Old Sherwood Maximus - a good choice?

[anchochile]

A year ago I posted about two hand-me-down regs that I was gifted: a Sherwood Maximus SRB3600, and a Sherwood Magnum 5000 series, both dating back to probably the 1990s.

Consensus was that the Magnum 5000 series was superior, and I've been diving it for a year with no complaints and no problems - it breathes easy at any depth, never free-flows, and never gives me any issues.

My wife is now getting certified. We brought the Maximus to the shop and it was pronounced to be in good working order. She's been using it in the pool with no problems.

With her checkout dives coming up in Monterey, I'm wondering if it's a good idea for her to be using the Maximus. Will it be any less safe or functional than the Magnum I'm using? The comments on my old thread were that the Magnum is a superior design from a service standpoint. Does that mean that the Magnum is more likely to fail? What would the failure mode be - open or closed? Will it breathe less easily at depth?

Basically, I'm trying to understand if there's any reason my wife SHOULDN'T use the Maximus as her primary regulator as she starts diving.

 

[Ouvea]

The Sherwood Magnum and Oasis used to be favorites in the rental department of the shops that carried Sherwood. Several carried them in the mid 1990s but no longer (in the Monterey Bay Area). Wet Pleasure (now Diver Dan's) used to have them. Pacific Offshore Divers, which ceased operations in the mid 2000s, carried Sherwood.

As long as the regulators have been properly serviced and are free of any problems, they are perfectly fine to use. All modern regulators are designed to fail in the open position, providing excess gas. In fact, your OW course will teach you to breath from a free flowing regulator. Hope that you and your wife enjoy the certification dives.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've been diving my Maximus since the late 90's. I still like it, though it's a bit heavy. I'll qualify this by pointing out that I quit diving cold water many years ago. It breathes just the slightest bit moist, as it is designed to do to assist with dry mouth.

 

[ams511]

The Maximus is a better second stage than the Magnum. Your Magnum is a newer regulator, in this version the dry bleed valve was moved from the piston to the body of the regulator and made replaceable. In your wife's first stage, the dry bleed valve is integrated into the piston. It is non-replaceable so if clogged the piston needs to be replaced. I am not sure if Sherwood still sells the part. Check with your LDS.

 

[JackD342]

The Maximus is a better second stage than the Magnum. Your Magnum is a newer regulator, in this version the dry bleed valve was moved from the piston to the body of the regulator and made replaceable. In your wife's first stage, the dry bleed valve is integrated into the piston. It is non-replaceable so if clogged the piston needs to be replaced. I am not sure if Sherwood still sells the part. Check with your LDS.

The replacement piston was still available in the past year when I had to replace one. Hopefully the service tech knows (and cares) to measure the dry bleed flow rate for proper performance.