Rinsing Mistake

Birmbear · Jul 29, 2009

I can't believe I did it: I left the dust cover off of my Magnum regulator as I rinsed it in fresh water after a salt water dive. What are the chances that I've damaged my regulator? And what's to be done about it?
Thanks,
__Ric

openhelix · Jul 29, 2009

Take it to your LDS and have them check it out... No way to tell over the internet

cowdog77 · Jul 29, 2009

Let us know what you find out.
(Wishing you all the best)

Xaryo · Jul 29, 2009

Birmbear:
I can't believe I did it: I left the dust cover off of my Magnum regulator as I rinsed it in fresh water after a salt water dive. What are the chances that I've damaged my regulator? And what's to be done about it?
Thanks,
__Ric

What were you doing rinsing your reg in water while NOT under pressure???

Sherwood SCUBA rep. · Jul 29, 2009

Best thing to do is take it to your LDS and have them check it out. Can't tell what happened until a technician opens up the first stage.

Sherwood Rep.

Birmbear · Jul 30, 2009

Thanks all. I'll take it to my LDS. Xaryo: I didn't need pressure because I was rinsing in fresh water to clean off the salt. If I had had my dust cover on, everything would have been fine....I think.

Thanks again,
__Ric

Xaryo · Jul 30, 2009

Not really. If there is no air pressure, the water pressure on the second stage is enough to open the valve and let water in. Even if it is fresh water, it will corrode the metal.

You should never rinse a reg without it being under pressure.

DevonDiver · Jul 31, 2009

My first advice is to take the regulator to your LDS and have it checked out properly.

The most obvious, layman's, inspection of a regulator for water ingress is discoloration of the 1st stage filter and any signs on water inside the SPG. However, a reg can seem ok in these respects, but still be degraded.

If you suspect fresh water ingress, you can do a quick fix (maybe on liveaboards or remote sites) by removing the SPG...and then connecting to a tank. Slowly crank on the pressure and it 'can' blow any ingressed water out of the system. Not idea, and I am sure some on here will disagree, but it is a last ditch solution if you are not able to properly inspect/repair the regs yourself or get them to a service technician.

sanjac · Jul 31, 2009

I have a Sherwood Oasis. I routinely toss my gear in my bathtub for a while after a dive to get rid of the salt water, including my regulator (with dust cap on). Is this a bad thing to do even with the dust cover in place? How does one rinse off the regulator if there is no way to rinse gear at the dive site while the tank is connected and no tank at home to maintain pressure?

Jim Lapenta · Jul 31, 2009

BUy a tank! Seriously though rinsing regs is best done by not letting them soak in a tub of water. You can do this with BC, wetsuit, etc. Rinsing off a reg is best done under running water anyway. with the cap on of course but holding it under the garden hose( not hosing it with high pressure from a nozzle of course), or even in the shower. Hey you gotta rinse off (unless you are one of those gross slobs who thinks I just got out of several millions of gallons of water, why do I need a shower), so take the reg with you and do the same. Throwing a reg in to soak only reduces the salt on it by dissolving it into the water you are supposed to be rinsing it with! DUH! So when you take it out all you've done is allowed water with salt dissolved in it to seep into the same places you are trying to get it out of. It's ok to dunk it for a second or two but only a running freshwater rinse will do the job that is required.

Rinsing Mistake

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