New Gear Instructions?

[Doc Harry]

It’s fresh water. There’s no reason to rinse at all....

Actually, you don't want to cross-contaminate bodies of fresh water with invasive species of algae or other plants/animals. A good rinsing is good for the lakes and rivers, too.

 

[Bigbella]

It’s fresh water. There’s no reason to rinse at all unless regs got something in them.

I serviced a good number of "exclusively freshwater" regulators over the years, typically of Great Lakes divers, which were certainly not immune to mineral deposits and fouling -- and they benefitted from the same amount of time spent in ultrasonic cleaners as those regularly used in the ocean . . .

 

[VikingDives]

It’s fresh water. There’s no reason to rinse at all unless regs got something in them. I dive fresh water exclusively and rarely rinse.

That depends... If you dive down here and you'll end up with a lot of calcification if you do that... Not all freshwater has the same qualities.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There are minerals and other stuff in fresh water. I've seen regs used exclusively in fresh water come in for servicing absolutely nasty.
Lakes, ponds, and rivers can also have a fair amount of fine silt, algae, and other detritus in it. Over time it builds up.
I have a short paper on reg care that goes into more detail than my post. The text is below.

Regulator Care Tips
​

Do you find yourself paying more for service on your regs than you think you should? Does the tech say that it’s because of corrosion, silt, salt, sand, etc.? Are your regs seeming to need service due to the adjustment knobs/levers being stiff? Do the adjustments feel smooth, or are they gritty? Do you use the dunk tanks on the dock or boat to rinse your gear?

If the answers to any of these are yes, you may want to follow these regulator care tips from me at UDM Aquatic Services.

1. DO NOT RELY ON DUNK TANKS FOR GEAR USED IN SALTWATER OR FRESHWATER! Once a BC has been dropped in that tank, you are dunking it in saltwater (or silt, mud, algae, etc.) unless it has a constant supply of FLOWING freshwater. Maybe even worse than what you just dived in. Take the reg back to your room, install the dust cap, drape it around your neck, and shower with it. Let the water run over the 1st stage and work the knobs on the second as you rinse them.

2. Do not rely on the dust cap to keep water out of the 1st stage. Unless it’s on a pressurized cylinder, the 1st stage should generally not be fully submerged and soaked.

3. If you don’t have a cylinder to pressurize the reg, put the dust cap on, drape the set around your neck back in your room, and take them into the shower with you. Allow the warm water to flow over the 1st and second stages. Then hang them to dry before packing them.

4. If they are DIN regs, take a slightly damp clean cloth and wipe the threads on the reg and the dust cap. Allow them to dry before putting the dust cap on. Next, take both of your second stages and rinse them in the sink or tub while working the levers and knobs. Do not store regs with DIN/YOKE adapters on them. For yoke regs, do not blow the cap dry with air from the tank! You can end up blowing water into the 1st stage and/or risk a pressure-related injury to your hand. You can inject an air bubble through the skin. Think of the needleless vaccine guns. Plus, it’s incredibly annoying to other divers and can actually affect hearing if opened too far.

5. Do not pack wet regs in luggage if at all possible. It’s too easy to forget them for a few days and later discover they are covered in salt residue and have started to corrode.

6. When you get home, fill the bathtub or sink with warm freshwater if you have a cylinder to hook them up to. Hook up the regs and pressurize them. Allow the regs to soak for a half-hour or so. Drain the sink or tub. Refill with fresh water and while soaking them, work the levers and knobs and swish them around. Drain the sink. Rinse the 1st and 2nd stages with fresh RUNNING water. Hang to dry before storing them. Do not hang them in direct sun. A cool, dry, ventilated space is best. A damp basement or garage is the worst place to store gear. Mold and mildew can degrade the fabrics and hoses and permit mold growth in the second stage that can be a health hazard.

7. If you don’t have a cylinder, follow the above steps in 6 without soaking or submerging the 1st stage. Do the seconds and rinse the 1st well under fresh running water with the dust cap installed. Dry as above.
These simple steps will help to reduce corrosion and perhaps lessen the cost of service.

8.If you want to keep your reg tech happy, these also apply to regs used in freshwater.

9. For chrissakes, don't listen to people who say freshwater regs don't need the same level of care! It doesn't take long and you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and effort by only listening to those who work on regs on a regular basis!

Thanks and Dive Safe!

 

[Litefoot]

Thank you Jim. What a wealth of good information! So is there a good way to inflate the bladder if I don't have my on pony bottle? I guess I could blow into the inflator hose, but then that doesn't seem sanitary. But then again, I blow into my "self-inflating" backpacking mattresses all the time.

