PRO TIP - Regulator service

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cerich

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Doesn't matter what brand.

If you are going on a trip and think "I should get my regs serviced before the trip!" and they are working fine. DON'T! Just go on your trip and send them after. If they have sat for a year or two or had a problem last dive, of course send them in. Plus check your BCD functions as well, that thing is just if not more likely to have a sticky inflator as your reg having issues.

A regulator is most likely to display issues after a service, it's just the way mechanical things and human technicians interact. It may be counter intuitive but really.

I get it, some shops encourage it and in training or when they sell you stuff will say "it's a good idea to have serviced before a trip", some shops also like charging rush fees because they know we tend to get busy before a trip and remember last minute that we should get our gear serviced (as we were taught)

It's the same as oil change places still pushing 3,000 mile oil changes, when most (all?) car manufs. haven't recommended 3k oil changes in a decade plus. Only difference is in the dive industry many brands have made policies that align with the shops desires.

Just saying- Chris
 
When do you recommend bringing regs in for servicing if they are working fine during monthly dives?

My LDS (only one in the city) charges an arm and a leg for full overhaul service if the reg hasn't had regular annual maintenance (which is also kinda expensive, considering I bought my gear used for a good deal) - so anyway, it's cheaper to do the annual checkup with them than the overhaul every two years. But every ~3 years evens it out a bit but feels risky?
 
Thanks for some honest perspective on this topic.

When do you recommend bringing regs in for servicing if they are working fine during monthly dives?

My LDS (only one in the city) charges an arm and a leg for full overhaul service if the reg hasn't had regular annual maintenance (which is also kinda expensive, considering I bought my gear used for a good deal) - so anyway, it's cheaper to do the annual checkup with them than the overhaul every two years. But every ~3 years evens it out a bit but feels risky?

Even if you are not inclined to self service your own regs, pretty much any diver should be able to perform a safety check. Buy yourself a decent IP gauge for probably under 50 clams, and learn how to do a couple simple checks.

And any shop that charged me an “extra” mark up on service, because I didn’t drag my regs in often enough for for a “check up”, would never see me again. Even if they were the only shop in town. There are always options.
 
Question for regulator technicians. For a sealed diaphragm design such as Deep6, Dive Rite, Hog etc, if your regulator is in constant use, how long can it go without servicing before it $hits on you?
 
Question for regulator technicians. For a sealed diaphragm design such as Deep6, Dive Rite, Hog etc, if your regulator is in constant use, how long can it go without servicing before it $hits on you?

that’s a loaded question could be a few dives with a defect. Could be dive 201. Could be 15 years later. There are too many variables for anyone to say. I’m not a reg tech though. Maybe the question might be what’s the typical time you see before issues occur for those not following the recommended intervals. I think I saw a post where @cerich had a reg purposely pushed beyond its intervals and abused just to see. I couldn’t find the post.
 
Post dive care is king in this thread.
Long soaks in warm water will extend your service interval. Poor after dive care will hasten it.
Good on Chris R for dispelling some of the OEM hoodoo around your instant death if you do not service it at the prescribed intervals.
 
Question for regulator technicians. For a sealed diaphragm design such as Deep6, Dive Rite, Hog etc, if your regulator is in constant use, how long can it go without servicing before it $hits on you?

I think your going to have a hard time getting anyone to define the max time for a question like that.

At some point, a reg can still perform just fine on a bench test, but aged orings and seals become more likely to fail during a dive.

I will also say that pushing service windows also puts more responsibility on your shoulders.

Can you recognize the early signs of a reg failure? *not that all failures give you these, But some do.

Are you willing to tolerate a failure at the dive site? In the water? Do you keep spares on hand? Redundancy in the water?

If you are not comfortable answering these questions, then maybe you should stay pretty close to the recommended service windows. If you are comfortable with all those questions, you can probably make up your own mind on how far you can push it.
 
My intention for asking that question was more to understand the mechanics of regulators and safety windows, margin for errors. It was not to push regulator servicing for as far out as possible. Different manufacturers recommend different intervals so I was curious.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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