I check the IP on my first stages about once a month. I do an overall condition inspection before each dive. The second stages get rebuilt if they start having a hard time maintaining the cracking pressure that I like (seat wearing out). The first stages get rebuilt after about 2 years or if the IP gauge starts to show problems. The last first stage I rebuilt wasn't showing any signs of problems but upon disassembly I could see the little oring inside the balance chamber was in really bad shape. It was all crumbling. It didn't seem to be adversely affecting the movement of the HP seat pin but I felt much better knowing I had a fresh o-ring in there.




Bookmarks