scubaal
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Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 2:48 am
First Name: Al
Location: Canberra Australia

Reusing parts?

Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:33 am

What are the general thoughts on reusing parts when servicing conshelfs?
I have 6 Conshelf SEAs that are all at least 25+ years old and going fine.
I always replace all the orings and the 2nd stage seat - they are cheap and easy to get hold of.
However I did see a comment somewhere on cleaning and reusing the filter. I usually replace them - but the small round ones for my DIN SEA's are getting hard to get. So any thoughts on how critical to replace them? If you clean them - how do you do it?
First stage seats - if they are the 'old type' I replace. If they are the newer type I inspect and put them back in if they look ok under the lupe.
Any thoughts?

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Bryan
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Re: Reusing parts?

Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:37 am

scubaal wrote:What are the general thoughts on reusing parts when servicing conshelfs?

Why re-use old parts when new ones are readily available and inexpensive ?
I have 6 Conshelf SEAs that are all at least 25+ years old and going fine.
I always replace all the orings and the 2nd stage seat - they are cheap and easy to get hold of.
However I did see a comment somewhere on cleaning and reusing the filter. I usually replace them - but the small round ones for my DIN SEA's are getting hard to get. So any thoughts on how critical to replace them? If you clean them - how do you do it?

Many DIN regulators have a filter in the DIN assembly as well as the one in the first stage. Overkill in my opinion. Yoke regulators seem to do fine with only one. If it can be cleaned and reused great, If not, I'd leave it out.

30 minuets in white vinegar should remove any traces of verdigris....Thoroughly rinse in freshwater and blow dry with compressed air. If it's not clean after that I'd discard it, look for a replacement or skip it as I said above. This applies to the second filter in the DIN only.

First stage seats - if they are the 'old type' I replace. If they are the newer type I inspect and put them back in if they look ok under the lupe.
Any thoughts?
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

scubaal
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Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 2:48 am
First Name: Al
Location: Canberra Australia

Re: Reusing parts?

Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:19 pm

Thanks Bryan.

To be clear this is the only filter in the SEA DIN first stage - and I have found them hard to get hold of......but......
This morning I realised that the best place to look for parts for these Aqualung/USD DIN regs is Germany. Why?
Germany has NEVER used yoke regulators - so if you are looking for DIN fittings that's the place to look.
Ebay Germany has parts kits at reasonable prices and so do www.watersafetyshop.eu - although shipping will make you blink.
(A bit like us trying to get parts from the US in Australia)

I converted all my tanks and regs to DIN a few years ago to ensure I could mix and match and any reg could be used for anything, including SM and cave, ...but US/Australian/UK suppliers often don't keep the DIN specific parts - especially for older regs.

The Germans have everything...and my German is non-existent but google happily translates and gets you close enough to know what you are buying :)

Oh and the Conshelf SEA was called the Cousteau in Europe apparently.....

FWIW
Al.

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Ron
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First Name: Ron
Location: Puget Sound, Washington
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Re: Reusing parts?

Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:37 pm

If I can replace my parts for a reasonable price, then I do. Sanding down the same old HP seat over and over on a piece of glass, then wondering why people stop making replacement parts due to low demand is not a situation in which I would like to find myself. I remember back in 2008 a lot of these parts were difficult to find, and people were scalping parts. You can actually still see guys try to throw stuff on EBay the moment supplies get low to turn a quick buck.

So I spend my 20 bucks on parts.


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