Regulator care, and when to bring it in

Your regulator is the piece of gear you trust with every breath. Good habits after each dive, and service on schedule, keep it that way.

Care after every dive

How you rinse, dry and store your regulator makes a real difference to how long it lasts. These are the two mistakes we see most, and both let water inside:

• Pressing the purge button while you rinse. It opens the second stage and lets water run back up the hose toward the first stage.
• Rinsing without the dust cap on, or with a wet one. Dry the dust cap first and make sure it’s sealed before the first stage goes anywhere near water.

After rinsing, let it dry and store it in a cool, dry place. A little silicone spray on the outside rubber and silicone parts helps them last longer.

Traveling with your regulator

Carry-on guarantees it gets to your destination with you. Checked is one less thing to haul through the airport. It’s life-support equipment, so we’d rather carry it on and know it’s not getting tossed around.

If you only dive a couple of times a year

Unless you really want your own gear, you’re probably better off renting. A regulator that sits for months still needs care and service on schedule.

Buying a regulator

Our personal favorites are Atomic’s top regulators, like the T3, but not everyone can afford them. Realistically, we tell people to buy what’s within their budget, and we walk them through the features that matter:

• How it breathes at depth and as the tank empties. Some regulators breathe harder deeper down or as the cylinder gets low. Others breathe the same at 3 feet as at 100 feet, all the way to the last breath.
• DIN or yoke. DIN connections usually handle higher pressures better.
• New or used. Buying new is like buying a car with zero miles. With used, you never know what you’re getting, and depending on how well the last owner maintained it, getting it back to shape can cost as much as new, or more.

And when people ask what happens if the regulator lets them run out of air: it doesn’t. Running out of air isn’t the regulator’s fault. Your training is to keep an eye on your air and start heading up when it gets low.

Your octo

You can have an octopus (an alternate air source on its own hose), a safe second built into your inflator (like Atomic’s SS1), or both. It belongs in the triangle between your chin and the bottom corners of your ribcage. Left side or right side both work, but your buddy needs to know where it is in an emergency, so check it in your pre-dive safety check.

Is it the regulator, or is it you?

Sometimes people confuse faulty gear with overexertion. They feel like the regulator isn’t giving them enough air, but the reality is they’re working too hard underwater and need to slow down. If it still feels hard when you’re relaxed, that’s when it’s time to bring it in.

How often to service it

Follow the service interval in your regulator’s manual. It’s different for each manufacturer. We follow the manufacturer’s interval and procedure for every regulator we service.

Planning a trip? Read how often your regulator needs service, and when not to service it. And see what we find inside a regulator that skipped service.

Bring it in sooner if you notice

• A free-flow, or a second stage that keeps hissing
• Breathing that feels harder than it used to, even when you’re relaxed
• Bubbles from a hose connection or the first stage
• Green or white crust (corrosion) on fittings
• Cracked, bulging or worn hoses and mouthpieces

When you drop it off, we inspect it first and confirm the work and the price with you before we start, and we give you back the O-rings and parts we replace.