I thought this occurred very seldom, however, I have seen it happen twice this past summer. Once to me and then once to my dive buddy. My dive buddy's requlator was DIN so I was very suprised by that. I thought this almost never happens with DIN.
How often do o-rings blow out on 1st stages?
- Thread starter ranger979
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captain
Contributor
In 45 years I can't recall it ever happening to me. Where they rental or your own. Maintenance is the key.
The advantage of DIN is the o-ring is held therefore if it does go (which is rare) then you dont get a catastrophic blow out of air - rather it leaks out in a more controlled manner so takes longer to empty a tank.
There are other pros of using DIN but thats the main o-ring issue.
With a-clamp the O-ring can break and completely detatch leaving the tank to empty very quickly. Normally this happens when the rig is first pressurised but it can happen at other times during a dive.
Ive had 1 A-clamp first stage blow abroad on rented tanks. It let go just after i jumped in.
There are other pros of using DIN but thats the main o-ring issue.
With a-clamp the O-ring can break and completely detatch leaving the tank to empty very quickly. Normally this happens when the rig is first pressurised but it can happen at other times during a dive.
Ive had 1 A-clamp first stage blow abroad on rented tanks. It let go just after i jumped in.
Yoke o-rings I have seen blow a couple of times, usually on rental AL80s but its more common that one might think. I carry extra's and have had to replenish the supply this season.
DIN would be a regulator o-ring I believe. Never seen it happen to a DIN set up but don't doubt its possible, I have extra's for that scenario too but have yet to use one.
DIN would be a regulator o-ring I believe. Never seen it happen to a DIN set up but don't doubt its possible, I have extra's for that scenario too but have yet to use one.
Neither requlator was rental. Although, mine was a rental requlator that I purchased used. It has been serviced annually, though, and is not very old. It is also soaked overnight and cleaned after every dive. The LDS I purchased it from cycles through there rental gear every couple of years.captain:
I'm not sure the history of my dive buddies regulator. This is the first time I had dove with him. However, his equipment seemed pretty new and well maintained.
Both times happened while gearing up and was able to swap out the o ring before the dive.
I've also seen the O-ring at the HP/LP hose connection on the first stage blow, once with someone else, once on my reg due to a loose hose.
rottielover
Contributor
Yoke o-ring blow out happend to my wife durring our OW cert check out dives. Fortunatly were were on the bench with our gear setup, waiting for our turn to get in the water. Her equipment was setup for about 20 min, then all the sudden, BOOM, HISSSSSSSSSSS. I was able to shut off her air and replace the o-ring, fortunatly she only lost about 200 PSI and we were able to do our final check-out dive with no problems, but I can only imagine what might have happend if that o-ring would have gone at depth...
When I examined the O-Ring I could tell that someone had really cranked down on the yoke the last time that tank was used. Then they took that o-ring out, turned it around and replaced it. The one side of the o-ring was shot, and it was only a matter of time. I just wish that the last person using that tank would have asked for another o-ring from someone, rather than just turning it around!
When I examined the O-Ring I could tell that someone had really cranked down on the yoke the last time that tank was used. Then they took that o-ring out, turned it around and replaced it. The one side of the o-ring was shot, and it was only a matter of time. I just wish that the last person using that tank would have asked for another o-ring from someone, rather than just turning it around!
I have had the yoke type go on me once. It was predive so no danger. The din valve is the way to go. The oring is captured.
mixdiver:
I know this is the conventional wisdom, but that doesn't appear to be the case from my very limited experience. As I mentioned, when it happened to me it was with the yoke type but when it happened to my dive buddy it was din.
When it happened to with the din valve it was initially a small leak. As I was investigating trying to find were the leak was coming from my dive buddy hit his inflator, at which time it became a major leak.
ranger979:
I can happen and has happend to people. The din is by far less likely to give way. Here is a question how long had it been since the oring was changed? Was it in good shape? There are so many things that can go wrong it is best to try to limit them by maintaining your equipment and checking things regularly.
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