Classic 2nd Orifice

[gcarter]

My son's three Classic 2nds are currently in for service. 2 were diving fine, 1 had been swapped out due to a slight leak.

The shop called and told me that the orifice (part #14) on all three regs looked to have rust deposits and that they were in the ultrasonic cleaner. He wasn't sure if the deposits could be removed, I will find out tomorrow. He did say that this could easily be why the spare was leaking.

Is this a common issue? The regs are rinsed and cleaned every outing, cared for in the same manner as my Apeks which the shop also just serviced with no issues.

 

[redacted]

Rinsing may not be enough to remove salt from tight spaces. Try soaking.

 

[gcarter]

Rinsing may not be enough to remove salt from tight spaces. Try soaking.

No salt in the St. Lawrence

Probably should have mentioned that.

 

[gcarter]

Found this thread on another site, same basic question but no answer The Deco Stop

 

[herman]

My BS meter is solidly in the red zone. First off, there can't be any "rust" on a second stage orifice, many are made of plastic and those that are not are chrome plated brass....neither of these material "rust", brass corrodes but does not rust, same goes for the barrels they are installed in. May be just poor choice of words but makes me wonder. Next and more importantly, how exactly did water get into to second stage in the first place, it is required for metal to "rust" or corrode? Unless you are holding the purge purge button down while rinse/soaking the regs there is no way for water to get in other than bad air in tanks which is more likely to show up as issues in the first stage. Something is not making sense here.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have seen a few orifices that had some corrosion on them. All were from saltwater diving. All were also clearly not rinsed well as the case was full of salt residue.
I have yet to see any that were rusted. Since as Herman said they are plated brass.

Discoloration is possible I suppose from diving in freshwater with a heavy mineral content.

Even then if rinsed with fresh running water and allowed to dry thoroughly before storage, that is going to seriously reduce any chance of the orifice getting corroded.

The reason the reg starts to develop a free flow, independent of an excessive IP from a bad 1st, is that the LP seat is now grooved to the point where it will not seal.

Age, use, adjustment, etc. will all be factors here. One thing that I see often is that the regs, especially the octo or back up, are stored with the adjustment knob turned all the way in to the stiffest setting. This puts excess pressure on the seat. Not a lot but over time it adds up. After rinsing and drying the adjustment knob should be turned all the way to the least breathing effort position for storage.

If the orifices are actually rusted the dealer should let HOG know and send them to him. Those orifices are used by more than one company. They are not exclusive to Edge/HOG.

 

[gcarter]

Could be something lost in translation, he is French and may have said rust when he simply meant corrosion.

I agree that this doesn't make a lot of sense, particularly given the care the regs receive and that they only saw 3 saltwater dives last year all with full soaks afterwards. The rest (~35) were freshwater. Same dives done as I did with my Apeks and the same after dive care. Gear is hung to dry and left unenclosed until the next outing. They are only put away in the off season.

 

[gcarter]

Just called the shop to see what the answer is and the tech is "under the ice".

 

[gcarter]

The shop has still not managed to secure the replacement parts (going through a Toronto dealer who is not very quick responding to emails), but I did drop in today and look at the old parts and talk to the tech. It is in fact corrosion, not rust.