How to remove a stuck DIN to Yoke Adapter?

[Cat276330]

Hi all,

I know i will probaby be moaned at as this problem has been caused by laziness but i would like some advice.

I was diving in SE Asia pretty much every day for 4/5 months and my regs are DIN and their tanks were Yoke therefore i used my DIN to Yoke adapter on my regs.

I washed my equipment everyday, rinsed the regs etc, but i didnt remove the adapter and kept it on. So basically it wasnt removed for 5 months as i didnt need to remove it. Now i would like to remove it i cant! It seems like it is crusted on and me and a few others who have tried have failed to remove it.

I know this isnt too much of a problem but i think an O ring has gone and i cant now get to it to replace it as the adapter is stuck on and to be honest it is just very annoying!

Any suggestions of how i can remove this without damaging my regs? I dont mind damaging the adapter.

Cat

 

[Tortuga68]

Starting with the simple solution first, have you tried soaking it in fresh water overnight? Preferably while attached to a tank IE pressurized

 

[kierentec]

hook the yoke up to a tank valve and put a pipe wrench on the DIN hand wheel. might chew it up a bit, but it'll come off.

 

[HowardE]

Step 1: Spray vinegar on the threads, and let that sit for a little bit.

Step 2: Use a wrench on the DIN part to unscrew it from the yoke adapter.

 

[spectrum]

Like most have said, patience and soaking are your friend here.

As HowardE said vinegar for a bit, not prolonged as it will eat into the chrome.

If you can get warmth into the equation that may help too, like a rinse tub in the sun. I don't know how far that will get you in a London October.

Rule 1: Do no harm, nix the pipe wrench for now. If you use any tool force make sure it's on the hand wheel used to normally loosen, not back on the mounting hex. Consider wrapping it with tape or a rag before touching with a tool.

Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

All good suggestions except for the pipe wrench. If you do that after allowing the corrosion, and that is what it likely is, to weld the adapter to the din assembly you are pretty much guaranteeing that you'll need to replace both. Which you may have to do anyway. I would not be surprised if the threads are trashed.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[redacted]

Unless there are some inferior quality materials involved here, you should be able to free the adapter without destroying anything. Besides the soaking and vinegar treatments, you may want to add hot and cold treatments to let the metal expansion and contraction work for you. That is, freeze then entire 1st stage and then dip just the adapter into hot water. Add a little vinegar to the thread after a minute or two to attack and dissolve deposits. Then a couple hours of soaking to help carry away any dissolved deposits followed by a disassembly attempt. Be prepared to repeat this two or three times a day for a few days. You may even need to do another treatment or two after you get a little movement. Once you get a little movement, the treatment should be much more effective. Don't resort to the big wrenches until you are ready to put some parts, maybe the entie 1st stage, in the trash.

 

[supergaijin]

As stated there are a few ways of loosening parts.
The least destructive is with heat.

Vibration can help- ie. tapping the part repeatedly (gently).

Then a chemical solution.

Then heat again, and repeat until you get completely frustrated.

When this happens, it's time to get medieval on it's ass.

 

[Edward3c]

Can you not remove the DIN from the 1st stage then you only need to soak etc the two parts you want to separate.

What make of reg have you got.

 

[j2s]

Try soaking it in apple cider vinegar....The enzyme in that vinegar rather than white/plain vinegar breaks down salt and encrustation better....There are two other products; PB Blaster or the new WD-rust remover [found at auto parts stores]....But use those carefully, the acid in those products are strong and you should replace all exposed 'rings' when done.......