Piecing together two kits, need advice on gear I already own.

[Monkeyface]

Hi there! I am new to SCUBA and my 14yo son and I are working on our cert through PADI. I just want my son to have a safe and great experience. He asked for this and I told him that if he makes the honor roll, we’ll do it together. He made the honor roll and now it’s time for me to come through for him.

We have done an intro dive with rental gear and we loved it. I want my son to have his own gear so he can be comfortable and familiar with it.

We have since accumulated some used gear in great shape and I plan on rebuilding the regulators so we can use reliable gear on a budget.

He has a Scubapro bcd with a Scubapro Air2 inflator and a Sherwood Brute 1st and 2nd stage. The 1st stage has a VERY small leak from one rubber plug with a hole in it. The seller said that is normal for that type of regulator, dry piston I believe.

I have an Auqualung SeaQuest Predator bcd with an old SeaQuest breathable power inflator that needs to be replaced.

Based on my research, I think I would like to go with a standard octopus setup for each kit and get rid of the combo breather/inflater things.

I would like to consolidate the components into a couple of kits. Currently, we have these parts to choose from:

1st stage Aeris EN250
1st stage Sherwood Brut (leaks very slowly)
1st stage Pro Mate BD 1047 (has a sort of removable adaptor piece)

2nd stage Sea quest spectrum
2nd stage Aeris A1 20177928
2nd stage Sherwood Brut
ScubaPro Air2 combo breather/inflator

I am shopping for a fourth 2nd stage as well and I would like it to “match” one of the other regs so my son will have two of the same to choose from. I also want his kit to be of the highest quality and reliability. I am an engineer and I am comfortable rebuilding all of these components.

-Which two of the 1st stage regs should we use? I like the Aeris EN250 for my son based on its small size and quality look; but I’m a newb and that’s why I’m here asking questions.

-Which of these components, if any, should I avoid?

-What is a good 2nd stage for my son’s primary? I can buy new if needed.

-Where should I buy the rebuild kits?

-Any and all advice is appreciated.

Thank you all for reading this.

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

I prefere to have two identical 2nd stages, if you can find another identical it is good.

Servicekits can be hard to find to some regulators, but if you find some to all 3 of your first stages, rebuild all 3 and try them out, it is always good to have one spare if there is any problem.

Regarding the leak, i have never heard that that would be normal for any regulator.


And welcome to the fantastic world of SCUBA.

 

[Monkeyface]

I saw the same regulator described here: Leaking Sherwood Regulator

 

[RyanT]

Yep, that's normal for the Sherwood regs with a drybleed system. It keeps the chamber free of debris. To the uninitiated it looks like a leak.

 

[runsongas]

the sherwood and aeris regs are serviceable, may need to get trident parts. lots of options for seconds, anything from used conshelfs and scubapro 109/156/g250 to a new dgx deep 6. used apeks/zeagle also pop up sometimes. if you need to keep the budget really low you can find used conshelfs for around 20 and rebuild them for almost nothing. the scubapros are better performing but will cost you a bit more. a deep 6 dgx second is 99.

maybe stop by dolphin scuba and see if they have anything on sale or available used.

 

[rsingler]

Sherwood's dry bleed system was ahead of its time. If you look at your Aeris 1st stage, you'll see holes in the cap. Sea water enters the cap and exerts increasing pressure on the back of the piston as you descend. This allows the pressure supplied to your second stage to remain constant relative to increasing sea water pressure at depth.
Sherwood, on the other hand, used a "bleed" of higher pressure air to put pressure on the back of the piston. When sea water pressure is low (or zero at the surface), the bleed air bleeds out. Hence the bubbles. As you descend, the little rubber stopper acts as a check valve to keep sea water and debris out, to prevent corrosion, and generally increase the reliability of the reg compared with one that accumulates salt and crap via those holes. That's why we're taught to soak our regs after diving - to dissolve out the salt crystals that may accumulate.

So among your first stages, the Sherwood is the best of the three.
But as noted by others, getting parts and service is the bigger issue. Until you have enough extra cash to make it worthwhile, I'd dive the Sherwood and the Aeris. Dive whatever second stage you like best. There's no need to match brands there. But the Brut is a great second as well.

 

[guruboy]

What is your budget? I have a variety of used regs for sale on this forum in the Classifieds section and can provide service kits.

But out of your current regs, I would use a combination of the Aeris and Sherwood.

 

[Monkeyface]

What is your budget? I have a variety of used regs for sale on this forum in the Classifieds section and can provide service kits.

But out of your current regs, I would use a combination of the Aeris and Sherwood.

The budget is "low as safely possible." I would love to see what you have available and I am in Sacramento with our cert classes on April 21,22 and 28,29th so I can't spend too much time shipping and rebuilding, etc.

It looks like the Aeris and Sherwood are the winners of the 1st stage. thanks everyone!

 

[Bob DBF]

Also, the Sherwood has been using the name Brute for years so you have to find out which first it is ( should have a model # starting with SRB on the first ) when ordering parts, or finding a manual.


Bob

 

[84CJ7]

When I decided to go all self service for my scuba gear I found that changed which regulators I wanted as parts or servicing difficulty vary a lot between different brands and models.
There are special tools that vary depending on your regulator you will need (some need a lot more), many can be made yourself and nothing is terribly expensive.
Documentation can be super easy to find or almost nonexistent, but many regs use the same basic design elements.
I would buy this for starters and then seek out model specific parts and service manuals online: Regulator Savvy Book | Scuba Tools