Sherwood SR-1 Free Flows at Cold Water Depth

[garyd54220]

Man, I actually feel bad for the Sherwood rep here for the pounding he is taking!

I think Sherwood makes, and has always made, excellent regulators. I have dove them and continue to dive them. I think the old Sherwood Ultima which consisted of an Oasis first stage and a Poseidon Odin second stage was fantastic and I still use one. But I really feel the need to comment.

The one historical rap on Sherwood -whether deserved or not- was always that they were "hard breathers" and compared to other brands (ScubaPro in particular from the reputation and marketing perspective) they were a bit harder breathers but the engineering that made them a bit harder to crack was part of what made them so good in cold water. The SR-1 is a fine regulator but it's engineeering has some clear similarities to some of the ScubaPro models and therefore it has some of the same limitations in cold water. I would refer to my first post in this thread (whenever it was).

Where I think Sherwood has erred with this regulator is in not admitting -originally or currently- that the SR-1 is a great performer within the limits of its design. It is not a cold water reg...period. In order to make it perform reliably in cold water it needs to be de-tuned to the point where it's right back in the "hard breather" category. Then people get pissed off for spending a premium price for a reg that performs like the lower cost model ie. Maximus, Blizzard or even Magnum, that they should have bought in the first place because those regs are great in cold water.

IMHO the two issues here are:

1) Sherwood needed/needs to be more forthcoming regarding this regulator in that while it is an excellent performer, it has certain environmental limitations (cold water)
2) People need to research their purchases better and buy a product that is engineered and built for the environment in which they plan to use it.

BUT in this instance, they might be excused somewhat for their purchase of the SR-1 because they were not adequately warned by the manufacturer of this design's environmental limitations.

More than 'nuff said!!


Gary

 

[bogey]

with all this talk about the SR1 i'd like to ask if anyone has ever tried the SHERWOOD MAXIMUS reg. i'm thinking about trying one. currently using an old style ABYSS MR22. never given me a single problem but i like the idea of being able to adjust the air flow. any suggestions? thanks.

 

[lsorenson]

Me and my wife both dive with the SR1's... Warm and cold without any issues to date and that's with @ 350 dives between us... The only time we had any problem was during our last trip to Bonaire. Since we both had over 100 dives on our regs, I took them in for service (@ 1 month before we went to Bonaire) In the month before the trip I had one lake dive to fetch a lost item for a friend using my own tanks... During our trip in Bonaire I experienced a banging noise coming from my first stage for the entire dive and my wife heard the bang from her first stage twice on the same dive... I felt the stage was going to free flow as when I was breathing I felt a "push" of air but it never free flowed and I had no other issues with it during the trip..

When I returned, I was discussing it with my dive shop (friends) and they asked me to bring the regs by... They broke them open to find my regs stuffed with aluminum oxide and my wife's had some... They cleaned them up at no charge and we have had no issues since. Bonaire trip was back in April... Wife just came back from the Bahamas following a week on a live aboard with no problems other than the water being to warm... I am sure the oxide came from some bad tanks while diving in Bonaire...

I am pleased with my regs and the quarry's are cold a depth here in NC, down to the 40's... I know its not 33* but its far below the 85* that others are mentioning here... I would buy again but in full disclosure, its the only reg I have ever owned!!! SR1 first/second, octo and Brute pony... Wife has the SR1 first/second stage...

lee

 

[RTee]

I purchased a SR1 in April 2009 and I must have accumulated over 150 dives from cold to warm and shallow to deep (and a combination of cold and deep...in excess of 100 ft). Initially it came with the dual octo which I replaced last year mainly due to the fact that it was hissing at the surface after a year and a bit of trying to rectify that and elected for an octo from another brand.

As for my SR1, the only problem I got was that it free flowed during an ice dive in Feb 2011 (first time ever). When I brought it to the Diving store for its annual service I told the technician to check the intermediate pressure. Not long after, he told me that the pressure had crept up and he needed to send it to the company. Not too long after, he received a replacement reg (both first stage and second stage) which I have not had a chance to check yet underwater. I intend to test it extensively in current as well as on cold and deep dives in the very near future in the very near future as I will be using it in Tobermory mid-Jul environment.

So far, I have been very happy about its performance and the support I got from the dive shop I purchased it from including the support we received from Sherwood.

 

[Shftrdog]

It might be a manufature error, but I don't know for sure. Does it have the cold water kit on it?

 

[dburg30]

Well, I've been using my SR-1 for over a year now. I dont do super deep / cold. I've done 60-70' and upper 40's for temp. Havent ever had an issue. Love the way it breathes... Only thing I've had was sometimes I will get a very high pitched 'whistle' that only I can hear when inhaling, but not all the time, and I doesnt seem to be depth or temp related..

 

[Desert Lake]

I purchased a SR1 in April 2009 and I must have accumulated over 150 dives from cold to warm and shallow to deep (and a combination of cold and deep...in excess of 100 ft). Initially it came with the dual octo which I replaced last year mainly due to the fact that it was hissing at the surface after a year and a bit of trying to rectify that and elected for an octo from another brand.

As for my SR1, the only problem I got was that it free flowed during an ice dive in Feb 2011 (first time ever). When I brought it to the Diving store for its annual service I told the technician to check the intermediate pressure. Not long after, he told me that the pressure had crept up and he needed to send it to the company. Not too long after, he received a replacement reg (both first stage and second stage) which I have not had a chance to check yet underwater. I intend to test it extensively in current as well as on cold and deep dives in the very near future in the very near future as I will be using it in Tobermory mid-Jul environment.

So far, I have been very happy about its performance and the support I got from the dive shop I purchased it from including the support we received from Sherwood.

Any update on this RTee?

 

[peacock62]

I had an SR-1 purchased in 08. It was my primary set up. Took it in for its 1st service and the problems started! First it started to sound like a machine gun on the surface. A very concerning pop pop pop from the 2nd stage. Checked IP pressure had work it self way up. Took it back to lds. They returned to manufacturer. Got it back. That's when the whistling and bursting of environmental seal started. Took it back, again! Got it back. 1st time on the tank SAME thing! I told the lds I had no confidence in the set up and would not dive it again. I did not receive money back and was looking for an equipment swap. The lds is not helping in way at this point. Anyone have a suggestion ?
I hope the Sherwood rep contacts me.

 

[RTee]

Sorry Desert Lake it took me so long to get back to this thread. My SR1 replacement has been performing flawlessly. I have done over 80 dives in temp as low as 41F and down to 100 ft in depth without any problem including diving in Tobermory last July.

Any update on this RTee?

 

[Seraphimx]

I've been asking around here for the SR1 because the first stage looks like the Scubapro & well the Sherwood is supposed to be an hybrid piston /sealed.

The dive shop owner I go to (Sherwood Reseller) told me he stopped selling it. The 1st stage is prone to freeflow in cold water & makes a "machine-gun like sound" when exposed to cold water. He also told me that multiple recalls & fixes haven't been able to fix this issue.

Any news? I like sherwoods.