Regulator failure - timing in service cycle

Regulator failure circumstances

  • Imperfect care - failure immediately after new purchase

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    34

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Divectionist

Contributor
Messages
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314
Location
Gold Coast, Australia
# of dives
I just don't log dives
It may take a while to collect enough data on this given the generally low failure rate, however, it would be great to have some insight into when people here experience regulator failure.

We will see the regulator set as a whole, that is, not differentiate between first or second stage failures to keep answer possibilities down - but please feel free to elaborate in a response. To account for the care factor, the poll is generally split into:
  • Perfect care - reg set has been well cared for, defined as great care taken to avoid water intrusion and generally a thorough cleaning/drying/inspecting/storing routine, perhaps some user IP checks, etc.
  • Imperfect care - anything that deviates from the above, does not necessarily mean neglect but could be a 'quick rinse' only environment, rough handling, no periodic inspection, such as often seen in busy or high volume dive environments, or from divers that do not treat their regs as overly fragile objects.
The point of enquiry will then be:
  • Before service due - the reg failed whilst it was within service specifications, as in either the number of dives or time span before the next service is due, as per the manufacturer's specification, has not been reached yet.
  • After service due - the reg failed beyond the service due date, meaning a service has been omitted.
  • Immediately after service - the reg failed immediately or shortly after a service was performed.
  • Immediately when new - the reg failed immediately after being purchased / set up brand new.

For the poll, it does not matter whether the reg failed catastrophically at depth or the failure was caught on dry land during a pre-dive check or with the IP gauge - let's consider any behaviour out of spec that is either a real problem right away, or a clear sign of the reg developing such a problem, as 'failure'. We can draw the line of IP gauge-caught failure, for example, at a creep that does not lock up close enough to the specified pressure.

With the help of those unfortunate enough to have had a reg failure, we may be able to get closer to narrowing down the age old question of when a regulator should be serviced and understand how important the care and periodic user inspection factor is for a conclusion. Battlefield stories of how you dealt with the failure on the day would of course be appreciated!
 
This is a great idea. Luckily I’ve never had a regulator failure. It SEEMS like people have more problems after a service, rather than before a service, even when service is overdue. This has led me back to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” credence. I’ll be interested to see if the data backs it up.
 
I share that philosophy. I have 2 new regs purchased last year (100 dives or 2 year interval) and I perform a quick IP check before packing them away every few dives and do a thorough long term 1st stage IP check, visual inspection, and 2nd stage disassembly and clean every 25 dives.

Despite being the ‘get the car serviced slightly ahead of schedule’ kind of person, I intend to service my regs only when I see the first signs of trouble because I trust a working regulator under my care more than the careless dive shops in the light of the empirical evidence that shines through many of these threads, or that is shared among what appears to be the majority of DIY service divers. Now if that thing was oil filled, I’d swap it frequently, but given the risk of scratches or incorrect reassembly, I’d rather go by what appear to be safe and early indicators of a slow performance decline that, caught in time, poses no discernible risk. I might add that I always dive with pony also.

Keen to see what the data shows over time as I am open to stand corrected on this.
 
It’s hard to fill in this poll. I’m diving since 2014. I have a lot of regulators (10).

I have regulators which I bought second hand and which were still working without problems 4 years after servicing.

But I also had one argon regulator which had a problem with internal pressure 1 month after when I bought it new.
 
It’s hard to fill in this poll. I’m diving since 2014. I have a lot of regulators (10).

I have regulators which I bought second hand and which were still working without problems 4 years after servicing.

But I also had one argon regulator which had a problem with internal pressure 1 month after when I bought it new.

Multiple answers permitted for that reason - it all counts.
 
The only failure I got in 40 years and more than 1000 dives was a first stage syntherised filter clogged by debris and rust.
Of course part of the problem was that, when servicing the reg, I did not change the filter with a new one. I merely "washed" it in a bath with WC cleaner (HCl), as I did not have by hand the replacement. I will never do it again...
But the real cause of the problem was a rented steel tank with a lot of rust inside...
I will never know if with a new conical filter the regulator had continued working despite the rust coming from the cylinder.
Well, in some other cases I got very small air leakage form the piston of first stage (Scubapro MK5) when not changing the dynamic O-rings each year, as prescribed. After 3-4 years without replacement, they start leaking very modestly, which I do not consider a true failure, just the sign that I overlooked servicing too long.
 
After 52 years diving with the same regulators I can happily report that I had one failure due to improper service, i.e. wrong part(s) used for service. It was the one and only time I took it to a different LDS to be serviced. Aside from the failure I would occasionally get a slight free flow when it was service time. I've since learned to service regulators myself.
 
After 52 years diving with the same regulators I can happily report that I had one failure due to improper service, i.e. wrong part(s) used for service. It was the one and only time I took it to a different LDS to be serviced. Aside from the failure I would occasionally get a slight free flow when it was service time. I've since learned to service regulators myself.
Re: free flow, the same here. But I do not consider free flow when the knob is fully out a "failure", it is juts slightly detuned.
You just tighten the knob by one turn and it stops freeflowing.
I see people tuning their SP 109 this way at service...
 
Re: free flow, the same here. But I do not consider free flow when the knob is fully out a "failure", it is juts slightly detuned.
You just tighten the knob by one turn and it stops freeflowing.
I see people tuning their SP 109 this way at service...

The free flow was because it had been used enough for the poppet to take a seat and needed service. There was a time in my life when I dived enough to make that happen inside of a year. The knob would need to be turned several times and then the breathing was noticeably harder, not unusable just not comfortable; not what I would consider a failure.

The mal service I got one time caused a full on unstoppable free flow, liked the purge was open, a failure.
 
800 dives in 28 years of diving and I have only seen one failure. Don`t know the service history, but it was a Scubapro MK20 that blew apart at the beginning of a dive. A rather impressive failure in both sound and appearance. Sounded like a bomb and emptied the tank before the diver got out of the water, say 2 minutes. He had just gotten in was at about 15-20 foot. No injuries.
 

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