Your opinion regarding regulator service intervals

[Litefoot]

Let's assume you're starting with a properly tuned and functioning first and second stage regulators. The manufacturer suggests servicing every two or three years or after so many dives (let's say 100) whichever comes first. Do you typically adhere to that policy or do you service "as needed"? I read Couv's excellent regulator inspection checklist and will be definitely using that.

I doubt that I'll plunge as much as most of you. It may take five years to get to 100 dives and 90% of that will be in fresh water. If I'm careful maintaining / inspecting my regs and if they breath normally and if IP pressure is in spec, do I need to send them in for service after 2-3 years? Or is there a time frame when components, particularly rubber, start to break down and need replacement regardless of "mileage"?

 

[lowwall]

In aviation, there is something called "on condition maintenance".

Here's one definition "The on-condition maintenance strategy allows routine inspections. However, parts and systems that operate within limits are left untouched. Periodic checks ensure that systems are functioning within safe operating limits. The specific system goes through the maintenance process at the indication of a defect."

This is in contrast to preventative maintenance which is performed at a given interval regardless of condition. The interval will be some combination of flight hours, calendar time, and/or number of flights.

Here's what I do as a vacation diver who services my own regs and has extra service kits on hand. A couple of weeks before the vacation, I run through Couv's checklist. If everything is OK. I pack it for the trip. If not, I service it.

If you decide to do this and don't service your own stuff, make sure you inspect early enough to get everything serviced before the trip.

I should note @rsingler's big caveat. If you go long enough without opening up the first stage, especially if you are diving saltwater, you may find it very difficult to open when the time does come.

 

[johndiver999]

If it is good equipment you can go way past 100 dives. For regulators if you check intermediate pressure, actively and frequently check for slight leaks and pay attention to mouthpiece and also do the vacuum check of second stage before each dive, the chance for failure is probably less than when the regulator was last “messed with”. Especially for use in fresh water and storage in a reasonable place. I would be comfortable with 5 years and a few hundred dives without service, but the reality is that the second stage seat will probably need to get tightened a couple of times on a lot of second stages during that period.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

I think we all agree on not servicing your regulators before a trip if you can’t dive them after seriving prior to your trip.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I take care of my regs and I pay attention to how they are performing. I ignore the manufacturer recommendation for service intervals. I have mine serviced every 3-4 years typically. Mine are Aqua Lung regs. Yes, I don't get the free parts for life. I couldn't care less. I'm still far better off financially to pay for the parts when I have them serviced.

 

[rsingler]

I had (until after my last trip) a Mk10 sealed with a SPEC Boot that I had not serviced in over 7 years. I used @Couv 's checklist religiously and until I came home from this last trip with a little IP drift, everything has been stable. I suspect my knife edge needs a little polishing now after all these years.

BUT! My benign neglect (after checking regularly with the Regulator Checklist) lasted for 7 years with one exception. Every year I would remove, clean and replace the yoke bolt. For all the designs that have traded an o-ring at the neck of the bolt for the end seal that is now almost universal, the bolt threads (DIN or Yoke) ALL are percolated with salt water forced down the threads at depth which  never gets rinsed out. Verdigris sets in, and if I had waited seven years to remove the bolt, I would have needed a pipe wrench.

@lowwall 's post above is brilliant, and @johndiver999 is spot on.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

My first ever reg (cressi something something model, nothing fancy), I dove it for 10years, ~500 dives, 100% of them in salt water (18C to 24C, so nothing cold), never did any service, never had any issues.

I wouldn't listen too much to people saying that regs - especially when you just dive recreationally - need to be serviced once in 1-2-3 years and here is why:

Think about rental regs in places like Asia, peripheral EU, Egypt and so on (i.e. places where a sht ton of recreational diving is happening). I would bet that the average service interval for 99.9999% of those regs is like once in 10 years at best. Yet, those regs still perform and dont explode underwater. So why would you bother servicing your reg regularly if you have a humongous sample size of regs working fine for 5-10 years? IMO you are waaay more likely to have it damaged by an unqualified shop technician during service (assuming you dont service it yourself).

So for my regs, if there arent any issues, I am not even thinking about touching them for the first 5 years.

 

[rsingler]

So for my regs, if there arent any issues, I am not even thinking about touching them for the first 5 years.

So, my friend (whom I see every day) is the same great guy he always was. Reliable, friendly, better looking than me. All-around best friend.

And then I pull out an old video from my cell phone, and suddenly realize, jeez! He's gotten skinny, and gray, and he sure is a lot crabbier than he was five years ago! He's still my friend, but I guess there's some sh!t I've gotten used to.

...jes' sayin'.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

So, my friend (whom I see every day) is the same great guy he always was. Reliable, friendly, better looking than me. All-around best friend.

And then I pull out an old video from my cell phone, and suddenly realize, jeez! He's gotten skinny, and gray, and he sure is a lot crabbier than he was five years ago! He's still my friend, but I guess there's some sh!t I've gotten used to.

...jes' sayin'.

I am glad it wasn’t about a close friend that you see every day in the morning in the washroom

Got me scared for a second

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

You can probably get away with longer service intervals with diaphragm regs as opposed to piston regs, especially unsealed (non spec) piston 1st stages.
It’s not that the HP seat and O-rings get worn out in pistons, it’s that they get grimy, especially in dirty salt water as in doing beach dives where sand and grit from agitated surf can get into the ambient chamber and it’s the grit that get in and sticks to the lube, then works it’s way under the piston head O-ring and the HP dynamic O-ring and can wear the metal away.
So, theoretically the soft parts in a piston design should last as long as the soft parts in a diaphragm model but the piston needs more periodic cleaning. However once you tear it down to wipe it clean and re-lube you may as well just change the parts while you’re at it. This is how and why pistons get serviced more.
For me, SPEC pistons kinda scare me, and they seem like a bigger PITA to deal with. What if the packing wasn’t done thoroughly and there are air pockets? What happens when salt water gets into one of those air pockets and sits there?
I’ve seen to much erroneous crap happen with diaphragm regs to fully trust them. The only one I truly like and trust are the AL Conshelfs because they have a captured and bullet proof HP seat.
The piston design is super simple and extremely reliable just because of it’s internal simplicity and lack of too many parts, plus the way the HP seat is captured. Regardless of the open ambient chamber, I’m still a piston fan and don’t believe an open chamber is the end of the world. A quality brand piston reg can handle a hell of lot of abuse and still be fine. If it couldn’t then Scubapro wouldn’t be at the top with their flagship MK25 and also the MK2 evo.
But yeah, for ocean diving pistons need more service, unless it’s perfectly pristine clear fresh water.