 

[Boarderguy]

Thank you Jim. What a wealth of good information! So is there a good way to inflate the bladder if I don't have my on pony bottle? I guess I could blow into the inflator hose, but then that doesn't seem sanitary. But then again, I blow into my "self-inflating" backpacking mattresses all the time.

The K inflator is designed to be blown into. Hold the button and blow into the mouthpiece. Just don't inhale from it... should have been covered in OW how to orally inflate your BC/Wing

 

[L13]

It’s fresh water. There’s no reason to rinse at all unless regs got something in them. I dive fresh water exclusively and rarely rinse.

Pool water does require rinsing though!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So back to reg care, I assume that the post-dive rinse process isn’t as rigorous when diving in fresh water. Who can foresee the future, but I’m landlocked in Utah now, so I think most dives will be lakes or springs.

It depends how silty/crappy or polluted the water is. If it’s nasty then yeah, I’d rinse it.
I dive in Lake Tahoe once in a while. The water is clean enough there is no reason to rinse gear.

 

[VikingDives]

There are minerals and other stuff in fresh water. I've seen regs used exclusively in fresh water come in for servicing absolutely nasty.
Lakes, ponds, and rivers can also have a fair amount of fine silt, algae, and other detritus in it. Over time it builds up.
I have a short paper on reg care that goes into more detail than my post. The text is below.

Regulator Care Tips
​

Do you find yourself paying more for service on your regs than you think you should? Does the tech say that it’s because of corrosion, silt, salt, sand, etc.? Are your regs seeming to need service due to the adjustment knobs/levers being stiff? Do the adjustments feel smooth, or are they gritty? Do you use the dunk tanks on the dock or boat to rinse your gear?

If the answers to any of these are yes, you may want to follow these regulator care tips from me at UDM Aquatic Services.

1. DO NOT RELY ON DUNK TANKS FOR GEAR USED IN SALTWATER OR FRESHWATER! Once a BC has been dropped in that tank, you are dunking it in saltwater (or silt, mud, algae, etc.) unless it has a constant supply of FLOWING freshwater. Maybe even worse than what you just dived in. Take the reg back to your room, install the dust cap, drape it around your neck, and shower with it. Let the water run over the 1st stage and work the knobs on the second as you rinse them.

2. Do not rely on the dust cap to keep water out of the 1st stage. Unless it’s on a pressurized cylinder, the 1st stage should generally not be fully submerged and soaked.

3. If you don’t have a cylinder to pressurize the reg, put the dust cap on, drape the set around your neck back in your room, and take them into the shower with you. Allow the warm water to flow over the 1st and second stages. Then hang them to dry before packing them.

4. If they are DIN regs, take a slightly damp clean cloth and wipe the threads on the reg and the dust cap. Allow them to dry before putting the dust cap on. Next, take both of your second stages and rinse them in the sink or tub while working the levers and knobs. Do not store regs with DIN/YOKE adapters on them. For yoke regs, do not blow the cap dry with air from the tank! You can end up blowing water into the 1st stage and/or risk a pressure-related injury to your hand. You can inject an air bubble through the skin. Think of the needleless vaccine guns. Plus, it’s incredibly annoying to other divers and can actually affect hearing if opened too far.

5. Do not pack wet regs in luggage if at all possible. It’s too easy to forget them for a few days and later discover they are covered in salt residue and have started to corrode.

6. When you get home, fill the bathtub or sink with warm freshwater if you have a cylinder to hook them up to. Hook up the regs and pressurize them. Allow the regs to soak for a half-hour or so. Drain the sink or tub. Refill with fresh water and while soaking them, work the levers and knobs and swish them around. Drain the sink. Rinse the 1st and 2nd stages with fresh RUNNING water. Hang to dry before storing them. Do not hang them in direct sun. A cool, dry, ventilated space is best. A damp basement or garage is the worst place to store gear. Mold and mildew can degrade the fabrics and hoses and permit mold growth in the second stage that can be a health hazard.

7. If you don’t have a cylinder, follow the above steps in 6 without soaking or submerging the 1st stage. Do the seconds and rinse the 1st well under fresh running water with the dust cap installed. Dry as above.
These simple steps will help to reduce corrosion and perhaps lessen the cost of service.

8.If you want to keep your reg tech happy, these also apply to regs used in freshwater.

9. For chrissakes, don't listen to people who say freshwater regs don't need the same level of care! It doesn't take long and you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and effort by only listening to those who work on regs on a regular basis!

Thanks and Dive Safe!

I recently did a blog post about reg. service. Link here if you want to read it, but here's the TL;DR:

That's a knob that I snapped off while trying to disassemble a reg. It was fused due to corrosion. Rinse and soak your regs kids.

 

[Pressurehead]

I recently did a blog post about reg. service. Link here if you want to read it, but here's the TL;DR:

Thanks, I like your site, the 'junk' cracked me up.