immersed regulator without dust cover

LollyO · Sep 5, 2009

oops...I immersed, soaked and rinsed, and re-immersed and re-rinsed my regulator and my husband's regulator this afternoon and I forgot to put on the dust cap.

I knew better....I just had a brain fart.

What damage have I done?

In reference to Scuba disassembly my training book said

" Dry off the dust cover before placing it over the air inlet and securing it in place" and "be sure to place the dust cap over the first stage inlet to or oriface to prevent any watering from entering

Any chance I could have got out of this without any damage?
Any and all insight and advice appreciated!

Thanks,

JBRES1 · Sep 5, 2009

Hi,

It looks as if an annual service is in order for your regs.

When you get water in the 1st stage, you need to get it out quickly.

You could first try removing all of the hoses and hooking up the 1st stage to a tank
and blowing out all of the water.

Unless you service your own regs , I would say its got to go to the shop.

Sorry, Jim breslin

MauiScubaSteve · Sep 5, 2009

What regulators are they? Some new ones do not take in water when rinsing without the WATER* cap.

Even before DVT technology (by any other name), if/when I rinsed without the water cap I would just hook the reg up to a tank and purge the second stages until there was no mist coming out. Taking the hoses off means you do not get any water out that might be in the hoses.

I hear the first step of many service shops is soaking the regs in fresh water. Fresh water in a first stage is not that big a deal, as long as you don't leave it in there.

*Maybe it would be proper to call it a debris cap; it's definately not a dust cap for me!

Jim Lapenta · Sep 5, 2009

I'd also remove the spg before putting it on a tank and turning the air on to keep from forcing water into the spg. Once you have that off make sure you have a good hold of the HP hose and just crack the tank valve. When it stops blowing water, turn the valve off, remove the HP hose and put the plug in. Then you can turn on the air and purge the second stages to your hearts content. If you are uncomfortable or have any doubts whatsoever about doing any of this- DON'T DO ANY OF IT! Take it to the shop and let them check it for you.

LollyO · Sep 5, 2009

thanks,
Now I want to buy a tank just to have it around for things like this.
Luckily I have a very handy husband. We dont have access to a tank tonight, so we will go thru JimLap's procedure tomorrow.

If we go thru JimLaps procedure tomorrow and everything seems to check out fine, is there anything we should be on the lookout for the next time we dive?

SCUBA482 · Sep 5, 2009

Would it matter if it were "environmentally sealed" or do the same rules apply?

LollyO · Sep 5, 2009

halemano:
What regulators are they? Some new ones do not take in water when rinsing without the WATER* cap.

!

2004 Aqua Lung Micra

2009 Edge Epic

spectrum · Sep 5, 2009

LollyO:
thanks,
Now I want to buy a tank just to have it around for things like this.

Ideally you always rinse your regulator sets in a pressurized state, connected to a tank. Positive pressure trumps all dust caps, procedures and precautions. It also lets you blast some air through the second stages to aid in the rinsing.

JimLap gave a good summary of what to do. If all of this was fresh water then give it a shot if you are so inclined. If salt water was involved I'd be more likely to have a shop take a peek in there.

Pete

LollyO · Sep 5, 2009

spectrum:
If salt water was involved I'd be more likely to have a shop take a peek in there.

Pete

Thanks Pete
We dove in salt water, but of course the regulators were attached to the tanks at that time . The rinse water was plain old tap water.

spectrum · Sep 5, 2009

Just to be clear , there are two issues I see,

1. Water & corrosives like salt get into the regulator and begin to corrode. The likelihood that you had enough dried salt on the regulator that went into solution AND got into the first stage is pretty small so anything that entered is to a high percent just your tap water. This is what you are dealing with when you purge the heck out of the rig.

2. The SPG is a dead end and the bourdon tube will rot and fail if you get water in there. This is why you remove the gauge, purge the HP line, purge the rest of the rig and reinstall the gauge. Air gets to the gauge via some very very small passages. Water will not get into the gauge without some use and time so if you clear the lines right away you can intercept the water before it can get to the gauge.

When in doubt bring it to the shop.

BTW, Kudos on being part of the gear care team. It's a great time to get a close look at the equipment you are counting on.

Pete

immersed regulator without dust cover

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