Okay-so I've gone Oceanic wild! Help!

Just bought all things Oceanic for both my husband and myself- regs, BC's, and console computers.
This is the first time we've owned our own stuff and we don;t want to screw it up. We know we have to have it serviced like a car, but 'm having panic attacks about maintainance after each dive.
Where is the best place to see a "snapshot" description, or how to clean your gear "for dummies".
We just want to know what needs to be done to this stuff after each dive, at the end of each day, and then after the end of a week diving before it gets put away for the next trip.
I know, it's basic, but if you've never owned your own stuff before, the rental agent usually does that for you.
I thought the manufacturer would be the best place to start, but the manuals are not the easiest- I need bullet points-
Where to go, is there already a thread for this? Please help- I want to take care of this stuff as best I can!

Susan . . .
. . . a hearty "WELCOME ! ! ! " to the ScubaBoard!.

The maintenance of scuba gear is pretty straight forward. Always give it a good fresh water rinse or two at the end of the dive day, if possible.

Every now and then soak your hard gear, regs, masks, snorkels, bc's, etc. in a solution of vinegar and fresh water . . . it helps dissolve any sea salts that may still be present on the gear and then give a clean water rinse. The frequency of this practice is pretty much predicated upon the frequency of your diving.

Your bc's will need an internal rinse from time to time. This can be effected by putting them in the tub, pushing the bc deflate button and letting water run down the bc's corrugated deflation hose into the bladder of the bc. Rinse the inside of the bladder thoroughly, inflate it orally and then discharge the water by using the vent valve. Every so often I'll put a mixture of mouthwash and water in my bc's (wings) to eliminate any potetential bacteria growth.

As to your regulators, always make sure your dust caps are in place before rinsing. You don't want water getting into your first stage.

Regs need to be serviced periodically. Some say every year, but I tend to think that, once again, the amount and frequency of your diving will play a major part in this. You local dive shop is the place to do this.

As to "servicing" you bc's . . . you can pretty much do this yourself every time you dive; have your buddy check for bubbles when the bc is inflated. Here again, the frequency of your diving will determine how fast your bc will wear. Every couple of months give your bc a good visual inspection to determine if there are any seams coming apart or any areas of undue abrasion. The two main areas of concern for your bc is a leaking bladder or a defective inflator/deflator valve. Defective valves manifest them in quite obvious manners . . . hissing, bubbles, your bc going Michellin Man on you and so forth.

As for storing, just keep your gear away from high temp areas.

I'm sure others will have some input, but those are just some of the basics.

By the way, Oceanic has its own sub-forum here on the ScubaBoard in the "Manufacturer's" forum. There support and response is fabulous!

Welcome !!!

Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents!

the K

The only thing I could think to add to the K's advice is to keep the equipment away from sunlight and fuel fumes when stored. Annual service from a reputable shop will help keep everything in perfect shape.

Remember to keep the decents and ascents equal.

susan6868:

Just bought all things Oceanic for both my husband and myself- regs, BC's, and console computers.
This is the first time we've owned our own stuff and we don;t want to screw it up. We know we have to have it serviced like a car, but 'm having panic attacks about maintenance after each dive.
Where is the best place to see a "snapshot" description, or how to clean your gear "for dummies".
We just want to know what needs to be done to this stuff after each dive, at the end of each day, and then after the end of a week diving before it gets put away for the next trip.
I know, it's basic, but if you've never owned your own stuff before, the rental agent usually does that for you.
I thought the manufacturer would be the best place to start, but the manuals are not the easiest- I need bullet points-
Where to go, is there already a thread for this? Please help- I want to take care of this stuff as best I can!

Click to expand...

In addition to what has already been posted don't store your BC or we suits in any location that might generate some form of ozone (hot water heater, garage etc.)

Some people may think I am crazy but I pamper my gear and store it in a spare room closet that is heated in the winter and air conditioned during the summer.

The regulators are laid out flat in a drawer with nothing on top of them. By doing so there is no pressure on the hoses or the regulator itself or that matter.

