BPW care: bolts, nuts, steel on steel care

[diver42]

Do you leave your gear underwater for a week? Because that's about what it takes to actually have any impact.

I didn’t mean any offense. I can tell you that the nylon screws on cave reels so commonly swelled after a short time under water that we quit using them.

Maybe your nylon is different than mine.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just take it apart and rinse. That’s it. The BP is nearly indestructible. I’ve had my primary BP for 20 years. I wouldn’t leave the wing nuts on it, because it’ll impede the rinse. The wing also needs a great rinse, of course, like any other scuba gear.


Don’t do this. Nylon washers swell in the water and then shrink again when they dry. Your wing nuts will always be loose. If you use washers, use plain SS washers.

Lock washers aren’t necessary. Just tighten the bolts before every dive.

One could also use a threadlocker like blue loctite in addition to the flat washers.

 

[diver42]

One could also use a threadlocker like blue loctite in addition to the flat washers.

You could, but don’t you want to disconnect everything to rinse it? I usually give the BP a quick rinse and the wing a good rinse, inside and out, then leave it full of air to dry.
My harness might last a little longer if I were more careful with the BP. But they last so long anyway.

 

[TuckerIdaho]

I didn’t mean any offense. I can tell you that the nylon screws on cave reels so commonly swelled after a short time under water that we quit using them.

Maybe your nylon is different than mine.

Nylon 6/6 takes approx 15 days to absorb enough water to expand 1%. There are different grades of nylon/plastics.

PTFE/HDPE/UHMW on the other hand absorb no water. Or you just use nylon with clearance like the DGX BP/W nylon bolts.

 

[kelemvor]

I just rinse my gear, and disassemble it for drying/storage. I switch between a few plates based on weighting needs (steel, alu, plastic). So far, I have only seen the tiniest discoloration on a few of the washers. Most of my gear is only about 5 years old so maybe once it gets some real age on it I'll have to deal with corrosion.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

You could, but don’t you want to disconnect everything to rinse it? I usually give the BP a quick rinse and the wing a good rinse, inside and out, then leave it full of air to dry.
My harness might last a little longer if I were more careful with the BP. But they last so long anyway.

Once I get a set of doubles set up, I keep them together till I need to take them apart. Just clean it as a unit. I don’t mind the bulk and weight.

 

[diver42]

By the way, I generally don’t rinse the gear if it’s been only in the aquifer.