I only dive fresh water. Approx. 80 dives annually. I do service the regs myself every 2 years. When I open them, they still look like new. Maybe a bit of limescale on the threads. So if you‘re a freshwater diver and treat your equipment well, you can take it easy on the maintenance. Salt water diving is a totally different story. This is really hard on the regs regardless how well you rinse them after the dive.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

A thrifty diver learns that excellent post dive rinsing minimized wear, breathing problems and service costs. If only everyone was so careful after each dive. A

Thank you for the logical answer!

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Any time! A

Thanks Alex.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. A

When I was young and lived by the shore and down the street from the dive shop. Every weekend 2/3 times and sometimes during the week. We have the regs apart every weekend or two. Older now and might dive 10 times a year. So it has been about every 2 years.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Each diver picks the schedule they like so their diving is fun, not focused on what it cost. Every two years is almost a full tank of gas in my F150 so not a concern to me anymore. A

Hey Alec, great tips again. Every 300 dives sounds great for those who want save money, but it sounds little bit like: yes I got free flow in my regulator, for 5 dives now, but my Regulator needs a service every 300 dives, but I just got 285. 😂 Sure it's great to write both a year or 300 dives, but even then I could be 99 or 299 dives in a year. So I wonder why not every 18 month for weekly or monthly divers and 1 year if you dive 300 times? I wonder what you think about. Thanks again for an amazing video. 👍

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

The two key factors are number of dives and time (ie aging of o-rings). Other factors (salt, no rinsing, drag in sand, etc.) can have a strong influence so most makers pick one: # of dives or time. The rest is the diver using their smarts to determine if service is needed earlier, on schedule or latter based on their usage. A

In my carreer, I've seen too much equipments that have been more damaged by servicing than by use so now, my mentra is " f it functions within its design parameters, leave it alone " that holds for my diving regulators too. If you consider that you take a full breath avery 5 seconds, on 1 hour dive, the regulator have cycled less than 1000 times, for a casual diver like me ( and most of us, ) if I consider that I can do 1 dive a week year long, my regulator have cycled about 5, 000 times. That is nothing for a mechanical device. In storage, the first stage seat is not in contact with the volcano orifice so it does not take damage, the only part that can take damage is the seat of the second stage, most intervention I had to do is on that piece sometimes, turning it upside down in its holder to present the unharmed face sometimes I had to fabricate new ones using raw material and a hole punch. AS you say so well, " common sense" is the rule to apply there ( and everywhere ) very good topic Excellent video

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Thanks again Jacques and common sense is needed too. A

In addition I think it also depends on the regulator design. I list in order of increasing complexity and an increasing number of parts to service. Flow By Piston > Balanced Piston > Balanced Diaphram. I do the majority of my diving now with Flow By Piston regulators (fewest #parts and simple to work on). Below one hundred feet I switch to a balanced regulator. I service my own regulators. But, I was trained to service them. And I can get parts for them. In addition I have invested in the proper tools for the regulators I own. Rinse your regulator after diving as soon as possible in clean fresh water. Dry indoors. Store indoors (air conditioned). And the rubber parts of your regulator should last longer. I always check my regulator on a cylinder the night before I go diving. If there is a problem I can service the regulator or switch to a different regulator. Alec comments?

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

If know your regs and self service (and test), then have fun. There are no rubber parts inside 1st or 2nd stages any more. Modern o-rings are so much better and EAN certified too. A

Good tips on just using common sense. I have two sets of regulators one for local diving and a more basic one (lighter weight) for traveling. The Basic Cressi Reg set costs about 50% of buying new to have serviced. The more expensive Deep Six reg came with the first service included. I recently had a problem with free flow due to excessive IP beyond my ability to adjust, so Deep 6 did the service under warranty. I now have a free flow from one of my second stages and I checked the IP is correct so I purchased an adjustment tool for the secod stage to try to address the problem myself. IF I am unable to fix it it may need service and I will send it in. If I attempt to do my own work I will better learn how the equipment works but I know my limits and will seek professional assistance if necessary. I plan to take my travel gear on a shakedown dive to make sure everything works properly prior to my summer vacation. If not I'll have it serviced. Im pretty lucky to get 20 dives a year if I don't take a vacation, 30-35 dives if I do get a vacation, even then those dives are split up between two reg sets.

