Flooded First Stage

[nikolay_zhelev]

Hi guys,

Last week I did my first dive with my Scubapro MK25(DIN)/S600/R195 regulator set.

After the dive I put my regulator system in a basin with fresh water from the tap in order to clean in from the salty water. The DIN dust cap, which is just a screw in cap, was in place on my first stage during the cleaning and I'm sure I never pressed the purge button on my second stage and octopus, but the system was depressurised. After I dried the regulator set I put it in my bag and today, exactly one week later, I opened the dust cap on my first stage and realised there is water in my first stage.

I removed all hoses and find out there is water on the treads and inside the low pressure and high pressure chambers as well. According to the manual no water should go inside the regulator system during the regular maintenance after dive. I have no explanation how the water get inside since I followed all the procedures stated in the manual.

Could you please advise me, what to do now and how severe the damage could be? My regulator set is brand new, one dive only.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[Scared Silly]

The screw caps are not always exactly water tight.

Remove all of the hoses, put it on a cylinder, and pressurize it to blow out any remaining water. Then take a hair drier to it. After that leave it in a warm place until you are sure it is dry. Put the hoses back on, pressurize it again, and cycle the reg.

FWIW after I rinse my regs they typically get left out in a warm place for a couple of days to fully dry and even then I have found water in the body of the second stage.

 

[nikolay_zhelev]

Dear Scared Silly,

Thank you very much for your reply. That's exactly what I did one hour ago. The whole system is disassembled and now it's drying.

I'll buy screw in dust cap, because obviously mine is not watertight. What do you think about that one: Scuba Diving Female Din 1st First Stage Regulator Dust Cap

The thing that worries me is that the regulator system stayed with water for one week. I hope no corrosion started to form.

Shall I send the system for an inspection from an authorised repair centre?

 

[redacted]

The Scubapro protective cap will seal a yoke connection, but not a din connector. I usually soak my Mk5 din 1sts for hours without pressure but I use an aftermarket protector that does seal the connection.

Good news is no harm with clean FW. If you do not have access to a tank, you could ( St leave it disassembled and it will dry. But a tank is faster and better. Also, do screw the S600 adjuster all the way in when you soak it in the future.

 

[Bob DBF]

I usually rinse my regs, when I soak them, I have them attached to a tank and charged.

It is a PITA but no problems.


Bob
PS: there is at least one second that has a "seat saver" that opens the reg when not charged, similar to pushing the purge.

 

[nikolay_zhelev]

Thanks for being that active on my topic guys.

Actually in my case when soaked my S600, the adjuster knob was fully out (the easiest breathing mode), however the water went in from the first stage unfortunately.

The weather now is quite warm and the system is drying, but I'm still wondering whether to send it for an inspection or not.

 

[redacted]

The only thing an inspector is likely to find is your money in his pocket. The only harm that could possibly occur would be a little loss of lubrication and an opportunity for a little vertegris but any symptoms would be minor and well down the road.

 

[halocline]

I don't understand how this happened if your DIN dust cap screws on. If so, it seals exactly like the tank valve, against the o-ring on the regulator. I have seen some cheap soft rubber DIN caps that just stretch over the threads, is that what you have? If so, replace it with something like the delrin cap you linked to, although that's a pretty expensive one.

As long as you blew some air through the reg with all the ports unplugged (it gets cold pretty fast, so just give it a few bursts) and dried it out, it's probably fine. Salt water intrusion is a much bigger problem.

 

[nikolay_zhelev]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all advises. From what I see, the dust cap on Scubapro first stage does not have thread. Having said that in order to waterseal the regulator before soaking it in fresh water you have to press the dust cap firmly to the regulator.

In my situation, I believe I didn't press it all the way in and that's how the water went in. I don't have any other clue how did it happen.

I blew couple of times in the filter with all ports opened. Unfortunately I don't have any tank and I should wait until our LDS opens on Wednesday to connect my reg to high pressure source.

Could you please explain in details how to vent the first stage attached to a bottle? Probably a stupid question, but it's better to ask: If all ports are open, wouldn't that be a problem when I open the bottle valve?

 

[Bob DBF]

Could you please explain in details how to vent the first stage attached to a bottle? Probably a stupid question, but it's better to ask: If all ports are open, wouldn't that be a problem when I open the bottle valve?

Just crack open the bottle valve a little, with all the ports open the reg will be trying to establish the IP in the room, so there will be a lot of flow. It is not a problem because you are trying to blow out any water. Expect noise from the air escaping.


Bob