Getting rid of salt residue, corrosion in regulator at home.

[HISSDC]

Been fiddling with salt remains for months, but still can't find an effective and safe way to clean these.
I don't have images of the worst case, but as shown in the attached files most has green, white. brown stuff inside and nothing worked so far.

I've tried warm water and dish washer, but it was no use.
I'm too afraid to use vinegar, since I've heard it can damage the chrome coating.
I have access to a ultrasonic cleaner for eye glasses, but not using it since I have no idea what damage the chemicals for a regulator can cause on it, plus I'm not sure if the vibration is strong enough.

Is there a good way to remove these? Are chemicals aimed for salt such at 'salt away' effective? I've also heard about boiling the metal parts. Does that work well?
Also, is the orange- brown corrosion a different matter? Does it require a different way to remove these, or is this corrosion permanent and can't be helped?

And by what passage can a regulator flood? I had no problem using the regulator, detected no leak whatsoever, never left dust cap open when soaking, and then I found white and green salt residue all over the inside. Perhaps a loose hose/port? How do I prevent salt water from entering the 1st stage at all? It's really frustrating me that most of our regulators have signs of sea water inside.


+Every time I open a regulator yoke nut with a wrench, I can't help but scratch off the chrome coating, exposing the brass. Is there a better way of opening it?

 

[BoltSnap]

I'd stop fiddling and take it to an expert professional regulator service technician and let them take care of it.

 

[redacted]

That "expert professional regulator service technician" will use an ultra-sonic cleaner to remove those deposits and charge you more that it would cost you to buy your own US cleaner.

 

[fmerkel]

I just use vinegar + ultrasonic. Remove O-rings and plastic parts, clean for just long enough to remove corrosion. What you have there is corrosion, it's no longer salt deposits. You can remove salt with a good warm water soak.
That looks like an old reg that's had some use. You have some discoloration with some chrome already gone. There isn't anything you can do about that now.

Judging by your filter at least some saltwater has gotten past your seal somehow.

 

[herman]

The proper vinegar solution is a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Do not soak longer than necessary as it will strip damaged chrome.
If you are boat diving, a very common but overlooked place where salt water gets into a reg is the tank valve. A few drops of water gets splashed onto the valve during the boat ride and will stay there until pressure forces it out. A short venting (does not need to be a loud blast) of air from the tank before hooking up the reg will help eliminate it...

 

[Nemrod]

US cleaner plus warm water plus white vinegar or dilute Simple Green, for parts and be careful as this will take chrome off.

For post dive cleaning I just rinse and after a trip I will let the regulator soak in freshwater, rinse and then dry it and inspect it. Put it on a tank and run it a few breaths or purge and then put it away.

I do not understand what the OP means by damaging the chrome every time he uses a wrench to remove the yoke?

You should not be using a steel pick to clean your regulator or to remove O-rings. That equipment looks rough. I predict an US bath with vinegar will remove a lot of that flakey (and no longer effective) chrome.

The sintered filter should be replaced regularly, that one is toast.

N

 

[fmerkel]

Never tried simple green for initial cleaning of corrosion off metal parts. Does that work instead of vinegar? I use Simple Green for plastic and O-rings.

 

[halocline]

And by what passage can a regulator flood? I had no problem using the regulator, detected no leak whatsoever, never left dust cap open when soaking, and then I found white and green salt residue all over the inside. Perhaps a loose hose/port? How do I prevent salt water from entering the 1st stage at all? It's really frustrating me that most of our regulators have signs of sea water inside.


+Every time I open a regulator yoke nut with a wrench, I can't help but scratch off the chrome coating, exposing the brass. Is there a better way of opening it?

Please ignore the condescending and ignorant reply by an earlier poster, your questions are good ones and deserve helpful answers. 1st stages can only flood through tank valve, unless they are submerged unpressurized. Water on the tank valve as herman mentioned, or wet fills, are usually responsible for the corrosion on the filter you're seeing. I dry off the tank valve and the regulator inlet before connecting it to a tank.

As far as the corrosion on the piston, that's basically rust on a not-quite-stainless steel part. Without proper soaking, salt water residue can remain in the ambient chamber and get trapped between the underside of the piston head and the spring. This is the most common spot for corrosion in older piston regs that I have seen. The only way to prevent seawater from entering the ambient chamber of the 1st stage is to use sealed regulators. For some piston regs you can fill the ambient chamber with grease to seal it; diaphragm regs use an external diaphragm to create a sealed chamber. You generally can't convert an unsealed diaphragm 1st stage to sealed, but there are many sealed 1st stages available.

It's really common in high use-rental regulators, especially in tropical climates by the ocean, to see some creeping corrosion around the inlet and in the ambient chambers.

For the yoke nut issue, get a well-fitting socket designed for yoke nuts, and you won't bang them up anymore. Stop using the adjustable wrench.

 

[Bratface]

I live in the caribbean and the salt air will get almost everything we own. The half strength vinegar solution as Herman previously stated is a good solution.

 

[Frod]

Never tried simple green for initial cleaning of corrosion off metal parts. Does that work instead of vinegar? I use Simple Green for plastic and O-rings.

In what proportion do you delute Simple Green?
You dont use it 100% from the bottle, right?