It seems to me that any major leak you are going to hear right away and fix, and minor leaks which hopefully you would find anyway do not result in enough gas loss to be significant. Also it may come as a surprise but many people feel qualified to turn a screw even without exhaustive training. I understand you feel wholly unqualified to turn a screw or pick up a wrench and that is of course your right. Your concern about protecting the OP from this difficult task was touching.

Perhaps you could champion the hose turning specialty course, apparently there is a need for one.

I appreciate the sarcasm, but it sounds to me like those who are advising against DIY assembly are saying that, based on their personal experiences, brand-new equipment has a not-insignificant probability of failure. It's not the relatively trivial hose-to-port connection that people are concerned about. Am I right, previous posters? In other words, if a qualified tech assembles the rig, the tech is likely to be able to immediately determine whether there is a manufacturing defect in the product, which is better than waiting until one gets in the water.

Again, am I correctly interpreting what people are saying here? That regulators have been found to be defective straight out of the box a disturbing number of times? (Like, more than one in a million?) That's scary. Obviously, any product can be defective, but one would think that a scuba regulator would be one of the more thoroughly tested kinds of products. I would hope that testing and adherence to the strictest quality standards is a reason why a such a mechanically simple product costs hundreds of dollars.

 

[snowflake4727]

I have had 3 regulators have IP problems straight from the box. I have sold far less than a million regs. When ever I sold one I bench tested it or if I was busy had the tech do it. We caught problems that way before they became issues for the customers.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have had 3 regulators have IP problems straight from the box. I have sold far less than a million regs. When ever I sold one I bench tested it or if I was busy had the tech do it. We caught problems that way before they became issues for the customers.

Are you implying that when one orders a reg from an on-line retailer like Scubatoys or Leisure Pro, they don't bench test it before shipping it to a customer? I'm just askin'--I really don't know.