The wet suite are hung up on Underwater Kinetics plastic 3 inch diameter wet suit hangars. The BC are hung up on Underwater Kinetics plastic BC hangars.

The cylinders are stored in a closet located n the first floor of the hose (heated in winter and air conditioned in the summer).

I rinse out the inside of my BCs after every dive. Im my case this is easy to do since our BCs have the Atomic SS-1 as the safe second. It easily unscrews from the corrugated hose which make it easy to flod the inside of the BC bladder with fresh water.

Periodically I clean out the inside od the BC bladder with BC Life (BC internal cleaner). I don't know if this works any better than the mouthwash that Kraken suggested. His probably tastes better though

Just an FYI: PADI's "specialty of the month" for November is their equipment specialty. Although I'm not a card collector, my LDS does an excellent job with this class, not only covering basic care and maintenance, but "in the field" tweaks and repairs. I'm very much looking forward to taking it...and getting my very own PADI rattler...which I don't need.

DiveMaven:

Just an FYI: PADI's "specialty of the month" for November is their equipment specialty. Although I'm not a card collector, my LDS does an excellent job with this class, not only covering basic care and maintenance, but "in the field" tweaks and repairs. I'm very much looking forward to taking it...and getting my very own PADI rattler...which I don't need.

Click to expand...

Cool- how do I get in on that? Any PADI LDS or just certain ones?
I hope I'm not too late, but this is the first time I'm hearing about the PADI specialty of the month.
Thanks, any guidance greatly appreciated
Susan

OK, sports fans . . . I will state this here and now, I will not allow this thread to become a "bash an agency" thread.

If you have positive information to provide to this member, please do so.

If you feel that you need to rant with respect to any agencies, please do so elsewhere.

Please keep your responses limited to "helping" our new member find what is desired and to the specific gear mentioned.

The Kraken

I could not agree more with any diver taking a course in equipment maintenance from a local LDS. Also, the tech person at your LDS might be happy to show you how regulators are serviced, you can glean a lot of knowledge from understanding the mechanics of your equipment.

The Kraken wrote: As to your regulators, always make sure your dust caps are in place before rinsing. You don't want water getting into your first stage.

I'd like to add to this point... Remember the caps are DUST caps, not water-proof caps. You should not dunk a first stage (with or without dust cap in place) in a rinse tank because water can seep into your first stage. Water in your first stage can damage the first stage by causing corrosion and washing away o-ring grease. Water can also go through the hoses and damage your submersible pressure gauge (SPG).

The best technique is to rinse your first stage with slow running water (not high pressure like from a water hose nozzle). If you are at a dive shop or on a boat and all you have is a rinse tank, go ahead and rinse your first stage in the water, but hold it so the dust cap stays up above the water line.

Since you are diving Oceanic, your new regs might have the DVT (Dry Valve Technology) which greatly reduces the possibility of moisture getting in the first stage. Personally I still wouldn't submerse them totally, but I don't own one yet so I don't know how "waterproof" the DVT is. I don't know what Oceanic recommends, but I'd follow their recommendation.

good luck and welcome!

Cracked-
My regulator is the GT3/CDX5 without DVT. In hindsight, I probably should have sprung for the DVT but we were buying two of everything and in the interest of economy, I had to stick to the basics. Thank goodness you told me not to dunk my first stage, it never even occurred to me but it does make perfect sense. We haven't had time to really read our manuals and care guides but will bring them on the plane with us and use the time effectively to read and understand them.
In the meanwhile, I do have one more question, and it may sound silly but here goes.
You know the bulbous mouthpeice cover you use to clip your octo to your bc so it's not flailing all over the place? Is it okay to keep a rubber mouthpeice cover (the bulb kind) on when storing your octo or traveling (of course assumng it's dry.)?
I bought an extra to use on my regulator mouthpeice as well to protect it while traveling and to keep anything from getting in there. I hope this will not "deform" the mouthpeice or hurt the reg in any way.
Thanks again for the heads up on the first stage!