O2 clean reg

[BigJetDriver]

Genesis,

Yeah, I fully agree with you. Ham-handedness and the "Duh" factor can always defeat proper procedure!

You are quite right, any fire driven by the combination of high pressure oxygen and metal that is actually burning can only be described as "spectacular"!!!

BJD

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

so now that you all have defined it real well for him answer his question what is a good average cost for his regulator being 02 cleaned .

 

[TechBlue]

so now that you all have defined it real well for him answer his question what is a good average cost for his regulator being 02 cleaned .

What is it they say, something about an educated consumer...... If you are having the reg done by your local LDS as you are doing the class they may give you a break, but your are more than likely looking in the region of $80-$90, something to bear in mind if you need more regs you could also just by an O2 clean 1st

 

[Genesis]

Should be able to be done in an hour. A fair price is $50 for the labor plus the parts that actually need to be replaced, if any. Many regs require NO parts to be swapped.

An annual service SHOULD (IMHO) include O2-cleaning. If you're not going to clean the reg why bother to "service" it? If you are going to clean it, get out the ultrasonic machine and CLEAN it!

If you're paying for annuals AND O2 cleaning you're getting ripped off; a properly-cleaned reg IS O2-clean. (It may not, however, have the "better" O-rings in it - although these days it should!)

 

[TechBlue]

Should be able to be done in an hour. A fair price is $50 for the labor plus the parts that actually need to be replaced, if any. Many regs require NO parts to be swapped.

An annual service SHOULD (IMHO) include O2-cleaning. If you're not going to clean the reg why bother to "service" it? If you are going to clean it, get out the ultrasonic machine and CLEAN it!

If you're paying for annuals AND O2 cleaning you're getting ripped off; a properly-cleaned reg IS O2-clean. (It may not, however, have the "better" O-rings in it - although these days it should!)

By the same token, if you strip a reg to clean it and do a rebuild why wouldn't you replace all the soft goods? On the cleaning side, we service everything to O2 clean but as you know it is a little more involved than dropping the parts in an ultrasonic cleaner, granted not rocket science but then smart is not neccesarily a requirement to be a shop monkey, in a lot of cases a semi warm body is enough of a qualification.

 

[Genesis]

By the same token, if you strip a reg to clean it and do a rebuild why wouldn't you replace all the soft goods? On the cleaning side, we service everything to O2 clean but as you know it is a little more involved than dropping the parts in an ultrasonic cleaner, granted not rocket science but then smart is not neccesarily a requirement to be a shop monkey, in a lot of cases a semi warm body is enough of a qualification.

Yes, but not THAT much more involved

As for replacing all the soft goods, an awful lot of shops replace ONLY what's in the annual kit. I don't use the annual kits, since I ain't a shop monkey, and I replace ALL O-rings during an overhaul - whether they need it or not.

Of course I'm buying them for a nickel each, .vs. $1/each for the "official" ones

Ah, the joys of doing it yourself.... (among other things, that includes having only yourself to blame if you screw it up!)

 

[TechBlue]

amen to that

 

[dc4bs]

I use a set of four Apeks TX-100 regulators. The O2 service kit includes the O-rings, and the filters. The seats are HP O2 compatible. Cleaning and an O2 compatible lube, such as Christolube, is required.

Interestingly, direct from Apeks, when fitted with the kit and properly cleaned, these regulators were approved for 100% O2 service. After Aqualung/U.S. Divers bought them, this statement was negated.(Thank you, American tort law system!)

P.S.---Parts are still available.

BJD :anakinpod

Hehe.

Apeks also has(had?) a version of the ATX40 that even comes from the factory O2 clean and sealed up in a bag to keep it that way. At least untill you use it the first time. I have 2 I use for deco bottles. The only visible difference to the 'standard' atx40 is the plastic trim parts are bright (nitrox) green instead of black. The standard atx40 (with a proper O2 cleaning) is identical to the fancy green ones I got except for the color. If you dig around on the apeks website, you should be able to find it.

