"Dust cap free regulator" ?

[rickthompson]

Is there such a thing as a "dust cap free regulator"? I recently joined a diving club that rents gear out for free to its members. On my first trip with the club I borrowed regs and a BC, which all appeared to be in pretty good condition. I had some problems with the inflator on the BC but wasn't a huge deal but I did notice immediately as I was setting up that the regulator didn't have a dust cap on the first stage. I kind of forgot about it thinking it just came ripped off somehow and that I would mention it to one of the club officers when I returned the gear so it could be replaced. Soon though I noticed that all the club's rental regs didn't have dust caps. We came back to the dock two dives later and were instructed to wash our gear. I asked one of the officers if it was ok to rinse the reg without the dust cap and I was told, "I guess since it is a dust cap free regulator". I've never heard of this and a quick google search didn't yield anything that reassured me that this was a real thing.

Let me know if I'm going crazy or if I should have a serious talk with the club's officers and seriously consider not renting through them again...

 

[Kunundrum]

the Aqualung ACD system is able to seal the 1st stage when not on a tank.

I have some Aqualung Legends that have been missing a dustcap for some time now and I never bothered replacing them because of it.

Aqua Lung ACD System - YouTube

Aqualung system is considerably better than Oceanic's DVT system

 

[USdiver1]

Good observation on washing a first stage without a dust cap (why not call it what it really is ... a water cap). The ACD system on my wife's Aqualung Legend does seem to work as designed, but me being such a creature of habit, I have also put a dust cap on her regulator. I think that sub-consciously this is my way of reinforcing the "put the dust cap on before you wash your first stage" axiom that was drilled into my head years ago. Even though with ACD it is not necessary, if you get too used to rinsing your gear without a dust cap, the day that you rinse your buddy's gear (or worse your husband's) without putting on the dust cap, well let's not go there.

 

[rickthompson]

Thank you for your responses. So water may not be much of an issue, but wouldn't it still be possible for small debris to either clog the filter or make it's way through? After looking up the ACD it seems like many treat it as a "incase a few drops of water get in" precaution and still use a cap. I was just shocked to see that not a single one of their regs had a cap...it's not like they cost more than a few cents.

 

[randini]

Sorry to bring this up in an old thread, but I was just looking into this ACD business and this seemed a better place than staring a new thread.

From the video that Kunundrunm posted, it looks like attaching the reg to a tank opens the acd mechanism. Wouldn't attaching a dustcap do exactly the same, opening the acd? Would it depend on the dustcap?

 

[halocline]

I guess it depends on how stiff the spring is that operates the "ACD". In any event, I would A) never buy a regulator that places ANY sort of potential obstruction in the air path, particularly at the (literally!) bottleneck of the tank valve, and B) very strongly doubt that this device would provide a water tight seal for very long. If you soaked the 1st stage, it's likely some water would get in.

Yet another solution to a problem that doesn't exist.