Air flow from first stage when opening tank.

[ameneon]

When I opened the tank valve after connecting the first stage, air flowed from the first stage (see red arrow on picture) and it didn't stop before a little while after I closed the tank valve again.

Is this because of water has entered the first stage and it froze when I opened the valve? If yes should it be serviced or can it just be dryed? Or can it be something else?

It is a DS4 first stage, the temperature outside was -2 degree celcius (28 Fahrenheit).

 

[sphillips3]

The DIN fitting has loosened up from the regulator body, probably as a result of not being properly torqued in the first place. As a result, the o-ring is probably damaged. You need to have a qualified technician take it apart and inspect/replace the o-ring and then properly reassemble the parts.

 

[ameneon]

Thanks for the response.
Forgot to mention I took a look at the o-ring afterwards and it seemed to be ok. But I am pretty clueless so might be something wrong with it anyway.

 

[redacted]

Thanks for the response.
Forgot to mention I took a look at the o-ring afterwards and it seemed to be ok. But I am pretty clueless so might be something wrong with it anyway.

What o-ring did you look at? The problem is probably the o-ring that seals the din retainer to the regulator body; not the o-ring that seals to the tank valve.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Try turning the DIN fitting by the small post where the O-ring sits (Not the DIN wheel, just the part that the O-ring sits in), If this is loose then it needs to be taken out, internal O-rings inspected, and torqued back into place to specifications.

Good Luck...

 

[DiveGear4Less]

How about just taking a #6 allen wrench, inserting it into the opening and torquing it to the right. Hand tight is all you need. Most regs don't have any other specifications. Some manufacturers even direct you to put some thread lock on the threads at time of service to prevent it from coming loose. If the o-ring looked okay to you it probably was. When something is wrong with an o-ring it's usually pretty obvious. Another good test after you tighten it back up, put it on your tank, open the valve and submerge the valve and 1st stage in water...no bubbles means it's fixed.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Take the above advice with a large grain of salt. Some DIN connections use a two piece DIn retainer. A smaller outer piece is threaded into the larger piece and tightening the hole visible on the outside to the degree needed to tighten the fitting, just screws up the threads on the smal piece and makes it nearly impossible to change the filter and difficult to change the exterior o-ring.

If the allen socket takes the same size wrench as a LP or HP port plug, there is almost certainly a larger one underneath it.

Most companies also specifcy the torque for this fitting. Hand tight is usually not enough as lifting a tank by the first stage can opften generate a lot more torque than "hand tight" and can loosen the fitting - creating the problem you have now. In the other extreme over torquing the fitting puts a great deal of stress on the regulator body and can crack the body,

Just take it into a tech at an authorized dealer and get it fixed.

 

[DiveGear4Less]

And most shop monkeys are not going to do even as much as I suggested. They will likely just tighten it without inspecting the o-ring and without doing a submersion test...and charge the customer $50 for that!

Unfortunately, many service techs in shops don't have any special training that qualifies them to service regs. Some of them may go to reg servicing seminars (which are pretty much worthless). Others may get OJT (which is better). But unfortunately, many don't really care enough about what they're doing to do a good job at it. If you do feel uncomfortable looking at this yourself, just make sure you trust the shop you bring it to. I'd even ask to be there while they look at it. This is not something that needs to take 2 weeks to complete. It can be done in 2 minutes.

 

[halocline]

Unless you can tell that the DIN connector is loose (like you could easily remove it by hand) it's unlikely that tightening it would solve the problem. The o-ring almost certainly does not seal like a crush-type washer. Even if the problem was caused by a loose DIN connector, the o-ring is probably extruded and maybe damaged, so the thing that needs to be done is the DIN connector removed and the o-ring replaced, then reinstalled and torqued to the correct value. If you can do that yourself, fine, but if not, it's worth bringing to a tech that you know will fix it correctly.

 

[DiveGear4Less]

Damage to the o-ring is not necessarily the case. I've had this happen to me a few times and a quick tightening of the DIN connector is all that's needed to stop the leak. I haven't come across a bad o-ring yet when this has happened.