After Brother Zung posted his findings in an earlier thread, I decided to experiment with a smaller size. The real i.d. of an o-ring is established after it's installed in the groove, so going slightly smaller seemed to be a more promising direction than going larger. I recently purchased a few 2.0mm x 1.0mm and I'll post the full results later as I have not installed the poppets in a regulator yet. So far here is what I've found:
When viewed with a 5X magnifying glass there is a very slight size difference.
Installed on a poppet I could not make out any differences visually.
Again, the true test will require installation in a regulator.
On a different note, I also decided to try 90 duro o-rings installed on an SGP hp spool. Of all the o-rings in a scuba system, the SPG spool seals appear to have the highest failure rate. 90 duro might be a better choice than the usual 70/75 due to the high pressure differential these seals operate under.
After installation it's impossible to tell the difference in the way an spg swivels; however installing them is another matter. I installed the 90 duro o-rings on two separate spools-see the picture below. Other than one spool being a T type and the other a straight type, note the difference in diameter the spool ends are. The nipple end of one spool is smaller than the diameter of the spool shaft, where the other spool had the same size nipple as the shaft (keep it clean guys.) It was next to impossible to install the harder duro o-ring on the spool with the larger nipple. I don't have the cool installation bullet sold by Scuba Tools, so that could make a difference. Using the common technique and language necessary to complete this task I damaged two seals prior to getting one installed. At 11 cents each one could go broke rather quickly with this endeavor. I haven't time and open water tested the newer seal yet, but I believe they'll hold up better than the softer seals.
Now don't all of you jump on me at once, but if any of you want to test a few of these, PM me with your snail mail address and I'll get some out to you. I would prefer to send them to those of you who will be doing a bit of diving soon and are willing to update this thread. Again, don't try to install these with on the large nipple spool.
Couv
When viewed with a 5X magnifying glass there is a very slight size difference.
Installed on a poppet I could not make out any differences visually.
Using DA Aquamaster's test here they feel the same as SP original equipment.
Again, the true test will require installation in a regulator.
On a different note, I also decided to try 90 duro o-rings installed on an SGP hp spool. Of all the o-rings in a scuba system, the SPG spool seals appear to have the highest failure rate. 90 duro might be a better choice than the usual 70/75 due to the high pressure differential these seals operate under.
After installation it's impossible to tell the difference in the way an spg swivels; however installing them is another matter. I installed the 90 duro o-rings on two separate spools-see the picture below. Other than one spool being a T type and the other a straight type, note the difference in diameter the spool ends are. The nipple end of one spool is smaller than the diameter of the spool shaft, where the other spool had the same size nipple as the shaft (keep it clean guys.) It was next to impossible to install the harder duro o-ring on the spool with the larger nipple. I don't have the cool installation bullet sold by Scuba Tools, so that could make a difference. Using the common technique and language necessary to complete this task I damaged two seals prior to getting one installed. At 11 cents each one could go broke rather quickly with this endeavor. I haven't time and open water tested the newer seal yet, but I believe they'll hold up better than the softer seals.
Now don't all of you jump on me at once, but if any of you want to test a few of these, PM me with your snail mail address and I'll get some out to you. I would prefer to send them to those of you who will be doing a bit of diving soon and are willing to update this thread. Again, don't try to install these with on the large nipple spool.
Couv
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. Upon reflection, I may just get one of the tools. I still like the idea of having a new spool with o rings already installed for rocking boat senarios, but there are still times when using the tool would be easy. I see that there are several sources for this purpose out there. Are they all about the same as far as function goes or is there one that stands out?
