I am in need of a new regulator in new construction, I have a light weight regulator that I got from Steven a while ago and I like it very much so I would like to get another one like it. Does Strike have stock of any light weight regulators? And yes I have a "rock the boat" regulator but I am not really impressed with it's performance, I like the Strike regulator more.
That's good to hear about the strike Carl. I've been kicking around getting one of them, but I hadn't heard any opinions about them one way or another yet.
well, in my case, a many hundred psi pressure change after getting it set in the boat made them not a viable option. After getting it back from palmer where they were supposed to repair for that issue (yes there was a anti-siphon setup as well)
Im not familiar with the anti-siphon. I have a female stabilzer that they repaired at a reasonable cost when I damaged the aluminum top. With that said they assembled it incorrectly but I have learned how to take it down and put it back together so I had it back in order in 5 minutes. Those are very finicky and must be lightly oiled (1 or 2 drops) after a sink, and once or twice a season as the o-rings dry out (same as anything else). I bought a few rebuild kits which are just o-rings and am able to keep these things running. I had one that was creeping high and took it apart and re-assembled and it was fine. I had no problems last season with the ones I had. With that said, I would love to get some more like Strike had before that didnt require a rebuild but in the meantime I am happy to use what I have instead of the heavy williams regulator that requires shimming the spring for adjustment. As it stands now I just take it apart, reassemble, and adjust with allen wrench.
I can vouch for the first versions of Strike's lightweight regulators. I have two of them, both in ships that battled often the past year. Other than one incident where too much oil caused a leak, both regulators have been trouble free. Although I am not familier with the Rock the Boat regulator, I am VERY familier with the paintball versions of Palmer's regulators (Stabilizer and Rock). Before going to Strike regulators, the Palmer regulators were the mainstay of my ships and worked flawlessly. One Stabilizer reg worked for 13 years before finally needing a rebuild. After the rebuild (which might have taken 10 minutes at the most), the Stabilizer was working as well as ever. The key to the Palmer regs is oiling. Two drops every morning in the ASA threaded end before screwing in the bottle and the reg is good to go for the rest of the day. The oil helps keep the internal o-rings lubed and prevents corrosion on the pistons. Palmer's instructions state the regulators need to be oiled. They cannot be treated like some of the Williams regulators and never oiled. For the Strike regulators, I may use a couple drops before a battle weekend/week, but no more than that. They are rather robust and work well with little maintenance required. Oh, I don't have any extra Strike regs. Sorry!
"rock the boat " units tend to creep when they want to and result in blown hoses when not expecting them to blow. Yes oil is recomended and dry "O" rings could have been the cause of the creep but either way I like the strike units better (smaller too).
On this note... Stephen at Strike stold me recently the new regulators are well on their way. They have to do one last change, do some testing, and then they can begin production. He indicated that he hopes to have production pieces in hand by mid-April. ***That was not a promise just a hopeful timeframe.*** I know he has been through many challenges with finding a new supplier and getting the product right. I thank him for his dedication to the hobby! Das Butts
The accuracy and stability of a regulator is really dependent on the diameter of it's piston (assuming a piston design). The smaller the piston the less accurate it will be because it will require a greater pressure differential to overcome the pistons o-ring friction against the chamber wall. A larger piston design has more surface area for it's outer diameter and thus requires less pressure differential to overcome the o-ring friction to keep pressure in adjustment. In a nutshell, it's important to keep the smaller regs well oiled and replace the o-rings from time-to-time.
Stephen has the production versions of the light weight regulators. I saw a couple when we were at Strike for the last build session.
Phil's right -- we have the production versions ready, and have them up for sale on the site. Order away!
