Is my gear okay?

[Austin]

I'm feeling really bad. I dove 4 months ago in Bermuda, there wasn't a place to rinse the gear off and by the time we got back to the friends place we were staying at it was time for dinner. Then we left the following evening and everything was crazy. The gear then got stored away until I pulled it out this weekend. Long story short, it wasn't rinsed and I'm a little worried. :frown2: I'm usually a complete Nazi about taking expert care of gear and allways rinsing after every dive no matter what, but it didn't happen the last time. Safety wise am I okay, such as is the first stage and second stage probably okay? Howabout the BC? We're headed off to Hawaii next wend so I can't get anything serviced until we get back.

Oh, by the way I'm finishing my Rescue Diver cert this weekend! :sprite10:

 

[H2Andy]

i would rinse everything in chlorinated water right away and let dry.

as for the BC, put some water with mild soap in it, swish it around, rinse it,
inflate it slightly, and let it dry.

the biggest danger is salt crystals forming inside the bladder.

just don't let it happen again, young man

and congratz on the rescue training!

will you be using your gear for the rescue training? if so, it'll be a great
time to make sure evertyhing is fine (it should be).

 

[Austin]

Thanks alot! I know, won't happen again, lol

 

[jbd]

I'm feeling really bad. I dove 4 months ago in Bermuda, there wasn't a place to rinse the gear off and by the time we got back to the friends place we were staying at it was time for dinner. Then we left the following evening and everything was crazy. The gear then got stored away until I pulled it out this weekend. Long story short, it wasn't rinsed and I'm a little worried. I'm usually a complete Nazi about taking expert care of gear and allways rinsing after every dive no matter what, but it didn't happen the last time. Safety wise am I okay, such as is the first stage and second stage probably okay? Howabout the BC? We're headed off to Hawaii next wend so I can't get anything serviced until we get back.

Oh, by the way I'm finishing my Rescue Diver cert this weekend! :sprite10:

Rinse the gear and inspect it the best you can. Try it out in a pool or shallow water. If it all works fine then most likely you won't have a problem. Rinse again after your pool/shallow water test.

 

[Austin]

Yeah, I'll be using it in the pool on sunday

 

[matt_unique]

I would soak all of it in warm water. Swish it around, press all the buttons, move all the levers, etc. Make sure your regs are pressurized on a tank as you are doing this. You would want to pour water into the BC and swish it around as suggested. With water on both sides of the bladded I squeeze the bottom (of each side) to brake up any salt that may have formed down there then pour it all out. Once everything is dried, connect your entire rig and press all the buttons/levers again to make sure all is well. You should be set.

--Matt

 

[cmalinowski]

and, I might add, rinse everything really well and put some water in your bladder and swish it around.