@jeffconley6366

5 ай бұрын

For warned many dive shops will charge a premium charge if you come into the shop with your regulator in pieces.

@kevindavison6019

5 ай бұрын

@@jeffconley6366 The Deep Six guys are great with customer service and will talk you through any easy ajustments they think are at the user level. They even have a youtube tutorial on adjusting the IP. The second stage ajustment tool just mounts between the hose and the second stage so nothing to take apart except disconnecting a hose. I get your point though. I bought an ebay regulator and took it fully apart to clean so I could use it on a tank in my garage for fillng tires etc., and had some difficulty re-assembling it without a manual.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

The final question should be, is my reg safe for me to dive? If not, find a pro, test it in a pool then enjoy the diving and not the aggravation. A

Love your videos. We still have room and homes for you in florida. 😉 😉

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Very kind but i would have to bring Kevin along to shoot Florida videos and thats way too much for anyone!. A

Last time i took my reg in, $160. I was floored. Dive shop said that the parts had gotten a lot more expensive post-pandemic.

@amadeuss3341

5 ай бұрын

It cost me 150$ to fill up a tank on my pickup this day, so 160 isn't that bad. I would be more concerned with who did the service, and how they did it.

@jeffconley6366

5 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, everything has gotten more expensive.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

It can be expensive for some models if you watched my prior video on the cost of service, many dive shops are not getting rich off reg services. A

@z00ropa

5 ай бұрын

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter I think my dive shop will be closing soon, the owner is very upset about minimum wage laws in California. If he does close, I won't have a shop within 25 miles of me, and in LA traffic 25 miles might as well be 100 miles.

Hi Alec, do you have any plans to go to the Sea Hunt event they do in fl, or do they not do them anymore? Thanks

@jeffconley6366

5 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, the guy who organized the events passed away.

@ts440s

5 ай бұрын

@@jeffconley6366 Sorry to hear that. I hope someone else can fill his shoes it just seems like the hands on outdoorsman is soon a thing of the past. I pray Alec continues on for decades he's in incredible shape. I sure wish he would tell us his secret.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Another Sea Hunt Forever event in Silver Springs is possible but not in the near future. The loss of my dear friend Bryan P. left a big organizing gap few can fill. Also the costs of attending have jumped, with little money coming from the state park. Unless someone dedicated almost a year to organize an event, this may be the last of our coming together events. A

All the manual service interval language is just company lawyer CYA (the company's) talk.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

Ай бұрын

Mostly but that is based on likely users who don't follow the recommendations, or even close to them, then have problems they want to blame on others. A

At 1:45 in the video, you mention that for ScubaPro you need two kits. Why is that? Love the video, by the way.

@Dive-D

5 ай бұрын

Some companies will have a single kit that includes parts for both 1st & 2nd stages. For example, Sherwood has 1 kit that's for the 9000 1st stage and 2nd stages. So if you have a Oasis 2nd, or a Maximus 2nd, 1 kit will include it part for them. Just know that their kits are different depending on what 2nd stage you have. That's it. Whilst Scubapro has the 2 separate kits for the 1st & 2nd stage.

@martinholloway7694

5 ай бұрын

@@Dive-D thank you! This is perfect.

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Scubapro has separate 1st and 2nd stage kits as they sell their regs independently. Meaning you can buy any 1st stage with almost any 2nd stage so 2 service kits. A

@martinholloway7694

5 ай бұрын

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter thank you for your courteous reply.

Your talking style and personality reminds me of Dr Kent Hovind😅

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

I don't know the gent but thank you. A

👍😎🤿🇵🇭!

@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter

5 ай бұрын

Hello and thanks. A