Regulator Service Intervals by Manufacturer (Apeks, Scubapro, Aqualung, Mares, Atomic)
Manufacturer-by-manufacturer service intervals for the most common scuba regulators. Annual vs. two-year schedules, parts kits, and warranty implications for dive centers.
Regulator service intervals are not a matter of opinion. Each manufacturer publishes a schedule, ties warranty coverage to it, and expects authorized technicians to follow it to the letter. The trouble for dive centers is that no two brands match, and a fleet of 40 regulators can easily span 5 manufacturers and 3 different service cadences.
This guide consolidates the current published service intervals for the five most common brands in dive center fleets. Use it to plan service rotations, budget parts kits, and brief your technicians.
Always verify against the latest manufacturer technical bulletin. Service intervals are revised periodically. The schedules below reflect the most recent published guidance as of April 2026.
Quick comparison table
| Manufacturer | First-stage service | Second-stage service | Parts kit cycle | Warranty hook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apeks | Every 2 years OR 100 dives | Every year OR 100 dives | 2-year first stage, annual second | Free parts for life with annual inspection |
| Scubapro | Every 2 years OR 100 dives | Annual inspection | 2-year service kit | Extended warranty with proof of service |
| Aqualung | Annual inspection, full service every 2 years | Annual inspection | 2-year overhaul kit | Free parts for life programme (registered owners) |
| Mares | Every 2 years | Annual inspection | 2-year kit | Standard 2-year warranty, extended with annual inspection |
| Atomic | Every 2 years OR 300 dives | Every 2 years | 2-year service kit | Lifetime warranty with biennial service |
The five-brand pattern is clear: annual inspection, biennial full service is now the dominant model. The exception is high-use rental gear, where most manufacturers recommend pulling forward the service to annual.
Apeks
Apeks publishes one of the clearest service schedules in the industry.
- Full service: every 24 months or 100 dives, whichever comes first.
- Annual inspection: required to maintain the "Free Parts for Life" warranty. Inspection includes IP check, cracking effort measurement, hose condition, and external surface inspection.
- Parts kits: Apeks supplies separate first-stage (DST/FSR) and second-stage (TX/XTX/MTX) service kits. A typical full overhaul on a DST first stage + XTX200 second stage runs about €60–€80 in parts at trade pricing.
- Rental fleet recommendation: Apeks recommends annual full service (not biennial) for any regulator used in commercial rental.
The 100-dive trigger matters more than people realise. A busy rental regulator can hit 100 dives in 4–5 months during peak season, well inside the calendar year.
Scubapro
Scubapro's schedule changed materially in 2023. Older bulletins still circulate online with annual full-service guidance — those are out of date.
- Full service: every 24 months or 100 dives.
- Annual inspection: required, and must be documented for the extended warranty to remain valid.
- Parts kits: the MK-series first stages (MK19 EVO, MK25 EVO, MK17 EVO) each have dedicated kits. Second-stage kits cover G260, S620Ti, A700 Carbon, and the C-series.
- Salt-water adjustment: Scubapro's bulletin specifically advises shorter intervals for warm tropical salt water + heavy use. In practice, dive centers in the Red Sea, Caribbean, and Andaman Sea report better reliability on annual full service.
Aqualung
Aqualung's "Free Parts for Life" programme is the strongest in the industry — but only for owners who register the regulator within 30 days of purchase and complete an annual inspection at an authorized dealer.
- Full service: every 24 months. Aqualung explicitly states that an unservicd regulator after 24 months voids the parts programme.
- Annual inspection: mandatory for parts coverage.
- Parts kits: Legend, Core, and Titan series each have dedicated kits. The Titan kit (the most common rental regulator) is the most cost-effective at trade pricing.
- Note: Aqualung's parts programme does not cover labour, only parts. Budget for technician time at every service event.
Mares
Mares splits service into "inspection" and "overhaul" with a two-year overhaul cycle.
- Full overhaul: every 24 months. Required to extend the standard warranty beyond 2 years.
- Annual inspection: strongly recommended; checks intermediate pressure, cracking effort, and external condition.
- Parts kits: the 22X first-stage kit covers most current rental regulators (Abyss 22 Navy, Abyss 22, Prestige 22). Second-stage kits cover Proton, Epic, and Carbon series.
- Rental fleet adjustment: Mares recommends moving to annual overhaul once a regulator passes 200 cumulative dives.
Atomic Aquatics
Atomic's interval is the longest in the industry — and is backed by a lifetime warranty if owners stick to it.
- Full service: every 24 months OR 300 dives.
- Inspection: Atomic does not require an annual inspection between full services, though they recommend it for rental gear.
- Parts kits: B2, T3, M1, and Z3 each have dedicated kits. The T3 (titanium) kit is more expensive but parts are designed for longer service life.
- Why the longer interval: Atomic uses titanium components and zirconium-coated brass that resist salt corrosion better than industry standard. The 300-dive ceiling is the practical limit, not the calendar.
Service interval triggers your fleet manager should track
Calendar dates are not enough. A complete service tracker captures all four triggers:
- Last service date — full overhaul, not just inspection.
- Last inspection date — required annually for most manufacturers.
- Cumulative dives — most manufacturers list a dive-count trigger.
- Storage time — anything sitting unused for 90+ days should be inspected before returning to service.
If any one of these triggers fires, the regulator goes into the service queue. Manual tracking in spreadsheets breaks down at this point because the lookup is multi-dimensional.
How Scubra handles this
Every manufacturer in this guide is pre-loaded into Scubra with the correct service intervals, parts kit codes, and warranty conditions. When you register a regulator, the system attaches the right schedule automatically. When any one of the four triggers fires, you get an alert before the service is overdue — not after.
When the auditor asks for proof, you generate a compliance report covering every regulator in the fleet, with service history and parts replaced, in one click.
Try Scubra free → — up to 10 items on the free plan, no credit card.
Key takeaways
- Annual inspection + biennial full service is the dominant model across major brands.
- Rental fleet usage often pulls service forward to annual due to the dive-count trigger.
- Warranty programmes (Aqualung Free Parts for Life, Atomic Lifetime, Apeks Free Parts) all hinge on documented service. Miss one event and you lose the coverage.
- A spreadsheet cannot reliably track four service triggers across a 40-regulator fleet. Equipment tracking software pays for itself the first time you avoid an out-of-warranty service.