Second Stage Free Flow

[Griffo]

So my HOG regs are around 4 months and 30 dives old. One of the first stages has always been a little sensitive to free flowing on the surface, but has always been easy to resolve by tapping the reg, sticking my tongue in it, or winding the cracking pressure out and in again. I'd used it at depth several times without issue.

This weekend though, during Fundies (of all bloody places) it became unuseable. The moment I either breathed off it, or purged it, I would go into free-flow and the only way to stop it was to turn off the tank. It was would all the way in, which is where I normally have left it to disuade freeflows while jumping in.

Now i've dropped it into a local shop with a couple of kits (thank god I had bought some!), and they are going to look at it for me, but i'm wondering what the possible cause could be, and if I should be talking to DGE who I bought it off? The LDS was mutting about the HP seat causing IP creep, but wouldn't that have affected both first stages?

(I live in Australia so sending it back to DGE just to put a kit through it wasn't going to happen)

 

[zoom5]

Did you check the intermediate pressure? IP is can be different in both first stage.

 

[Griffo]

Sorry should have said, it was a single first stage.

 

[BB1]

OzGriffo, "

HP seat causing IP creep" is bull****!

You need to get an IP gauge and check it yourself or ask to see it checked at the LDS.

Mine is still rock solid after 18 months and 300 dives!

More likely the 2nd stage just needs a tiny tweak - take the hose off, press the purge slightly to avoid cutting the seat internally and using an allen key inside the 2nd stage where you removed the hose just turn to the right a VERY small amount - 1/4 turn is way to much - reassemble a try it and you should find its heaps better.

OR ask your LDS to just tune the 2nd stage to the 1st stage if not confident!

I'll lay money it does not need a rebuild!!​

 

[Griffo]

Thanks so much! I better head down now to make sure they haven't already just put the kits through! I was curious how it would only affect one of the 2nd stages....

Cheers

 

[j2s]

OzGriffo, "

HP seat causing IP creep" is bull****!

You need to get an IP gauge and check it yourself or ask to see it checked at the LDS.

Mine is still rock solid after 18 months and 300 dives!

More likely the 2nd stage just needs a tiny tweak - take the hose off, press the purge slightly to avoid cutting the seat internally and using an allen key inside the 2nd stage where you removed the hose just turn to the right a VERY small amount - 1/4 turn is way to much - reassemble a try it and you should find its heaps better.

OR ask your LDS to just tune the 2nd stage to the 1st stage if not confident!

I'll lay money it does not need a rebuild!!​

Exactly !!!!....Once the individual specs have been set, your LDS should fine tune the 1st and 2nd together....Some times if you go just a 'tad' on the high or low side of specs, it'll be just where you like it for the way you dive.....It's one of the benefits of self-maintenance, you get it your way !!!!!

 

[Griffo]

*sigh* The drama continues. I'm hoping you knowledgable people can help clear up some things for me. I am a complete noob when it comes to regulators, and hate not knowing when i'm being fed BS.

So I rocked up to the LDS to find that they had put the kits through the 2 second stages. They showed me the old seats (they returned all parts) which had very visible indentations on them. Their only explanation for this level of wear was that they must have been on the shelf for years? I bought these off Dive Gear Express, i can't tally that statement with the DGE business model. Can anyone explain this?

The second issue is that they stated that the 1st stage kit I had given them was the wrong kit. I got these off DRIS when doing a light order, and the bag definately says D1 First Stage. The LDS stated that the filter was a different shape, and would not fit, and that the diaphram was thicker and had a different finish to the diaphram in the reg. Once again, can someone explain this to me? The filter in the kit is conical, they said the one in the reg was more square.

Then they started to tell me how poor these regs performed. Apparently the 2nd stages exhibit poor performance, and the 1st stage gets "colder than any other 1st stage they have ever seen" which makes it dangerous to use in cold water. I queried that this was a cold water reg, and they didn't have a good answer.
What i'm worried about is that these guys have ballsed up my regs somehow :-( This is turning into a disaster!

Help!

 

[CaveMD]

*sigh* The drama continues. I'm hoping you knowledgable people can help clear up some things for me. I am a complete noob when it comes to regulators, and hate not knowing when i'm being fed BS.

So I rocked up to the LDS to find that they had put the kits through the 2 second stages. They showed me the old seats (they returned all parts) which had very visible indentations on them. Their only explanation for this level of wear was that they must have been on the shelf for years? I bought these off Dive Gear Express, i can't tally that statement with the DGE business model. Can anyone explain this?

The second issue is that they stated that the 1st stage kit I had given them was the wrong kit. I got these off DRIS when doing a light order, and the bag definately says D1 First Stage. The LDS stated that the filter was a different shape, and would not fit, and that the diaphram was thicker and had a different finish to the diaphram in the reg. Once again, can someone explain this to me? The filter in the kit is conical, they said the one in the reg was more square.

Then they started to tell me how poor these regs performed. Apparently the 2nd stages exhibit poor performance, and the 1st stage gets "colder than any other 1st stage they have ever seen" which makes it dangerous to use in cold water. I queried that this was a cold water reg, and they didn't have a good answer.
What i'm worried about is that these guys have ballsed up my regs somehow :-( This is turning into a disaster!

Help!

There is a different diaphragm in the service kits from the original one in some of the D1's, it works perfectly fine(actually better) than the one originally in the reg.

I can quite certainly tell you that reg couldn't have been sitting on the shelf very long at DGE, I was sitting next to Chris when they were discussing inventory and how quickly they completely sell out of d1's.

There is a high probability IMO that you are being fed a line of BS by your LDS in order to ease you into buying a reg they sell and are familiar with.

 

[Fishpie]

"1st stage getting colder than most".......now that's a new one!

 

[elan]

"1st stage getting colder than most".......now that's a new one!

Even if this is true it speaks well about the reg as it would mean the reg transfers the heat very well this its internal temp will be higher due to great heat exchange with the water.