apeks atx40 freeflow

[jasondbaker]

I have an apeks atx40 backup that I bought new this spring. I took it on 15 dives with no problem. I haven't used it for about a month. I hooked it up today, opened up the air, and the reg immediately began to freeflow. I played with the flow lever on the side of the reg. I slapped the reg a couple times. No dice.

Is there anything I should try to do before bringing it into a shop? What can cause something like this? thanks

 

[Drew Sailbum]

First I would try immersing the second stage while hooked up to a tank and under pressure. If a small bit of sand or ahem... organic growth has become lodged in just the right spot, the purge mechanism may be activated and the reg could free flow.

Even if the immersion clears some debris and stops the free flow, I would suggest having a qualified technician service this regulator.

 

[Scubaroo]

Something else to do is (as Drew said) hook the regulator up to a tank and keep it under pressure, and then remove the faceplate and diaphragm and look for any obvious contamination such as sand. You can clean this out yourself if it's visible. Often a simple rinse under a SOFTLY running faucet is enough. Don't apply water pressure, you force things where they weren't meant to go. If you can clean any obvious contamination, and the problem disappears, you can then decide whether or not you want to get the service. If the problem doesn't go away, definitely get the service done. This is one of the beauties of the Apeks second stages, they're easy to clean.

DON'T pull the faceplace off while the reg is not under pressure, as it's too easy to bump the purge lever, which lets water and grit (and anything else that shouldn't be inside of a mint condition regulator) inside of the reg's mechanical innards... this is bad news and requires a service.