Cleaning Regs

[gabriel]

This might sound like a dumb question, but how do you properly clean & rinse your regs after a dive?

I used to just give mine a couple of fresh water rinses, once when just out of the sea (quickly in the dive centre's rinsing tank or similar) then again when I got home, normally a soak in the bath, but I've just been brow-beaten by someone who has basically called me careless.

He said always take off the front plate then rinse the diaphragm, lever and case with fresh water prior to drying.

Isn't there a large risk of upsetting the internals, or is corrosion such a huge problem?

Any advice gratefully received!

 

[Mr.X]

This might sound like a dumb question, but how do you properly clean & rinse your regs after a dive?

I used to just give mine a couple of fresh water rinses, once when just out of the sea (quickly in the dive centre's rinsing tank or similar) then again when I got home, normally a soak in the bath, but I've just been brow-beaten by someone who has basically called me careless.

He said always take off the front plate then rinse the diaphragm, lever and case with fresh water prior to drying.

Isn't there a large risk of upsetting the internals, or is corrosion such a huge problem?

Any advice gratefully received!

Question: When you are rinsing the 1st and second stage are they hooked up to a tank with positive pressure? I prefer the positive pressure long soak method in a tub of nice warm, fresh water. As per the brow-beater--grrrrrh. Some regs. are a little fidgety when it comes to removing the front plate and replacing the diaphragm. Best to take things one at a time. Mr. X

 

[double80s]

I only open the face and rinse if I've been having free-flow issues or after a month or 2 of heavy beach diving.

 

[ericrd]

He said always take off the front plate then rinse the diaphragm, lever and case with fresh water prior to drying.

put a hose in the mouthpiece, and rinse, this will have the same effect. no manufacturer recommends to dismantle the 2nd stage to rinse !!!

I would suggest to your friend to actually throw away his reg after each use, as it's been infected with awful salt water. I can give him the location of my trash can...

eric

 

[redacted]

While it would be good for you to be able to remove the cover to inspect and clean, it is not necessary unless you think you may hage gotten some dirt (mud, sand, shells, stones, seaweed, crawdads, shrimp, fish) inside. A good soak, under pressure, in clean warm fresh water with an occasional purging is best. If you can't provide the pressure, make sure the "dust cap" seals the 1st stage, don't use warm water (it creates a vaccuum as it cools and may suck water in) and don't touch the purge buttons.

 

[Mr.X]

I wanted to add a "just in case". If you are rinsing your reg. without positive pressure make sure not to depress the purge button underwater. Doing so without positive pressure may lead to some minor bits of water traveling into the first stage.

I've seen more than my share of corroded 1st stages and wet pressure gauges from students unwittingly rinsing, or soaking the wrong way. On another note I don't trust the 1st stage dust cap. I have seen caps without o-rings, or scarred to the point of not making a seal against the female end of the reg. orifice. It is very easy for someone not too familiar with dust caps to dunk the unit in water and find that they have accidentally allowed for the ingress of water. Grrrrh. Mr. X

 

[eelpout]

Taking care of your reg depends a lot on the type of diving you do. If you are diving form a boat, then taking apart the secondd stage is a waste of time. The only reason you would get anything in there is if you dragged your face or alternate air souce in the sand. If you are a beach/shore diver then I would learn how to take the secodn stage apart. The only problem with this is some 2nd stages have clear washers than youcan misplace/lose while doing this. Be careful with all the parts.

Which leads me to the important tip. Don't do your maintenance away from home/hotel room. If you can't drink the water, rinsing your gear in it is just getting it wet. Fill your tub with warm water and soak it overnight. You don't need to pressurize it, that just makes it more work and you migt just skip it because it will seem to be more work. When you pull the plug the next morning, you can take apart the 2nd stage if you want to (outof the water) and rinse each part in the sink so you won't misplace anything. Then sit it on a towel and have it dry.

Later,
Jim

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I am not a fan of the dunk tanks on dive boats etc, as they very quickly become something other than fresh water. You are better off waiting until you are back at the hotel that evening or back home after a day trip and then do a nice warm water soak in your tub.

Being able to hook it up to a tank and pressurize it during the soak is a plus. Otherwise, be aware that all dust caps are not created equal. Some are hard plastic with an o-ring designed to seal against the inlet of the reg as as long as the yoke nut is snug and the o-ring is in good shape they do a good job of keeping water out of the first stage. Others are soft rubber and will again do a good job of sealing if the yoke nut is tight. The rest are no more than dust caps and are not a seal in any sense of the word and soaking with them is not an option.

A good pre-soak test is to put the cover in place and then try to inhale through the second stage. If you get any air at all you have a problem somewhere. It will either be a leaking case o-ring in the second stage, a punctured or improperly seated diaphragm or a leaky dust cap.

It should be obvious, but needs to be said anyway, that the dust cap need to be completely dry inside or else the water droplets may find their way into the first stage.

Once you are done soaking the whole regulator, run some water in the mouthpiece to fully remove any loosened silt, sand, salt, etc. Then hang the reg with the second stages down so that any water that may have found it's way into the hose will not find it's way to the first stage and SPG.

Some second stages have devices designed to depress the purge button and keep the second stage seat off the orifice which will prevent the seat from developing an excesive seating groove over time. This will also allow any trapped water in the hose to drain, but also will allow any dust, spiders, etc, to find their way into the hose so if you use a device like this, be sure to store the reg in a clean and dry area (which you should do anyway.

 

[Mr.X]

You don't need to pressurize it, that just makes it more work and you migt just skip it because it will seem to be more work. When you pull the plug the next morning, you can take apart the 2nd stage if you want to (outof the water) and rinse each part in the sink so you won't misplace anything. Then sit it on a towel and have it dry.

Later,
Jim

Are you speaking from experience here? A few minutes to perhaps a half hour with some light water movement around a pressurized reg. is better than leaving a reg unpressurized soaking overnight. If you read Aquamaster, or my post you would see that dust caps are sometime prone to leakage and requires some prior knowledge of seas + methodology for testing sealing integrity. Since the question is from a new diver let's try to give them easy advice that prolongs the life of their gear.

My knowledge comes from having seen hundreds of regulators being rinsed the wrong way and then even some new ways when a "best" method was discovered. Taking apart regs. which were improperly rinsed was infuriating to say the least when a simple method like pressure rinsing was available. In addition, pressure rinsing personal gear allows the tank valves/tanks to resist corrosion better than just the garden hose treatment.

 

[LI Diver]

Ok guys since we are on the subject and (I don't mean to hijack) On the last dive of my last dive trip I forgot to put dust caps on at all when I dunked my regulators. (Yeh stupid I know) I hung them in a closet w/ all hoses up and first stage down w/port at lowest point over night. The next morning I replaced the dust caps and soaked in tub then rinsed. It was probably the last dive for the year and I plan on bringing them in to be serviced before using again in the spring so I wasn't overly concerned. But what is the proper procedure if I had another dive planned for that trip?