Reg Service

[BuckSlice4]

Howdy,
I Purchased new gear last year but was only able to get 10 dives in last summer. I was doing some reading and notice that it is suggested to take my regs in once a year to be serviced. They were clean after every dive and stored dry, and hung up not stored in the bag.

So what I need to know is, do I need to take my regs in with only ten dives on them?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you want to keep the warranty in force you may have to. Also depending on the reg sometimes little use is harder on them than being dove weekly. And if you bought them new why not take advantage of the free parts? Regular service of the reg is a good habit to get into.

 

[ronbeau]

Howdy,
I Purchased new gear last year but was only able to get 10 dives in last summer. I was doing some reading and notice that it is suggested to take my regs in once a year to be serviced. They were clean after every dive and stored dry, and hung up not stored in the bag.

So what I need to know is, do I need to take my regs in with only ten dives on them?

You might get conflicting opinions on how to store the regulator but I have read many articles indicating that the best way to store a regulator is laying flat in an temperature-controlled ozone-free environment with the dust cap off.

The essence behind the reasoning is that doing so puts the minimum amount of stress on the regulator. The ozone free environment protects the rubber components of the regulator. Leaviing the dust cap off allows air to enter the regulator which prevents moisture from being trapped in the first stage.

The regualtors used by my family are stored in a heated/air conditioned spare bedroom laid out in a large drawer.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I would not take your reg in for service prior to a trip to a far off land! I get my regs serviced when I cna take them for a local dive before going on a trip. This is not a safety deal it is a money/comfort deal. I want my regs and I don't want to rent one in a vacation location. Just my 500 psi but most problems I have seen happen the first dive after service.

 

[b1gcountry]

A regulator service interval of 12 months was a very good idea when internal regulator parts and O-Rings were made of natural rubber. The rubber would abrade, dry out, or just wear out over just a few seasons, so you absolutely had to service your regulators yearly to prevent this from happening. Currently, regulators no longer use rubber parts (other than maybe exhaust tees), and the new synthetic materials like Viton, and Butyl (?) have much longer life spans than the rubber parts the service recommendations were based off. The service recommendations, however, were never increased, either as a liability issue, or just so the dive industry could make more money (probably a combination of both).

The first thing that would happen to a modern, well-cared for regulator is that the HP and LP seats take a set to them, therefore affecting the IP and cracking pressure...

The internal parts of the reg has a sharp round barrel called an orifice that presses against a seat when the valve is closed. When the valve is opened, the orifice moves away from the seat slightly to allow air to pass through. Over time, the sharp orifice pressing against this seat can cause the seat to get a small indentation or set in it. The deeper the indentation gets, in general, the farther the orifice needs to travel to properly seal against the seat. You have one seat in teh First Stage, and one seat in each second stage. When the seat in the first stage takes a set, it can cause the Intermediate Pressure (the pressure supplied over the LP hoses) to either increase or decrease. When the second stage takes a set, it will generally cause that stage to breathe easier, or freeflow slightly. A second stage with no pressure applied to it (with the exception of Posiedon regs) will have the LP orifice resting on the LP seat. First stages vary, but long story short, any set will happen whether or not you use the regulators.

I rebuild all my regulators myself. I generally have a very good idea of what to expect from my regs performance wise, and I can tell if they are not breathing properly. I also test the IP of the regulators on a regular basis, so I can tell if it is drifting over time. Generally, if a reg is not breathing the way I want it to, it is only a five minute adjustment to the orifice height, but I can guarantee that any shop you take it to will not do this for you. They will insist on a full service of the reg.

As far as the warranty goes, you will be paying more in service fees, normally, than you will in parts. Sherwood kits are practically free. Scubapro kits are extremely marked up ($25 retail for maybe $1 worth of parts), but you can't get the seats anywhere else, so they got you. IOW, if you get your regs serviced every other year, and pay for the parts, you may still come out ahead $$$ wise. If you go three years, I guarantee you will.

I will not tell you whether it is safe or not to service your regs less than yearly, although some makers now recommend a two year service interval on their regs (Atomics and Dive Rite IIRC). What I will say is that I, personally, would not have any reservations diving with an otherwise frequently-used and well-cared-for reg that breathes well, but hasn't been serviced in a couple years.

Tom

 

[spectrum]

So what I need to know is, do I need to take my regs in with only ten dives on them?

It depends. I think I agree with all that has been said already.

You may have a warranty/free parts arrangement that requires you to do so on a fixed minimum interval. Consult your documents or shop. Depending on the cost of kits and local service fees the financial impact varies if you choose to let the warranty lapse.

10 dives did not put any appreciable wear on the regulator. Some adjustments can drift as the regulator sits idle and a regulator can become unpredictable from that.

One reason for the fixed interval in internal contamination. One good slug of salt water down the inlet of your first stage can set you up for a lot of bad news. If you are confident that this did not happen then you can be more comfortable in bending the 1 year rule.

Whatever you do never go from the service bench to a trip. If nothing else give it a good long workout in a swimming pool before taking it away following a service event.

If you get it done during the off season you can expect faster service and not have your summer of diving interrupted.

