Creed
Contributor
I haven't found much information on regulator lubes. Would I see any real benefit to using Christo-lube on a non-Nitrox regulator setup vs silicone grease?
Lubrication
- Thread starter Creed
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Changing lubricants can alledgedly change the IP of the first stage so staying with whatever the manufacturer suggests is usually a good idea.
Christo-lube is an oddity of sorts in that the precautionary warnings in the packaging indicate it is a potential respiratory irritant. That makes it an interesting choice for a regulator lubricant.
Christo-lube is an oddity of sorts in that the precautionary warnings in the packaging indicate it is a potential respiratory irritant. That makes it an interesting choice for a regulator lubricant.
R
redacted
Guest
I use christolube on all my regs, even if they will not see nitrox. I use silicone to lube things other than regs like light or camera o-rings.
I am sort of a die hard and if nitrox is not in the cards, I don't see the need for christo-lube.
Silicone is also not always the ideal lubricant for other o-rings like camera o-rings. Some camera o-rings are made of silicone and the use of a silicone grease causes them to enlarge and stretch over time.
Silicone is also not always the ideal lubricant for other o-rings like camera o-rings. Some camera o-rings are made of silicone and the use of a silicone grease causes them to enlarge and stretch over time.
One article I read lead me to believe that christolube would decrease wear and tear on reg parts. But, of course, this source was selling christolube, so I took it with a grain of sand. Has anyone seen a significant decrease in wear from using christolube, or is this just advertising hype?DA Aquamaster:
R
redacted
Guest
Creed:
I'm not a tech but DIY my own regs. New Scubapro regs use synthetic lube (christolube?), books says use christolube, and some of my regs get used with nitrox. I see no reason not to use it if I have it. The tube was expensive but, at my age, I'm afraid it is a lifetime supply.
Although, I have to admit, some of the older regs I've worked on had a good coating of silicone and very little corrosion. I'm not that liberal with the christolube.
There are two types of ChristoLube, MCG 129 for general lubrication and MCG 111 for dynamic lubrication.
Both however can be used throughout regs for annual service. Some companies specify one or the other and others just mention "ChristoLube".
I have no reason to doubt that the MCG 111 does a better job with dynamic o-rings than either silicone or MCG 129 but then again I always got at least 100 dives per year out of my SP regs with silicone, so how much better does the lube have to be?
I have used MCG 111 in my Mk 20's the last few years as they do see nitrox use and I get the same 100-130 dives per year that I did with silicone. MCG 129 is more persistent in coating parts in the ambient pressure chamber and would I think be better for use in that application in regs using a TIS system or some other system where water freely flows in the ambient chamber.
I don't know anyone that is as liberal with ChristoLube in ambient chambers as they were with silicone. MCG 129 is about 2/3rds the cost of MCG 111 but it is still about 3-4 times as expensive as silicone.
Both however can be used throughout regs for annual service. Some companies specify one or the other and others just mention "ChristoLube".
I have no reason to doubt that the MCG 111 does a better job with dynamic o-rings than either silicone or MCG 129 but then again I always got at least 100 dives per year out of my SP regs with silicone, so how much better does the lube have to be?
I have used MCG 111 in my Mk 20's the last few years as they do see nitrox use and I get the same 100-130 dives per year that I did with silicone. MCG 129 is more persistent in coating parts in the ambient pressure chamber and would I think be better for use in that application in regs using a TIS system or some other system where water freely flows in the ambient chamber.
I don't know anyone that is as liberal with ChristoLube in ambient chambers as they were with silicone. MCG 129 is about 2/3rds the cost of MCG 111 but it is still about 3-4 times as expensive as silicone.
Similar threads
