Atomic M1 breathes terrible

[fieldzy0]

has anybody dealt with this place before Key Largo Dive Center?? I guess he is a real good atomic service place, and have been emailing him about my problem. He said that they totally dissassemble the first stage to service it and the problem is something with the first stage. I just don't want to send this up there just to get ripped off again. Anybody will tell you what you want to hear just to get your money but maybe he is the real deal and can fix it right??

 

[halocline]

has anybody dealt with this place before Key Largo Dive Center?? I guess he is a real good atomic service place, and have been emailing him about my problem. He said that they totally dissassemble the first stage to service it and the problem is something with the first stage. I just don't want to send this up there just to get ripped off again. Anybody will tell you what you want to hear just to get your money but maybe he is the real deal and can fix it right??

Its not that difficult to rebuild these things, lots of people can do it just fine, but in your case, with having problems apparently as a result of poor dealer service, you should probably send it directly to Atomic. Several people have already told you that on this thread. One of the best regulator techs in the U.S. is a regular poster on scubaboard, his username is DA Aquamaster. You might contact him if you're opposed to sending to atomic for some reason. But, I don't know what kind of access to atomic parts he has.

I'm sure you realize that unless you plan on moving, this is going to be an issue again, so the alternate is to sell the reg; atomics have good re-sale value I suspect, and get something you like that you can get serviced locally.

 

[a22shady]

SEND IT TO ATOMIC. (THE MANUFACTURER) I posted all there information on other page. Call them and a Live person will answer and you can speak directly to them. Than package your unit up send it to Atomic and it will come back correct.

 

[HatchetJoe]

If it breathes terrible at all someone messed it up. Mine is just bulletproof. The factory gets $125 for a full service and when you get it back it will be better that new, Their service dept is the equivalent of buying a new Corvette, pulling the engine and having it blueprinted. Get it done and don't monkey around with nitwits.

 

[Scared Silly]

A partial restriction might not be noticeable on the surface or at shallow depths, but at greater depths where the first stage has to flow at a higher rate, the restriction could cause IP to drop far more than normal during inhalation; that would make it breather harder. You hear about this occasionally with tank valves that are mistakenly turned 1/2 turn from off rather than 1/2 turn from full on.

Okay, I will buy that but the inlet would need to be really clogged up because opening a valve 1/2 is really very little. If that was the case the OP should have been able to notice the SPG dipping down as they breathed on it even on the surface.

 

[fieldzy0]

After contacting atomic factory(darcy on here) they said send them my M1 so they can look at it and overhaul it right free of charge. At least now i know it will be service right and perform the way it should. Nice to see that there are still companys out there that care about the products they sell and are willing to make you happy. The said part is that the people they trust to sell and maintain there products are not so willing to make things right and most of them don't care.

 

[darcyatomic]

I'm waiting on it to get here!! I will be in touch

 

[tfsails]

If the original shop "rebuilt" the second stage only and just replaced the filter on the first stage, you got ripped off. I am a semi-retired service tech at our local dive shop and I do Atomics. They are not hard to rebuild, and they are about the easiest breathers available, but they require some special tools and attention to detail to get right. If a first stage is environmentally sealed (and I'm pretty sure M1s are...) they are a royal pain in the ass to service, but that's no excuse for not doing it!

You did the right thing by sending this one back to the factory, if for no other reason than to regain your confidence in the reg. Shame on your LDS for allowing that reg to go out the door back to you! That wouldn't have happened in my shop. Hope you get it fixed properly.

 

[fieldzy0]

Okay darcy is taking care of my m1 and said i will get it back in two days. I can't wait to try it and feel the difference. Atomic also said that they will contact the shop to see why it was not serviced properly and make sure nobody else goes through this problem. After all a good service is important in this sport and the makers of these equipment want to make sure that their products work like they were designed to do.

Very nice job ATOMIC for standing behind your product.

 

[MRTdiver]

Atomic also said that they will contact the shop to see why it was not serviced properly and make sure nobody else goes through this problem.

That's good.

If you paid someone to "service" the first stage then you need to get a refund.

Like Flots said, now you really should contact that shop and get your hard earned money back. There is NO excuse now for them to not refund you.