how much wear??

[HeatCker]

to those that service gear...
how much wear does the sharp edge of the orifice put on the high and low pressure seats while a reg is in storage, ie does it leave an impression??
vs..
how much wear and tear is put on while in use considering half the time your inhaling and the orifice is off the seat??
vs...
how much wear is put on the seats when you first crack open your tank valve??
thanks guys.

 

[lexvil]

It depends, most first stages rest away from the seat while unpressurized, there may be exceptions but can’t think of any off the top of my head, some seconds do the same (Atomic, Zeagle F8)

The off seat time during diving is a non factor, if you do 100 1 hours dives in a year, the seat is lifted for an equivalent time to two days storage.

Most modern seat material will not take a set that makes leaking an issue for a loooong time.

 

[runsongas]

with adjustable 2nds, you can also purposely set the orifice to have a small gap to the seat with the adjustment knob all the way out

 

[halocline]

How much wear occurs in storage depends on the 2nd stage design; balanced 2nds with light springs tend to wear less than unbalanced 2nds that use heavier springs. Seat saver features basically eliminate seat wear during storage. 1st stage seats do not wear in storage because the valve is open when the regulator is unpressurized.

 

[NAM001]

despite any thing else,,,,,,,, you question is based on time of use vs non use. If you use that reg 2 hours a week it is very little difference from use while in storage. I would suspect that the greatest problem with storage is the time related natural degradation of parts. Parts such as Orings that deteriate at a known rate over time. the things that is avoided with regular scheduled maintenance.

 

[HeatCker]

thanks for the info and explanations guys ... appreciate it