Omniswivel failure - yikes

[tridacna]

I was diving Colombia Deep in Coz on Wed. I had about 1200psi left in an AL80 at 70ft. Saw a stream of bubbles from below and assumed it was a diver below me. Looked down and saw nothing then realized that it was my reg that was bubbling. Looked again and saw that the connection between my omniswivel and G260 was leaking. Big time. Checked my pressure and I was at 460! Perdix was showing the Critical Out of Air message. You have to press the right button to clear. Never saw that before.

I signalled my buddy, he offered me a reg and we ascended together, made the safety stop and waited calmy for the boat.

I removed the swivel on the boat and found that one of the the o-rings was bad. Reconnected the reg without the Omniswivel and did the second dive.

Changed all o-rings in my room and continued to dive with it connected. No further issues.

Some observations:

1. A leak on a LP hose can result in a dramatically fast loss of breathing gas.
2. Having your buddy near you is definitely NOT overstated advice.
3. We were both remarkably calm during the entire incident. Totally drama free. Other divers in our group had no idea anything had happened.
4. I promise to service my Omniswivel regularly when I service my regs. I did not and paid the price. Bad on me.

 

[Schwob]

I like this post. Good reminder to be diligent about all potential failure points. But, when pushing "like" SB came back at me asking "Are you sure you want to like this post" and demanding an affirmative second push of a big like button. That was a first for me. What's up with that?

 

[scubadada]

I like this post. Good reminder to be diligent about all potential failure points. But, when pushing "like" SB came back at me asking "Are you sure you want to like this post" and demanding an affirmative second push of a big like button. That was a first for me. What's up with that?

I liked Clammy's post and did not get the second message. I have an Omniswivel on my second stage too, I ordered my repair kit and O-ring kit from DGX today

 

[Scared Silly]

Regulator swivels are probably the second most neglected piece of the equipment right after HP spools.

Atomic second stage service kits now include swivel parts rather than a separate kit.

 

[Charred]

Hrm Columbia is eating orings. I lost the hose oring right next to my secondary this past Monday.

Same exact story. Why are these bubbles hitting my face? I switched to my backup then got to my buddy and we surfaced slowly but skipped the SS since we were only 15 min into the dive. The only thing I was thinking was I cant believe this is actually happening. That tank drained fast.

This was dive number 2 on a brand new hose.

 

[tridacna]

I liked Clammy's post and did not get the second message. I have an Omniswivel on my second stage too, I ordered my repair kit and O-ring kit from DGX today

Craig - looks like a lot of o-rings for such a small device. Are there instructions avail for servicing? I had no idea that the repair tool was required either. Quite an expensive affair. I wonder if anyone services these things?

Wait, now that you have the tool, can I send it to you?

Edit: Standard omniswivel repair guide

 

[The Chairman]

Oni swivel makes a few kinds of hose swivels. Can you post a pic of yours? I started using this kind:

But I have since gone to a simple elbow like this:

 

[scubadada]

Hi Cliff,

I see you found the guide. I found it from a link on DGX. I figure I'll be servicing my Omniswivel for years to justify the purchase of the repair kit. Hopefully, I can avoid a leak like the one you had

Hi Pete @The Chairman

I tried a 90* and a 110* before the Omniswivel. I find the Omniswivel considerably more comfortable, personal choice. I use it on a 40" hose on my primary, routed under my right arm.

 

[tridacna]

Hi Cliff,

I see you found the guide. I found it from a link on DGX. I figure I'll be servicing my Omniswivel for years to justify the purchase of the repair kit. Hopefully, I can avoid a leak like the one you had

Hi Pete @The Chairman

I tried a 90* and a 110* before the Omniswivel. I find the Omniswivel considerably more comfortable, personal choice. I use it on a 40" hose on my primary, routed under my right arm.

Hi Craig, I route mine exactly the same way as you. I tried the other one mentioned by Pete, but IMO too, the Omniswivel on a 40" is more comfortable.

I also found this:


It does not show disassembly but all the rest quite well. I just ordered 242 Loctite too. Only had the red stuff.

 

[The Chairman]

I tried the other one mentioned by Pete, but IMO too, the Omniswivel on a 40" is more comfortable.

Fair enough. I don't dive a 40" hose. I had one of the "swivels" come apart when I had it on a 84" hose. The angled adapters work perfectly for me.