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Scuba Regulators: Your Portal to Another World

I still remember the first breath out of these scuba regulators I ever took underwater.

I was fifteen years old and diving was something I always wanted to do. It took me three months of bagging groceries at $4.75 an hour to be able to afford the dive class and basic personal equipment, but all that work was forgotten the second I knelt down in the pool and took my very first breath underwater.

Back then I didn’t know or care how a regulator worked.
All I knew was that it let me breath underwater and that’s all I really cared about.

I quickly became infatuated with scuba diving and quit my low paying job as a bagger at a grocery store and took the equally low paying job as a gopher in a dive shop.

I was a sponge soaking up everything I could about diving and dive equipment. Eventually the time came for me to learn how to repair dive equipment.

That’s when I realised how remarkable a regulator is.

Think about it for a minute. Your dive tank is under 3000 to 3500 psi (pounds per square inch) or 207 to 240 Bar, of pressure.

If you tried to breathe that kind of pressure directly, your lungs would explode in short order.

How do Scuba Regulators work?

Scuba regulators break down that massive amount of air pressure and deliver it to the diver in easy to inhale breaths that are delivered on your breathing demand.

Pretty simple relay.

So how is this feat accomplished?

There are a lot of different methods to get the job done but when you boil it down to the basics; all regulators do the same thing: break down air pressure.

It takes two stages of pressure regulation (hence the name regulator) to get the job done.

First Stage Regulator

The first stage of a regulator is the part that connects directly to your tank, just like the photo.

This first stage’s main job is to divert air from your tank to your high pressure hose so you can gauge how much air you have and to break down the 3000 psi / 207 bar or so in your tank to about 150 psi or 10 bar give or take a little.

From this point, the air travels down a low pressure hose into your second stage.

Second Stage Regulator

The second stage of a regulator is that thing in your mouth just like this photo.

Once the air reaches this point, the air is blocked by a piston-like device. When you inhale, you create a vacuum in the second stage and which pulls in a rubber gasket, this in turn presses down on a lever. That lever moves the piston and breaks the seal keeping the air back, once the seal is broken all the air you need rushes into your mouth.

Dive regulators can be simple devices or they can be very, very complicated. Prices will also range greatly. You can expect to spend anywhere from $350 to more than $1500. It all depends on what you want and need, choosing a scuba regulator is a very important decision.

Like all diving equipment, the best regulator will depend on the type of diving you do.

Regulator Repairs & Maintenance

Now that you have parted with your hard earned cash, make sure you know how to look after your scuba regulator, not only did it cost you a lot of money but it will also keep you alive, if you take care of it!

Alternate Air Sources

The most common Alternate Air Source is your Octopus.

The brightly coloured extra regulator you have on your set up.

This is the one you do not want to have to use, because if you do, either you or your buddy has run out of air!

There are a number of different choices for Alternate Air Sources, have a look here to help you decide what is best for you.

Diaphragm and Piston First Stages

First Stages are the piece of equipment that your air first enters after it leaves your scuba tank.

It is here that you have some choices. Should I buy a Piston Balanced Regulator or a Diaphragm Balanced or Unbalanced?

Sounds kind of confusing, but it need not be. Have a look here for more information.

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