I had a new K-valve installed a few years ago. During my latest visual inspection, the shop technician mentioned that the K-valve was of a type that I was unfamiliar with. The K-Valve is actually DIN (not yoke although it was sold as a yoke) but with a little screw-in insert. The insert turns the DIN valve into a yoke valve.
Okay, so I'm kind of pissed that I was sold a DIN valve without being told that it was a DIN valve, but hey, I went a couple years using it just fine with its yoke converter thingie.
So back to the most recent visual inspection. Not only does the shop technician tell me that my yoke valve is actually a DIN valve, but I've been needing to "regularly unscrew and rinse" the inserter adapter after every few dives. The tech said that my insert was heavily corroded and it took a lot of work to remove to complete the inspection.
So, I'm getting more pissed. I have a tank valve that is of a type I didn't ask for, and now I'm told that the thing requires regular extra maintenance (that also was not mentioned when the valve was purchased). I ask the technician if I can get a normal K-valve, but am told that this DIN with the insert is "just as good" but needs special maintenance. So that statement is contradictory. I ask the technician how I'm supposed to maintain this yoke inserter ring. The tech says that I need a special tool. I ask for the tool. The tech says that they don't carry it in the store. I ask what it is so I can buy it online. The tech says that she doesn't know how to identify the tool. I have to come to scubaboard and search to figure out that it's a weird Allen wrench.
So, the technician says that she had a hell of a time getting the yoke insert thing unscrewed (because of all the corrosion that I was supposed to be taking care of the last few years). But eventually after much cussing and swearing in the back of the shop she tells me that she managed to get the insert out. Okay.
Fast forward. The tank has been in storage for a few months. It has a full fill of nitrox. I'm checking it this week and lo and behold, I can't get my pressure checker to seat on the valve. I reposition several times. The valve is leaking around this yoke insert thing. I unscrew it (with the special Allen wrench I had to buy), inspect, screw back in, and try to seat the pressure checker again. Still leaking at the valve. I pull out my 1st stage regulator and try to get a seat seal with that. Same problem. There is a pretty good leak coming out of the valve.
So I'm incredibly pissed now. I don't know if the tech stripped or damaged my valve when she was forcibly manhandling it for the last visual inspection. There's little information about these DIN to Yoke insert things so I can't tell if it needs O-rings or not (there isn't one in mine should there be one?). The valves *appears* normal, but the thing is leaking like a sieve. The insert is not screwed in super tight, just hand tight. I don't know what's wrong with this thing.
Any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Okay, so I'm kind of pissed that I was sold a DIN valve without being told that it was a DIN valve, but hey, I went a couple years using it just fine with its yoke converter thingie.
So back to the most recent visual inspection. Not only does the shop technician tell me that my yoke valve is actually a DIN valve, but I've been needing to "regularly unscrew and rinse" the inserter adapter after every few dives. The tech said that my insert was heavily corroded and it took a lot of work to remove to complete the inspection.
So, I'm getting more pissed. I have a tank valve that is of a type I didn't ask for, and now I'm told that the thing requires regular extra maintenance (that also was not mentioned when the valve was purchased). I ask the technician if I can get a normal K-valve, but am told that this DIN with the insert is "just as good" but needs special maintenance. So that statement is contradictory. I ask the technician how I'm supposed to maintain this yoke inserter ring. The tech says that I need a special tool. I ask for the tool. The tech says that they don't carry it in the store. I ask what it is so I can buy it online. The tech says that she doesn't know how to identify the tool. I have to come to scubaboard and search to figure out that it's a weird Allen wrench.
So, the technician says that she had a hell of a time getting the yoke insert thing unscrewed (because of all the corrosion that I was supposed to be taking care of the last few years). But eventually after much cussing and swearing in the back of the shop she tells me that she managed to get the insert out. Okay.
Fast forward. The tank has been in storage for a few months. It has a full fill of nitrox. I'm checking it this week and lo and behold, I can't get my pressure checker to seat on the valve. I reposition several times. The valve is leaking around this yoke insert thing. I unscrew it (with the special Allen wrench I had to buy), inspect, screw back in, and try to seat the pressure checker again. Still leaking at the valve. I pull out my 1st stage regulator and try to get a seat seal with that. Same problem. There is a pretty good leak coming out of the valve.
So I'm incredibly pissed now. I don't know if the tech stripped or damaged my valve when she was forcibly manhandling it for the last visual inspection. There's little information about these DIN to Yoke insert things so I can't tell if it needs O-rings or not (there isn't one in mine should there be one?). The valves *appears* normal, but the thing is leaking like a sieve. The insert is not screwed in super tight, just hand tight. I don't know what's wrong with this thing.
Any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
