After diving the regulator for a solid year, the 1st stage finally started creeping. When I threw it on the bench, the IP went to 150 and crept at a rate of about 1 psi per second. I released the pressure every time it hit 175 psi, so I'm not sure if it would have kept going or eventually stopped, though I suspect it would have kept going... Is this thing under warranty? 
And now for the back story:
The regulator that failed is a prototype of the regulator now available for sale. @cerich was kind enough to let me test it, so I took it upon myself to see what kind of abuse it could take. I didn't know when it was last serviced or how much abuse it had already seen, so I decided to grab a few numbers. When I received the reg, the 1st stage had an IP of 144 psi and the 2nd stage had a cracking pressure of .9 inches of water. Then the tests began.
142 dives in total
95 dives in salt water
47 dives in fresh water
33 dives beyond 150 ft (never any problems)
Now for the fun numbers:
9 intentional floods in salt water (remove / replace 1st stage from tank during dive)
10 intentional floods in fresh water (remove / replace 1st stage from tank during dive)
0 cleanings.
That's right, I never cleaned, rinsed, or serviced the regulator between dives. I also stored it in the back of my truck, which spent the summer in GA / FL and winter in DE. The most I did was check IP / cracking pressure to make sure it still somewhat functioned. Yes, regulator failure was a part of every dive plan in the event something went wrong. (I had redundancies on top of redundancies...I got approval from The Department of Redundancy Department approved my plan.) Around last August, I adjusted the cracking pressure to 1.1 due to a slight continuous free flow when the adjustable air flow was wide open.
On Monday, the regulator had finally seen enough. It started to free flow uncontrollably. Yesterday, I went ahead and rebuilt the regulator using the 1st and 2nd stage kits available through deep6gear.com. (For the record, I am a service tech- I pretend to know what I'm doing) The regulator is back in working condition and breathes as good as ever. Time for Round 2! I'm thinking an oven and liquid nitrogen will be used this time around...
(For the record, I do not recommend treating your regulator as poorly as I have- Your Mileage May Vary. Be smart and maintain your regulator the way you're supposed to.)
And now for the back story:
The regulator that failed is a prototype of the regulator now available for sale. @cerich was kind enough to let me test it, so I took it upon myself to see what kind of abuse it could take. I didn't know when it was last serviced or how much abuse it had already seen, so I decided to grab a few numbers. When I received the reg, the 1st stage had an IP of 144 psi and the 2nd stage had a cracking pressure of .9 inches of water. Then the tests began.
142 dives in total
95 dives in salt water
47 dives in fresh water
33 dives beyond 150 ft (never any problems)
Now for the fun numbers:
9 intentional floods in salt water (remove / replace 1st stage from tank during dive)
10 intentional floods in fresh water (remove / replace 1st stage from tank during dive)
0 cleanings.
That's right, I never cleaned, rinsed, or serviced the regulator between dives. I also stored it in the back of my truck, which spent the summer in GA / FL and winter in DE. The most I did was check IP / cracking pressure to make sure it still somewhat functioned. Yes, regulator failure was a part of every dive plan in the event something went wrong. (I had redundancies on top of redundancies...I got approval from The Department of Redundancy Department approved my plan.) Around last August, I adjusted the cracking pressure to 1.1 due to a slight continuous free flow when the adjustable air flow was wide open.
On Monday, the regulator had finally seen enough. It started to free flow uncontrollably. Yesterday, I went ahead and rebuilt the regulator using the 1st and 2nd stage kits available through deep6gear.com. (For the record, I am a service tech- I pretend to know what I'm doing) The regulator is back in working condition and breathes as good as ever. Time for Round 2! I'm thinking an oven and liquid nitrogen will be used this time around...
(For the record, I do not recommend treating your regulator as poorly as I have- Your Mileage May Vary. Be smart and maintain your regulator the way you're supposed to.)
