solution for taking away the salt

[Jasoncassanova]

I guess it's luke warm water then

 

[Nemrod]

I've been curious about Salt-Away too----I use it to rinse out my jet ski so started thinking if it would work on scuba gear and be safe. They mention it on the site and say its safe: Untitled Document

I've e-mailed them too see if they have any recommendations, anything to avoid, etc. Apparently it's safe and here was their response below. Do you need it? As long as you soak your gear in water within a reasonable amount of time and don't have dried up salt everywhere, probably not. If it's been sitting for a couple of days following a trip, might not hurt:


Yes, Salt-Away is very safe to use on scuba and diving equipment and suits. It takes very little Salt-Away to remove the salt. We recommend a solution of .5%.



Calculate in ounces by the gallon. Example:

128 ounces x .5% = 0.64 ounces. For 5 gallons in a pail, multiply 0.64 x 5 = 3.2 ounces. You can round up or down - it doesn't have to be exact.



No soaking is required, just dip the article into the solution, cause a little movement or agitation and remove. For the suit, immerse the whole suit into the solution. If the suit dried before having a chance to rinse with the Salt-Away solution, let the suit soak long enough to allow all the salt to re-hydrate or dissolve (5 minutes or so). If it is still wet, there is no need to soak. After the initial immersion, pull the entire length of the suit out of the solution and dip it in and out 4-5 times, the full length each time. The last time out, hang the suit to allow all the solution to finish running out and dripping out of the suit. Salt-Away creates a "sheeting" action, and all the dissolved salt is moved off the surface with the help of gravity, so it is important to allow as much flow as possible before putting things away.



It is not necessary to rinse any of your diving equipment with water after the Salt-Away bath, including the suit, since the solution is very light. However, It certainly is fine to rinse if you want to.



I hope this helps. If you have more questions, please let us know.



Best regards,
Lenora Meister
Salt-Away Products, Inc.
1533 McFadden Avenue
Suite B
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-550-0987
888-725-8292
Salt-Away Home Page
sales@saltawayproducts.com

Yeah but what about camera equipment and optical equipment like dome ports, lenses and camera housings? What will it do to lens coatings?

N

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

I have no idea, you'd have to contact them for more information.

 

[Nemrod]

I have no idea, you'd have to contact them for more information.

The thread is about cameras and optical equipment, no scuba gear, thus my question. I won't contact them because I just use freshwater, cheap and it works.

N

 

[miketsp]

The vinegar will damage O rings, at least rubber O rings, and it can etch aluminum surfaces.

N

It's been a long time since I last saw rubber sealing pieces. O-rings are not made from natural rubber anymore, they are manufactured from specialized synthetic elastomers.

The resistance of elastomers to an acid changes according to the temperature and concentration of the solution. If you're talking about long term storage of acids then you might have to take care.
But a few minutes or even hours of exposure to a very dilute solution, you've gotta be kidding me if you expect any noticable degradation.

Edit added: In fact according to one engineering specifications site all of the following o-ring materials are compatible with vinegar - and the list includes natural rubber:
Aflas, Buna-N (Nitrile), Butyl, Chemraz, Epichlorohydrin, Ethylene-Propylene,
Fluorocarbon, Fluorosilicone, Hypalon, Kalrez, Natural Rubber, Neoprene, Nitrile, Hydrogenated, Polyacrylate, Polysulfide, Polyurethane, Cast Polyurethane, Millable Silicone,
Styrene Butadiene, Teflon, Virgin, Vamac.

http://www.efunda.com/designstandards/oring/oring_chemical.cfm?SM=none&SC=Vinegar

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

The thread is about cameras and optical equipment, no scuba gear, thus my question. I won't contact them because I just use freshwater, cheap and it works.

N

Hmmnnn, good point, missed the camera/optical part and when I was looking into it, thinking more about actual diving equipment, reg's, bc's, wetsuits, etc.

Going with the above though, from the MSDS for Salt-Away, it basically is an acetic acid solution as the main ingredient and not sure about the rest. However, the instructions do mention not to store any leftover solution long term in the cleaner unit that connects to the hose but any short term exposure should be fine.

To be safe though, I'd contact the manufacturer direct-----when I wrote them, they were very responsive and came back quickly with a thorough response.