I needed to replace my hp hose on my pressure gauge but now have a slow leak. Any suggestions on sealing it or is it just time to replace the o-ring. Thanks
Leaking pressure gauge
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Depends where the leak is coming from.
Most of the time leaks from the pressure gauge come from the connection between the hose and the gauge itself. It is actually pretty easy to swap out the o ring but I would not feel that comfortable trying to explain it to you if you have never done something like this before.
If you take the gauge out of the boot or whatever it is in then drop it (still connected to the hose) in to a bucket of water and turn the air on you should see exactly where the bubbles are coming from. If it is indeed the connection between the hose and the gauge then someone needs to disconnect them using a simple spanner set depending on the brand. when seperated you will find a pin sticking out of either the gauge or the hose - it is about an inch long. at either end of this you will see some really small o rings and it is most likely one of these that needs swapping out
Most of the time leaks from the pressure gauge come from the connection between the hose and the gauge itself. It is actually pretty easy to swap out the o ring but I would not feel that comfortable trying to explain it to you if you have never done something like this before.
If you take the gauge out of the boot or whatever it is in then drop it (still connected to the hose) in to a bucket of water and turn the air on you should see exactly where the bubbles are coming from. If it is indeed the connection between the hose and the gauge then someone needs to disconnect them using a simple spanner set depending on the brand. when seperated you will find a pin sticking out of either the gauge or the hose - it is about an inch long. at either end of this you will see some really small o rings and it is most likely one of these that needs swapping out
OP
The leak is indeed coming from between the hose and the gauge. Sounds like I need to find an O-ring. By the way it is a Zeagle gauge. Thanks
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
The "pin" scoobydrew mentioned is called an HP spool. It's a small tube, and it has one o-ring which sits in a groove at each end (total of 2 o-rings for one HP spool). The o-ring size is -003. Lube the o-rings well.
FYI, there are 3 different varieties of HP spools of which I am aware. If you are replacing the entire HP spool (sometimes they snap in half), make sure that you obtain the proper replacement part. Typically, the reg tech will service the HP spool when the reg setup gets overhauled.
On the plastic-housed SPGs that I've seen, it's best to use two wrenches to help re-connect the SPG with the HP hose. This helps prevent over-tightening the union.
FYI, there are 3 different varieties of HP spools of which I am aware. If you are replacing the entire HP spool (sometimes they snap in half), make sure that you obtain the proper replacement part. Typically, the reg tech will service the HP spool when the reg setup gets overhauled.
On the plastic-housed SPGs that I've seen, it's best to use two wrenches to help re-connect the SPG with the HP hose. This helps prevent over-tightening the union.
If you are going to change out the o-rings on the HP spool, be sure to remove any tiny pieces of the old -rings as they can easily become lodged in the tube part of the spool and cause air to be trapped in the guage itself, which can be a dangerous situation. I recently removed a pressure guage from the hose (after depressurizing the system), but there was almost 3000 pounds of pressure trapped in the guage because a tiny piece of the old o-ring was left behind. Needless to say, it came off with an extremely forceful bang.
ToddK
Contributor
I did this a couple of weeks ago after one of my SPGs developed a really violent leak. Turns out one of the two o-rings on the spool had practically split in half. The process to swap o-rings takes 2-3 min. PM me with your address if you'd like me to toss a few -003 o-rings in the mail to you. -Todd.
OP
Thanks, I removed the HP spool and one of the o-rings was bad (thanks Bubble). Cleaned it up (thanks CappyJon) applied a light coat of silcon grease and reassembled. Then tested it for leaks and took it diving, no problems.
Scared Silly
Contributor
BTW, it is worth while to stick a complete spool into your save a dive kit. Twice I have replaced them on trips. No for myself but others.
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