Post Dive Reg Cleaning

HI all,

So, I will first start off by saying that in the past, I have been less than stellar on cleaning my reg which is moronic, yet true. The end result was 150 dollar overhaul fee(parts+labor) and a small bag FULL of bad parts that the dive shop pulled from my reg.
Realizing that not only is this an expensive endevour, but a stupid one at that(this is my life support system), I have taken some steps to hopefully become a better diver by paying more attention to my equipement once the dive trip is over.

I just wanted to verify that washing it in fresh water(NOT SOAKING), washing.....after each dive and at the end of the trip, washing everything in fresh water again would go a long ways towards maintaining my equipement. Is there anything else I should be doing(outside of the yearly maintenance/inspection at the diveshop) to keep everything in good shape?

I wash and soak for several minutes in a weak solution of anti-bacterial soap the rinse well. Just make sure the caps are on tight. I still have my first reg which is 8 years old [its on my pony now] and other than annual service stays clean. Soaking I believe allows any salt deposits to dissolve completely.

Charles

You can read what I do here, scroll down to the regulator part.
http://home.gwi.net/~spectrum/scuba_love.html

The other consideration is to never let salt (or any) water into the regulator. A fresh water rinse before breaking the connection is a nice luxury. Hold the port clear while blowing off the dust cap and fire a burst from the valve before mating the regulator to it.

Pete

I just give it a rinse in the shower and let it dry, however this probably isn't very helpful, since most of the water I dive in is drinkable.

Terry

WarmGoingCold:

HI all,
So, I will first start off by saying that in the past, I have been less than stellar on cleaning my reg which is moronic, yet true. The end result was 150 dollar overhaul fee(parts+labor) and a small bag FULL of bad parts that the dive shop pulled from my reg.

Click to expand...

It's usually too much effort or impractical to really bother rinsing regs during my dive trips, but after my last dive I'll do a short soak in a fresh water rinse tank before returning home, then once home hook my regs to a pony bottle and give them a long soak in lukewarm fresh water to really clean them up. I however, have all my regs with environmentally-sealed first stages, so they're pretty foolproof with respect to rinsing of the first stages.....however, I do know divers who have to be much more careful with their regs and frequently remove/rinse/reattach their regs through out their trips, these divers typically own regs like various Scubapro piston first stages where the 1st stages are 'open' to seawater and will suffer from salt/mineral deposits and require frequent/immediate rinsing to avoid maintainance issues.......... I usually dive my Apeks XTX200 ( diaphragm dry sealed 1st stage ), Mares Ruby (diaphragm silicone-oil sealed 1st stage) or Atomic Aquatics B1/T2, ( christolube sealed piston 1st stage )....so my regs are much more user friendly and don't require rinsing during the trip, only at home upon trip completion.

Karl

Hello fellow diver, In response to your inquiry concerning regulator cleaning, allow me to put in my 2 cents worth. My wife and I have had the same regulators for more than 12 years and primarily dive in salt water on vacations once maybe twice a year. After every and I mean every day of diving,we rinse our regulators off in a freshwater rinse tank with the caps on and do a total immersion then hang to dry. After returning home, I totally disassemble the regulators (not for the untrained) and wash inside and out with clean water and a soft brush, if there is any sign of deposits, a vinegar solution will help remove them. After drying, rubber parts are sprayed with silicone(I like the pump bottles available at LDS) I even put some inside the low pressure hoses, o-rings are lubed with silicone and regs are reassembled and tested. While this might sound like a lot of trouble, and it is,I have only had 1 hose failure in ten years and only normal wear on o-rings and LP seats If you buy good gear and take care of it it will last you longer than the retailers want you to believe .

A good soak under pressure is an ideal way to keep it clean. I would be very wary of lubing with silicone if you use anything other than air. (And never use WD40 or similar so-called "silicone" sprays).

What "bag of parts" were there? A standard service should replace all the O rings etc. Failure to clean the reg enough to require any replacement of other parts is quite something!! Modern regs are pretty tough (not an excuse to mistreat them of course)

Chris

I believe that soaking is the only way to get all the salt and other potential deposits and corrosives out of the nooks and cranies found in all regulators. Hose ends and connectors as well as other seams and connections are not adequately cleaned by simple rinsing. In unsealed 1sts, depoisits and corrosion can damage dynamic o-rings and cause leaks.

Thanks for the reply all. SO rinsing is not enough? Everyone here suggest soaking while hooked up to a tank? If so, for how long?

Chrisch, it was the standard small baggy that they give you when you service the reg. This time however, the bag was full of small parts. Usually, you would get some o-rings back. This one had much more.

chrisch:

A good soak under pressure is an ideal way to keep it clean. I would be very wary of lubing with silicone if you use anything other than air. (And never use WD40 or similar so-called "silicone" sprays).

What "bag of parts" were there? A standard service should replace all the O rings etc. Failure to clean the reg enough to require any replacement of other parts is quite something!! Modern regs are pretty tough (not an excuse to mistreat them of course)

Chris

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Oh and don't foget the seats and the tie wrap for the mouth piece that they always put in the overhaul kits and the 1st diaphram and the slef locking nut for the second stage, variuos plactic washers--- I'm sure I'm forgetting something else