Atomic B2 issue??!!

[reefrat]

I know that this has been discussed before but I'm posting this thread because I need a definitive answer to something that concerns me.

I bought two Atomic B2's last year, one for me and one for my girlfriend.

The regs breath nicely and are very comfortable.

The manual states that the regs should not be rinsed unless pressurised because water can enter the 2nd stage! This was something I was not aware of until I had bought the regs and was reading the manual. I contacted the shop and they said not to worry about because they didn't think it was a big deal and people did rinse them unpressuried without a problem!

Since that time I have heard that there is significant potential problem- the water can apparently enter the 2nd stage, true, but then migrate to the 1st stage and and even into the SPG or the octopus.

Corrosion in the 1st stage can apparently result in reduced performance or even a freeflow at depth.
Water in the SPG could affect its function- maybe result in an OOA situation?
Water in the LP line to the octopus could result in the first breath being water injected!!

No biggie I hear you say...just make sure you always rinse with it pressurised!
Well I prefer to do that and always have when I can. But the simple fact is that we travel a lot and two scenarios have already occurred a number of times:

1/ Well meaning staff on boats take your reg off the tank while you are getting out of your wetsuit and drop it in a bucket of water.
2/ Each day the boat drops us off at our accomodation on the way back and we have no way of pressurising the regs.

I have already returned the regs to the shop and paid for an inspection which was OK but frankly I'm not getting peace of mind here.

Fact: We cannot guarantee the regs will not be dunked without being pressurised, I have tried and it just dosen't work!

It's important to me to be able to trust my reg and more important that I can trust the reg I provided her with.

So, If the risk is real then these regs are potential UNSAFE for what I want and therefore not fit for purpose (I am a Safety Specialist in the hydrocarbon industry)
and 2 shiny Atomic regs are heading for Ebay unless someone can convince me that all this is a non-issue!

Thanks for listening to my rant!!

 

[jefffalcone]

Don't bother with ebay. I'll take the atomics off your hands.

 

[serrada]

That's just Atomic covering there ***. You are going to have the same potential problems with all regulators. So you ask how do you get around it?

After rinsing your regulators, hang them with the 2nd stage at the lowest point and leave open the fist stage overnight in a dry place. No need to see the regulator if you like it.

 

[Charlie99]

I have an 8 year old Atomics B1 that has the same seat relief feature. About 500 dives on the rig and I've never rinsed it pressurized. No problem so far, although I have had to replace an SPG that was reading higher and higher (possible sign of corrosion, or maybe just old and worn out).

Most of the time I increase the odds of things staying OK by first rinsing just the 2nd stage, then the 1st stage. I assume that there may be a small bit of water in the hose leading to the 2nd stage and always keep a section of hose between the 2nd and 1st stages elevated to keep any possible water in the hose from getting up to the 1st stage. I hang it to dry the 2nd stage hanging down below the 1st.

Charlie Allen

 

[Charlie99]

That's just Atomic covering there ***. You are going to have the same potential problems with all regulators. So you ask how do you get around it?

Not all regulators have the "seat relief" feature. To lessen scoring of the 2nd stage valve seat when not in use, there is a feature that is the equivalent of automatically pressing the purge valve whenever the reg isn't pressurized.

There is a little spring in the 2nd stage which lifts the poppet valve off of its seat when not pressurized. When in use, the IP forces the valve parts together and it works like any other 2nd stage.

The other slight drawback of the seat relief feature is that, even with a dust cap on the 1st stage, if you take a test breath from the octo, you can draw air backwards through the Atomics B1/B2 2nd stage, so that sort of vacuum test as a field check of reg function is useless. Since my octo is a Dacor Vyper without the seat relief feature, I can do a vacuum test by attempting to breath the B1 with a dust cap on the 1st stage.

 

[johnny_bravo]

Calm down and take a few deep breaths Reefrat. You just purchased an elite reg and you will be safe. Like previous posters mentioned just make sure the second stage is lower if rinsing w/o being pressure. DON'T ever leave the reg soaking in a tub however...I'm curious what dive op would've taken a reg and dumped in a bucket of water?

