There is a lot of confusion out there about whether to have your regulator serviced or not. Diver from time to time will ask us to just check it out since I’ve only used it a couple times in the last year. Apparently these people believe that, because their regulator has received little or no use since it was last worked on, it requires little or nothing in the way of maintenance. This is seldom the case. Most equipment manufacturers recommend and some require a minimum one-year service/inspection interval for regulators to maintain the warranty regardless of how little they are used.
Why?
Regulator performance is affected by far more than just how little or how much use it receives.
Every regulator contains many O-rings. These O-rings are critical to the regulator’s ability to function safely. Over time, these O-rings can dry out, oxidize, shrink and crack. This occurs regardless of whether the regulator is used or not. The first stage of a regulator also contains a high- or low-pressure seat. As time passes, these seats harden and shrink. They become indented by the sharp valve orifices against which they are constantly being pressed. This can cause a regulator’s intermediate pressure to “creep” and second stages to malfunction and free flow.
Therefore, even though a regulator may not have been used in the past year, these O-rings and valve seats may still need replacement if the regulator is to perform safely. The longer a regulator goes without service used or not the greater this need becomes.
Instructional and active divers such as Divemasters and Instructors have their regulators serviced as often as every three to six months.
So don’t ruin your next dive due to lake of maintenance get your regulators serviced annually at least!
Why?
Regulator performance is affected by far more than just how little or how much use it receives.
Every regulator contains many O-rings. These O-rings are critical to the regulator’s ability to function safely. Over time, these O-rings can dry out, oxidize, shrink and crack. This occurs regardless of whether the regulator is used or not. The first stage of a regulator also contains a high- or low-pressure seat. As time passes, these seats harden and shrink. They become indented by the sharp valve orifices against which they are constantly being pressed. This can cause a regulator’s intermediate pressure to “creep” and second stages to malfunction and free flow.
Therefore, even though a regulator may not have been used in the past year, these O-rings and valve seats may still need replacement if the regulator is to perform safely. The longer a regulator goes without service used or not the greater this need becomes.
Instructional and active divers such as Divemasters and Instructors have their regulators serviced as often as every three to six months.
So don’t ruin your next dive due to lake of maintenance get your regulators serviced annually at least!
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