Inflator valve service: what grease to use?

[SaltyWombat]

I'm performing my first service on a BC inflator valve. I'm following this video:


Christo-Lube is used in that video. I assume regular silicone grease can be used? When would a wing see high O2? Seems like high O2 would always be breathed from a deco bottle.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

None.

 

[grantctobin]

None.

Wrong.

 

[tursiops]

Silicone o-ring grease is fine. See also at time 3.03-3.04; you'll see the jar of silicone, which is ofen not explicitly mentioned because it is assumed that nayone servicing an inflator knows about o-rings and grease.

 

[Scared Silly]

Do not use grease as a lubricant. Use a silicone based lubricant or a lubricant such as christolube.

Pedantic - silicon is a lubricant not grease. Grease is also a lubricant.

 

[BoltSnap]

Wrong.

What is wrong and what is right and why, can you clarify please?

 

[Alekseolsen]

I'm performing my first service on a BC inflator valve. I'm following this video:


Christo-Lube is used in that video. I assume regular silicone grease can be used? When would a wing see high O2? Seems like high O2 would always be breathed from a deco bottle.

Guess not normally, but not super unusual to have LP hoses on stages (For drysuit or dsmb inflation etc.)
I wouldn't worry though

 

[stepfen]

Guess not normally, but not super unusual to have LP hoses on stages (For drysuit or dsmb inflation etc.)
I wouldn't worry though

That would be a VERY interesting experiment: Inflate a (heavily used) BCD/wing underwater with pure O2. What can go wrong??? Worst case the begging of World War 3 if you get mistaken for a submarine-launched ballistic missile BTW Don't try this at home or at any depth

To the OP:
The interiors of the bladder and the inflator regularly comes in contact with water hence they easily become quite dirty. As such, they shouldn't come in contact with high O2 gases. In an out of gas emergency the usual procedure is to inflate the BCD/wing orally if/when needed. I don't know if people use LP hoses in stage regs for that purpose as @Alekseolsen said above, but if high O2 gases are used that seems a very bad idea to me.

In any way I wouldn't waste precious christolube for this. Even if you do, very soon it will get contaminated with all shorts of dirt, so what's the point?

 

[tursiops]

Do not use grease as a lubricant. Use a silicone based lubricant or a lubricant such as christolube.

Pedantic - silicon is a lubricant not grease. Grease is also a lubricant.

I'm glad we all knew what I meant.

 

[CT Sean]

Do not use grease as a lubricant. Use a silicone based lubricant or a lubricant such as christolube.

Pedantic - silicon is a lubricant not grease. Grease is also a lubricant.

Interesting that both my Canon camera housing lubricant and Trident general silicone lubricant say GREASE on them.

ECL even refers to Christolube as grease in their PDS

CHRISTO-LUBE® MCG 111 is a fully fluorinated grease thickened with PTFE which operates under extreme temperature conditions, has outstanding stability with oxygen and excellent compatibility with metals, plastics and elastomers.

https://ecllube.com/userfiles/pdf/pds/PDS%20MCG%20111.pdf

Should we tell the manufactures they are all labelling their products wrong, or use the terminology that people will actually see when they go to buy these products to not confuse them?