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We were doing a simple "let's get wet" dive at the local lake this weekend, I rigged up, turned on the air valve and popped the octo and main regulator to check for function. I was a bit upset to set dirt and grass shoot out of the main regulator and have it stick open a little. On the last trip I had to carry the rig back up to the car and It may have drug a little, but I didn't expect that! I got a gauze pad and some tweezers and cleaned up what I could see. Then I banged it a couple of time with my hand and popped it and a good bit of debris came out. I shudder to think what might have happened had I taken a deep breath at depth and got a mouth and lungs full of dirt and sand and dried grass.
It took five or six shakings to get everything out, then when we entered the water I thoroughly rinsed it and checked it again before using it.
Had I just assembled the gear and jumped in with it I might have gotten by ok with just a little coughing and hacking, but trying to clear dirt and debris from your mouth at 50 feet and breath doesn't sound like much fun.
So...
Always check your regs with a full function test before use and look them over carefully.
Never drag the regs, if they accidentally get drug through dirt, sand or even dry grass, make sure to clean them inside and out.
We have an extra "bungee octo holder" on our BCs. When we're leaving the water the primary get restrained with that up on a D ring. That way it can't drag or get a cylinder set down on it. Same thing after gearing up while going to the water.
Once you set up your rig, turn on the gas and check the pressure, take 3 to 5 good, deep breaths from both your primary and secondary second stages. (Remember, don't turn the gas off). That accomplishes a myriad of things that have been discussed here on the board to great depths (pardon the double entendre).
Once you get in the water do the same thing again. Doesn't hurt, doesn't use a whole lot of gas, takes very little time and reaffirms the proper operation of the regulators.
And a good cleaning after every dive day isn't such a bad thing either.
[countdown=10/8/2010 12:00 PM;Vortoberfest VI]Count down:[/countdown] VORTOBERFEST VI Long after man is gone and his dams burst, the rivers will, once again, flow freely to the sea.
Hey, no problem, this is so other folks learn from my mistake. After the last dive I noticed the dirt on the outside and took the reg over and rinsed it completely in the hose. On a basic visual inspection, I didn't see the muck inside. Only when I saw the debris fly on the test and had it stick open did I realize the extent of the contamination.
[countdown=10/8/2010 12:00 PM;Vortoberfest VI]Count down:[/countdown] VORTOBERFEST VI Long after man is gone and his dams burst, the rivers will, once again, flow freely to the sea.
Good advice. One time on a shore dive with water up to my waist I was just about to pop the reg in for a test breath when a huge roach crawled out .I shuddered and figured it was a one time deal.
See, I used to leave my BC drying at ground level out in the carport and the big waterbugs AKA giant roaches I guess like moist dark places. Duh. After I brought my dry BC in another time and one of these beasts jumped out of the inflator hose and had to be chased around the house I realized why you hang up your BC to dry.
As a dive trainer, one of the things I always notice is the way students handle their kit when leaving the dive site. Notably, i always notice regulators being dragged through the sand. guess what happens, sand gets stuck in the diaphragm and hey ho mighty free flows. So, this may be a little tip, at the end of the dive either, wear your kit back to the car so the regs arnt dragged through the sand/ground or partially inflate your BC and wrap all your regs/gauges inside it. Not only does this help to keep your regs off the floor but also give them some protection from the great size 10 footed clumsy idiot like me who comes along and stands on/kicks that lovely peice of life saving equipment.
And lets not forget the good old fashioned get your kit serviced regularly-its your life live it!
Good advice, except in very cold surface conditions; pre-breathing your reg can cause it to freeze when you get in the water. Under those conditions, you have to wait to get under before doing the check.
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.I shuddered and figured it was a one time deal. 
