Gear-testing dive - flooded spg, should I have seen this coming?

I went for my first dive of 2012 this afternoon in a 50 foot deep swimming pool to finally test out the reg I got in December. This was my first dive with all my own gear. I figured I'd test things out and see about hose routings and where I wanted the spg and octo clipped off and just generally make sure everything works just in case I don't get a chance to dive before my trip to the Bahamas in May. Anybody who's seen my old threads will know that I was pondering what to do with my mom's old 30-years-out-of-the-water SP MK7/109 setup that was in my basement, use it or cannibalize it. In the end, it got cannibalized, with the spg getting attached to a new MK17/g250v, while the old second stages are still in my basement awaiting a possible rebirth eventually.

In the water, I wasn't disappointed by the mk17/g50v and based on one dive, don't regret the choice, lol, however I noticed part way through the 53 minute dive (don't remember exactly when) that the spg had water in it, not droplets, but obvious water. Should I have expected it to leak after it's been dry for 30 years? Should my LDS have suggested this was possible when they agreed to hook it up for me? The pic below was taken about 4 hours after the dive, and I doubt any water has come out. Kinda curious how long it'll take to dry out, but I guess I'm in the market for a new one.



Edit: Weird, my line breaks disappeared and the pic ended up way bigger than I expected.

Did the SPG quit reading the pressure?

If it quit it's toast but, if it continues to read the pressure, there is o-ring or seal that is bad and I, personally, would try to fix it. If you are not a DIY kind of guy, it's cheaper and more realiable to buy a new one. I am presently using one of those gauges on my backup reg set and I'll use it till it pukes.

As an aside you can see it coming because it is an older gauge and old equipment wears out sooner, not being used dosen't necessarly mean a longer life. On the other hand I won't toss anything just because it's old, I still dive a '63 vintage double hose to 130'.



Bob
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You only need two tools in life – WD40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the Duct Tape

It continued to read pressure until the needle was lower than I would care to admit and I had a "what am I doing, I don't know how accurate this thing is" moment and headed up. If I knew where/how to get at the o-ring/seal, I might give it a try, but as it is, I've poked/prodded at the edge of the boot (figuring that might ease pressure on whatever's sealing it) to see if any water would dribble out somewhere, but it didn't. Things degrade over time, and 30 years is a long time without use or maintenance so I probably should have considered the possibility... oh well, I've got 2 months to fix it or find a replacement I like.

Basic Scuba forum - so my advice has to be replace the gauge. If the gauge subsequently fails on a dive, it could leave you with an over-estimation of your air supply and, thus, contribute to an out-of-air emergency.

Water and mechanics don't mix well. If anything degrades inside the gauge (spring, pivot etc) then it could seize up. As stated above, that's potentially dangerous for you. It (stuck/non-returning needle) happened to me once, with an old SPG, but luckily I caught the problem during maintenance and not on a dive.

Farallon was bought out by Oceanic in the mid 70's so that gauge has a few more than 30 years on it.
Looks like the mechanicals are good so there might be a hair line crack in the plastic case, the rubber relief plug on the back of the case perished or one of the o rings sealing the bottom has leaked.
It really isn't worth the effort to diagnose or repair.
You just got unlucky.

I have seen this quite a few times as a result of the regs being rinsed off without the dust cap on the first stage. Also we found that the water didn't ingress into the gauge until a few dives later. At the advice of our equipment mechanic we would remove the submersible pressure gauge (SPG) from the first stage and blow the system through after connecting it up to the tank, leave the SPG suspended with the hose hanging down and this would usually avoid the problem which you are now facing which I would agree means a new gauge.

Sorry if that's all a bit too technical for this board but hope it proves useful.

Learn to change your hoses, orings, and SPG/ SPG spools at the very least. The idea of having a flooded SPG still connected to your first stage would give me an uneasy feeling.

For right now I say buy a new SPG, but keep any broken scuba parts so you can tinker with it for funsies. It's kinda like adult legos.

As others have suggested, bin it. Buy a brass and glass SPG and some spare spools. I change the spool every year whether it needs it or not. It's a $3 item. Good luck.

ed.hamilton1:

I have seen this quite a few times as a result of the regs being rinsed off without the dust cap on the first stage. Also we found that the water didn't ingress into the gauge until a few dives later. At the advice of our equipment mechanic we would remove the submersible pressure gauge (SPG) from the first stage and blow the system through after connecting it up to the tank, leave the SPG suspended with the hose hanging down and this would usually avoid the problem which you are now facing which I would agree means a new gauge.

Sorry if that's all a bit too technical for this board but hope it proves useful.

Click to expand...

Too technical, no, inaccurate, yes. The water in this gauge is inside the case, not inside the gauge bordon tube. This is clearly a leaking housing, the cause of which may be it a defective oring or case crack but in any case, the water is in the housing, not internal to the gauge. Water introduced into the regulator that is passed to the SPG by soaking will not be visible in the gauge unless you also have an internal rupture in the gauge itself....something you can not miss if it's under pressure and that is not repairable.

Can this one be repaired, most likely not. Some of the older guages had a removable face that contained an oring that can be replaced however most (all?) of the newer ones are press fit together making them unrepairable, my guess is this one fits the latter catagory.

Oreo...you should retire the SPG and get a new one. They are relatively inexpensive and you will have some peace of mind especially if you are about to leave for a liveaboard.