Even at the higer price it was worth it as the 'regular one & an O2 cleaning would have been slightly more expensive (I wasn't certified to do my own cleaning then). And it looks prety cool.

I just spent most of last saturday cleaning all 4 Apeks regs I use for tek diving (2 x atx 40 & 2 x atx 100) since It's been a year since it was last done...

I think the shop I use charges about US $60 per regulator. Since I did all the work myself, labor cost wasn't an issue and all I paid for was the parts kits.

The Apeks 1st stage parts kit contains all the O-rings, the filter and a replacement high-pressure seat for the reg that are all O2 service compatible (but they need to be cleaned before using them for O2 service as well...). The 2nd stage kit has O-rings and a new piston seat as well.

Basicaly, The O2 cleaning process is this: Break down the reg to it's component parts. O2 clean everything including the new kit parts (this is the painstaking, time consuming part of the job)..). Rebuild it using the replacement kit parts (toss the old ones out). Put it on the flowbench and adjust it to the proper, manufacturer specifications.
Hmm... Ask the shop to keep the parts they replace. Most will NOT be willing to give them back to you for liability reasons (so you don't try to swap parts out on your own and end up setting yourself on fire or anything ) but if they are reputable, they will keep them and show them to you so you know they were actualy replaced. It's just like asking an auto mechanic to show you the old/bad parts he replaced on your car...

 

[TechBlue]

Hehe.

Apeks also has(had?) a version of the ATX40 that even comes from the factory O2 clean and sealed up in a bag to keep it that way. At least untill you use it the first time. I have 2 I use for deco bottles. The only visible difference to the 'standard' atx40 is the plastic trim parts are bright (nitrox) green instead of black. The standard atx40 (with a proper O2 cleaning) is identical to the fancy green ones I got except for the color. If you dig around on the apeks website, you should be able to find it.

Even at the higer price it was worth it as the 'regular one & an O2 cleaning would have been slightly more expensive (I wasn't certified to do my own cleaning then). And it looks prety cool.

I just spent most of last saturday cleaning all 4 Apeks regs I use for tek diving (2 x atx 40 & 2 x atx 100) since It's been a year since it was last done...

I think the shop I use charges about US $60 per regulator. Since I did all the work myself, labor cost wasn't an issue and all I paid for was the parts kits.

The Apeks 1st stage parts kit contains all the O-rings, the filter and a replacement high-pressure seat for the reg that are all O2 service compatible (but they need to be cleaned before using them for O2 service as well...). The 2nd stage kit has O-rings and a new piston seat as well.

Basicaly, The O2 cleaning process is this: Break down the reg to it's component parts. O2 clean everything including the new kit parts (this is the painstaking, time consuming part of the job)..). Rebuild it using the replacement kit parts (toss the old ones out). Put it on the flowbench and adjust it to the proper, manufacturer specifications.
Hmm... Ask the shop to keep the parts they replace. Most will NOT be willing to give them back to you for liability reasons (so you don't try to swap parts out on your own and end up setting yourself on fire or anything ) but if they are reputable, they will keep them and show them to you so you know they were actualy replaced. It's just like asking an auto mechanic to show you the old/bad parts he replaced on your car...

Craig,

As BJD says since Aqualung took over Apeks no longer sells an O2 service reg or kit here in the US, as a matter of fact I clearly states on the service kits that if you intend to use the regulator above 40% you have to clean the service kit yourself. Any LDS should give you your serviced reg back with the old parts they replaced, I have heard of shops stating the "we only do this so you can't try to use the parts yourself" line but I think that is a load of bollocks. I think we've actually gone over a similar thread where we discussed the fact that the manufacturer doesn't actually prohibit the LDS from selling parts-but that's a whole different story

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Do you know what is ACTUALLY different between the Nitrox and "regular" kits on the Mk20/25?

At this point the o-rings in the annual service kits are edpm so there is nothing different except that you should replace all the O-rings when you do the O2 cleaning rather than just the dynamic o-rings included in the annual service kit. Plus if it's O2 clean you get to put the new nitrox sticker on the yoke knob although that does not actually come in the nitrox kit - you have to order it separately.