Regs, to service or not to service

[BoltSnap]

the corrosion despite them being sealed is the reason I don't recommend pistons get sealed... If anything gets trapped in there, it just goes wild...

This is totally inaccurate and gives the very wrong impression about piston regulators. Same thing can happen to diaphragm regulators if there was an issue with their sealing system. I have been servicing Atomic regulators since circa 1997/8 and NEVER had this type of an issue with sealed pistons at all!! I own SEVERAL Atomic regulators and they are ALL sealed and never had a problem with them and never had a problem with the school's Atomic regulators either.

You seem to have a complex against piston design and just never let go of it to the point where you imagine things all of the time with it.

 

[redacted]

Again, it's your individual choice as to when you feel comfortable with a service schedule. I have my priorities and you have yours.
Safe diving all for the new year.

Would you be willing to sell your used Mk25 seats?

 

[Bert van den Berg]

The owner's manual for one of my cars says to check the oil before you drive every day! How many people do that?

The cost to service a set of regulators (first stage two seconds stages) here in New Zealand is $180 so instead of getting my regs serviced I buy a new set from the USA every third year and sell the old set with the proviso that they need a service.

I agree that a 10 minute soak in fresh water seems too little. I dunk the secondary regs in fresh water a half dozen times with the purge button depressed and then soak them overnight. The first stage gets washed with the fitting down so water can't get into it.

 

[sierrakilo]

I agree that a 10 minute soak in fresh water seems too little. I dunk the secondary regs in fresh water a half dozen times with the purge button depressed and then soak them overnight. The first stage gets washed with the fitting down so water can't get into it.

You dunk and purge while pressurized?

 

[Centrals]

I used to have my reg serviced every year by my LSD. But after taking up tec dive, I learnt how to service them properly and routinely check and clean them. A complete overhaul after 2-3yrs regardless of anything. Apeks seats(1st and 2nd) never seem to last for more than 2-3yrs, well at least for me

 

[tbone1004]

@BurhanMuntasser nothing against them, just against packing grease into the chambers and not opening them up for extended periods of time. The damage isn't imagined, it's been witnessed and independently brought up on this very thread... It is real, it does happen, and yes, it can happen on diaphragms, but is not likely.

My only real aversion to pistons is when people start talking about how they're better than diaphragms because they flow more air. While this is true, the diaphragms are still limited by the valve in terms of how much air they can actually deliver to a diver, so this point is moot.

 

[Kharon]

This is a good example of how regulators that are well taken care of can go a looooonnnnngggg time between rebuilds. It also demonstrates how unnecessary the stupid annual service requirements are for so many manufacturers.

I truely believe that these recomendations are simply to provide a cash flow to their dealers. I recently had a part on a Hollis 500SE fail. It was a rubber cover to the 2nd stage connection. I asked how to buy a replacement. Their answer - "We do not supply any parts to life support equipment to customers. Contact your dealer to have your unit serviced".

Yeah, right. Life support. The cover is cosmetic and has no functional purpose. Guess what? I used a zip tie to hold the cover in place. If that fails, I will do without it as it has absolutely no functional purpose. It's just there to make the junction look pretty.

As a long time programmer/analyst/software engineer I always follow the axiom - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". I also do not trust anyone to do my servicing even though I love my LDS. Would you trust someone else to pack your parachute? Nahhh!

 

[Bert van den Berg]

You dunk and purge while pressurized?

Clean out the salt by dunking the primary and octi repeatedly in fresh water with the purge buttons depressed, no pressure, while keeping the first stage at a higher level so water can't go up the hose to the first stage.

 

[halocline]

I used to have my reg serviced every year by my LSD.

It's been a few years, but I suspect using LSD to service regulators might not be the best approach.

 

[BoltSnap]

@BurhanMuntasser nothing against them, just against packing grease into the chambers and not opening them up for extended periods of time. The damage isn't imagined, it's been witnessed and independently brought up on this very thread... It is real, it does happen, and yes, it can happen on diaphragms, but is not likely.

The probability is extremely low just as any other potential defect or problem with the regulator (I am talking about Atomic regulators here); it is so low that I have never witnessed this type of an issue in ANY of my Atomic regulators (they go for years without service), school's regulators or customers regulators I sold and serviced their Atomics (when I owned a dive store in NY). If there was an issue with corrosion with a sealed Atomic regulator, it is probably a manufacturing defect (extremely rare I imagine) or a technician's fault when servicing a sealed Atomic regulator and all are very low probabilities and less probably than a diaphragm regulator having the same problem. In all possibilities, it is rare defect with Atomic regulators. It isn't even a remote factor that discredits Atomic regulators or turns potential buyers from Atomic regulators. In fact, Atomic regulators are the best choice for "buy and forget" type of regulators that you never have to look back and regret buying them or worry about their reliability. If I am going to a remote island with no service centers anywhere and worried about reliability of my equipment, I'll take my Atomics and never think twice about it.

@BurhanMuntasser


My only real aversion to pistons is when people start talking about how they're better than diaphragms because they flow more air. While this is true, the diaphragms are still limited by the valve in terms of how much air they can actually deliver to a diver, so this point is moot.

It is more complicated than what you are stating and it has to do with gas density at depth and ability to move larger volume of air in an emergency situation. It isn't just a simple how many divers can you give air to on the surface.
Piston regulators are superior to diaphragm regulators in this regard. You will have to talk to the engineers at Atomic or SP to understand this point based on their engineering background on this matter.