9/10 the boat you are on has a freshwater hose and you can rinse the reg off after the last dive of the day while it's still attached to the tank.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[redacted]

Scubapro has the same feature in its S600 & G250HP but the design is quite different. Scubapro recommends cranking the user adjustment to the hardest breathing position before soaking not under pressure. You might try the same technique with your Atomic to see if that will seal the 2nd stage, but I don't think it will. Test by sealing the 1st stage and try breathing thru your octo. If you get anything, the seat on your primary 2nd is not sealed. If it doesn't seal, you still have options. One would be to replace your primary with another (cheaper) 2nd and then soak away. Also soak the disconnected primary but let the connection dry well before reassembling.

And tell the boat crews not to dunk your regs. Explain the problem and that their tip depends on it.

 

[reefrat]

Calm down and take a few deep breaths Reefrat. You just purchased an elite reg and you will be safe. Like previous posters mentioned just make sure the second stage is lower if rinsing w/o being pressure. DON'T ever leave the reg soaking in a tub however...I'm curious what dive op would've taken a reg and dumped in a bucket of water?

9/10 the boat you are on has a freshwater hose and you can rinse the reg off after the last dive of the day while it's still attached to the tank.

Cheers.

-J.-

Johnny
And all others, thanks for your replies.
What I am trying to say is that there is a difference between some domestic diving where you have control over your equipment at all times and travel situations where you don't always.
If a well meaning worker puts the "dust cap" on and throws your gear in a tub is this an issue in terms of the safety and maintenance of your Atomic reg or not?
If you have to soak your reg unpressurised because there is no other option is this an issue or not?
These situations have happened already and will continue to happen, I'm not making it up!

Trust me... most of the diving world thinks it's OK to put a reg in a bucket of water with the dust cap on..and generally it it is!
All I want to know is,
Is it an issue with Atomic regulators...if it is then they have to go!!!

Fact is, if a reg is likely to get water in it's 2nd and 1st stage just from being inadvertently rinsed unpressurised then it it is unsuitable for a lot of travel diving........period!

The biggest drama will be that my girlfriend is very fond of her Atomic SS1 and the regs I would replace it it with are are "over-balanced" ie Apeks and Aqualung!!! So that could be a problem!! Oh the pain......the pain!!!

 

[scubafanatic]

....I've got a B1, and the 'flaw' you've noticed is a deliberate design by Atomic, it makes the 2nd stage seat last much longer, but does have the disadvantage you mentioned.... mine is environmentally sealed, so I never bother to rinse it until the end of a trip, and I always keep the reg with me, as I'm not leaving $ 2000 worth of reg/computers out overnight on a day-boat while I'm back at the hotel anyway, so I don't worry about any 'unauthorized' reg soaking regardless.
I've done many liveaboards/land based trips and really haven't confronted any crew/staff members with a reg-rinsing 'fetish'..........liveaboards never touch my gear, it's 100% my responsibility......many resorts ( Buddy Dive-Bonaire / Co Co View - Roatan ) likewise will never touch your gear either...... so far, for me, only in Cozumel was there any chance of an unauthorized reg rinsing.....again, just take the regs back to your hotel room at night and nothing will happen to them.

Karl

P.S. I also dive Apeks XTX 200's, which are very nice regs, and don't have the same 'issue' the B1 has, but again, for theft reasons, it goes home with me nightly too.....also, on ANY reg, if staff/crew, press the purge button or are sloppy and poorly seat the dust-cap, and soak the reg, you are still 'screwed' , so nobody soaks ANY of my regs but me!

Karl

 

[EvaL]

I own the Atomic B2 and I've had similar fears as well. According to my diveshop rep who sold me the reg, so long as the dustcap is on and they quickly dunk it in and get it out quickly, very little water will get past the seat.
Most of the dive ops and liveaboards I've dived with in the US or overseas have me do my own post-dive dunk/rinse (only exception was in Cozumel). I think it doesn't matter where I dive, so long as I can communicate well with the crew looking after my reg that it should be just dunked or rinsed and not soaked. If I'm on vacation, I'm less inclined to do the dunking if it is included as part of the service.
The alternative (as mentioned by scubafanatic) is to explicitly telling the crew not to touch my gear and take the reg with me and do the post-dive care myself. This means I'll need to take a tank (such as a pony) with me so I can keep the reg pressurized while rinsing/soaking it.
Dive safely.