Pete

 

[matjo1]

To service or not to service, that is the question! First of all, do a search on this subject and you will be rewarded with more reading material that you may care to look over for the next few weeks! I am a reg tech. I am biased, but here are my reasons for being so...
#1- As your HP seat (ST stage) ages, your IP will creep up by a few psi's. Not a big deal, but combine that with an aging LP seat (2nd stage) which now does not need quite as much pressure to open up and you can end up with a regulator that leaks. (you know, that faint hissing sound that you can't turn off) Think of your reg as a kitchen faucet. The more you use it, the more you have to tighten it to get it to close. A leaking reg is no more than annoyance and an easy to fix, but on vacation, away from a qualified tech, it can be a pain in the ass.
#2- O-rings and lubricants are synthetic materials that are soft because of the solvents that they contain. These solvents evaporate whether you are using your reg or not, and given enough time, O-rings get brittle and lubricants get gummy. NOT A GOOD THING.
#3- Why the heck would you want too null the warranty on your regulator, especially if they cover parts? I know, there are many conspiracy theorists on this board that think a "once a year" overhaul is a scam, but I have seen many "one year old" regulators that should have been serviced a long time ago... It depends on use.
#4- A few things can happen to you're reg the VERY FIRST TIME you use it. Mainly inadvertently depressing the purge button of your 2nd stage (in a crowded rince tank) or a "not as tight as it should be" dust cap that lets in a few drops of water as you rince it. This will start the "rust never sleeps" prossess, which can only be stopped by a full and thorough overhaul.
#5- Salt is hydroscopic.(it attracts humidity) A piston reg's ambiant's chamber is not isolated and will fill up with salt no mather how much you rinse it. In a diaphragm reg, although it is environmentally sealed, a single salt crystal on the HP seat is enough to make it fail.
PLEASE get your reg serviced yearly,you have no idea what's going on inside.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

You can do several simple checks to see if your regulator has developed problems.

1. Check how your regulator breaths. If it takes more effort to breath than in the past service may be required.

2. Check the cracking pressure. This can be done by immersing your regulator in a sink or bucket with the mouthpiece facing up and the diaphragm down. Your regulator should start to free flow when it is less than 2 inches deep. If it is still not flowing by the time the mouthpiece floods there is probably something wrong.

3. Check for leaks from the outside in - With your regulator attached to a tank, but the pressure off, try inhaling. If the exhaust valve in the second stage is in good shape you should form a vacuum while inhaling and not be able to get air.

4. Check for leaks from the inside out. Pressurize your regulator and immerse the whole thing in a bath tub and look for bubbles. If that is inconvenient a soapy water strayed on the exterior of your regulator will do the same thing.

5. Check the intermediate pressure (IP). A pressure gauge is needed to do this. These can be purchased from Leisure Pro for around $30US. You also need to know what your IP should be, and what an acceptable tolerance is. That can be found in the service manual, many of which are available on line.

6. Check if your second stages free flow when they should not. Pressurize them and hold them up to your ear and listen. Of course if you have an adjustable balanced second stage you can stop a free flow by turning the adjustment knob unless they are really far out.


As far as maintaining your warranty for free parts goes try asking your shop for those free parts and see if you can get them without any cost then you can judge for yourself how free they are.

 

[h90]

#2- O-rings and lubricants are synthetic materials that are soft because of the solvents that they contain. These solvents evaporate whether you are using your reg or not, and given enough time, O-rings get brittle and lubricants get gummy. NOT A GOOD THING.


Modern Materials (Viton, EPDM) I would say no problem for 5 years. Viton has a guaranteed shelf life of 20 years in which no chemicals evaporate.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

...The first thing that would happen to a modern, well-cared for regulator is that the HP and LP seats take a set to them, therefore affecting the IP and cracking pressure...

The internal parts of the reg has a sharp round barrel called an orifice that presses against a seat when the valve is closed. When the valve is opened, the orifice moves away from the seat slightly to allow air to pass through. Over time, the sharp orifice pressing against this seat can cause the seat to get a small indentation or set in it. The deeper the indentation gets, in general, the farther the orifice needs to travel to properly seal against the seat. You have one seat in teh First Stage, and one seat in each second stage. When the seat in the first stage takes a set, it can cause the Intermediate Pressure (the pressure supplied over the LP hoses) to either increase or decrease. When the second stage takes a set, it will generally cause that stage to breathe easier, or freeflow slightly. A second stage with no pressure applied to it (with the exception of Posiedon regs) will have the LP orifice resting on the LP seat. First stages vary, but long story short, any set will happen whether or not you use the regulators.

I mostly agree with a couple of changes.

I have yet to see a first stage where the seat rests on the orifice when the reg is depressurized. In a piston first stage with no pressure in the compression chamber to force the piston down, the spring lifts the piston all the way up ensuring the seat is off the orifice. In a dipahragm design, the seat is upstream of the orifice, but when the reg is depressurized with no gas to force the diapgragm out against the pad and mainspring, the mainspring still acts on the pad and through the diaphragm to lift then seat off the orifice via the pin.

It makes sense as well as if the orifice rested on the seat in any first stage design, absolutely nothing would happen when you turned on the tank valve.

Second stages vary. Some use a system with an air chamber designed to ensure their is no spring pressure to force the poppet against the orifice when they are bepressurized. Others use a mechanical switch or key to depress the purge valve to accomplish the same effect by lifting the seat off the orifice in a much less mechanically complex fashion. Most designs don't bother with either method. Of those that don't, balanced regs will experience less set over time as the spring pressure is much lighter in the balanced design.