Soaking a reg in fresh water after diving is bad?

[RSdiver]

I recently purchased an Apeks ATX200 first and second stage so that I could move my Scubapro Mk10/G250 onto my new pony bottle.

On a dive trip to Indonesia, the Swiss resort operator came down on me pretty hard for soaking the ATX200 for 5 minutes in their freshwater rinse tank. His claim was that water can leak in through the dust cap or in through the computer and ruin the internals.

I tried to explain that the ATX200 was new, the dust cap was still very pliable making a a good seal, and I had cinched the dust cap down quite well. I also pointed out that the computer had just sustained a dive to 120+ feet ~5 Atmospheres and didn't leak, so I didn't think that it would leak in a freshwater tank.

The guy wouldn't let up, saying that I should only dip the regulator in fresh water and never let it soak.
I had soaked my Scubapro after dives during the previous 15 years with no problems.

Is this truly a serious hazard or is the operator being retentive?

 

[Dryglove]

RSdiver once bubbled...

or is the operator being retentive?

You should have asked him how he walks around without bumping into things since he has head so far up his butt.Did he have a window in his stomach by anychance so he could see where he was walking

As long as the first stage had a good seal so water wouldnt seep in and dont push the purge button on the second stage while soaking it should be fine.Of course it is always better to soak your reg pressurized on a tank but not everyone has that option.

 

[buff]

Oh, those Swiss!!

So righteous with their delicious chocolate, numbered bank accounts, and.....VELCRO. They think they are right all the time.

Unfortunately,

He is.

Since the inside of the first stage never had any contact with salt water(dry sealed diaphram of the Apeks) there is no need to expose it too water of any kind-fresh or otherwise. And really, how "fresh" is that pool of water that everyone has just dunked their salty equipment in?

If the seal on the dust cap(first clue: they don't call it a seal but a dust cap) could be old, cracked, broken, non existent(how often do you check your dust cap?) you offer up your first stage to the Gods of Corrosion. Just as bad is depressing the second stage purge if you have the second stage sitting in a rinse bath. This allows water to enter the second stage and move to the first. You can let the second sit in the rinse but don't press anything.

 

[Diver0001]

RSdiver once bubbled...
I recently purchased an Apeks ATX200 first and second stage so that I could move my Scubapro Mk10/G250 onto my new pony bottle.

On a dive trip to Indonesia, the Swiss resort operator came down on me pretty hard for soaking the ATX200 for 5 minutes in their freshwater rinse tank. His claim was that water can leak in through the dust cap or in through the computer and ruin the internals.

I tried to explain that the ATX200 was new, the dust cap was still very pliable making a a good seal, and I had cinched the dust cap down quite well. I also pointed out that the computer had just sustained a dive to 120+ feet ~5 Atmospheres and didn't leak, so I didn't think that it would leak in a freshwater tank.

The guy wouldn't let up, saying that I should only dip the regulator in fresh water and never let it soak.
I had soaked my Scubapro after dives during the previous 15 years with no problems.

Is this truly a serious hazard or is the operator being retentive?

Well, soaking it is the right thing to do but you should do it pressurized. What I do is put my reg on the tank again and lay it in the shower (I have a big shower, a bathtup would also do). I use the shower to clean the 1st stages off and leave the 2nd stages hanging in a bucket of warm water for an hour or so. Every now and then aggitate and purge.

What I've heard most often from people who soaked their regs unpressurzied and had problems are cases where they "were sure" that the dustcap was on tight/right. It has also happened (more often than you think) that people have thrown their regs in to soak while having totally forgotten to replace the dustcap....

Water (fresh water) in the 1st stage isn't the end of the world but it's not a particularly good idea either. If you can avoid it you should.

R..

 

[Charlie99]

lal7176 once bubbled...
....he has head so far up his butt......
As long as the first stage had a good seal so water wouldnt seep in and dont push the purge button on the second stage while soaking it should be fine.

Don't forget that some regs like Atomics have a "seat saver" feature that lifts the orifice off the seat when unpressurized. This is equivalent to always having the purge valve depressed.

Atomics specifically says NOT to soak either the 1st or 2nd, but to just rinse them off, and recommends hooking it back up to a tank and purging if it has been soaked unpressurized.

Charlie

 

[runvus4]

Well, you had a new dustcap so sure you probably had good seal. You still should try not to submerse the entire first stage unless it is pressurized, because as the fellow said, there is a chance of water infiltration via the dustcap. As well, if the 1st stage is not pressurized, if you do soak the 1st stage, make sure that the 1st stage is always higher than your 2nds/ends of your inflator valves, otherwise air can bubble out and water can infiltrage up the hose.

He was right in alerting you to this danger, but he shouldn't have come down hard without properly explaining the concerns of possible concequences to you in a convincing manner, rather than just "If A then B, I'm right, you are wrong", which is how your post seems to imply he was coming across.

I've been dunking the hoses, 2nd stage and SPG into the water, but only just running some clean water over the 1st stage at the site. I do a soak of the 2nd stages, spg and hoses at home and again, only run water over the 2nds stage. I have a DIN 1st and I use Delrin din caps which seal with the DIN o-ring also.