Bubbles from hose connections

[Bobmarley]

So I was on my second dive of the day this weekend around 20 feet down and I noticed that there were small bubbles coming out of my octopus (XS Scuba AltAir) and I let my buddy know and we continued our dive while paying attention to this. Later in the dive I was trying to pull a lobster out of its little home and my buddy noticed that there were also small bubbles coming out of the inflater/deflater connection, again we continued the dive and just paid a lot of attention to this. I could not really notice my air dropping because of these bubbles but it does concern me.

The reg is an Mares MR12 Abyss that I got about one month ago and I am wondering if it is defected or something like that. Any input is really appreciated since I really want to figure out if I need to get this serviced ASAP.

 

[tstormdiver]

Be very careful, what starts out to be a minor nuisance can become a major issue if not corrected. Especially when it comes to your air supply (life support). What the problem may have been, depends on exactly where the bubbles were coming from. If coming from next to the 1st stage regulator, may mean that the hose threads had possibly backed out a bit & the O-ring seal had been lost. If in the middle of the hose, it could just be a bad hose whether form age or a manufacturing defect. If from the area by the quick release, it could be a bad connection or connector or a bad O-ring in that area. Unless you know your equipment thoroughly & how to repair it, I would suggest you take it in to your LDS. Then again, If you are familiar with it & the repairs needed, it may be as simple as a turn of a wrench, O-ring replacement or a better connection, hard to say. If there is any doubt take it to your LDS for service. If there is a problem with your gear, even minor, it is not a wise idea to continue a dive. The other day I was on a dive & not until the very end, did I notice that my buddy had a small leak. This was coming from his left post (double tanks) AT the cylinder/ regulator connection. Once the dive was ended I told him about it. he said he could hear it, but didn't know where it was coming from. I told him where & he commented that he thought he felt a little grinding when screwing his regulator in (DIN). He thinks there may have been a little grain of sand there. We cleaned up his regulator, put it back on & made another dive. No leaks.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It is entirely possible and even likely the octopus is not properly tuned to the first stage. If the intermediate pressure (IP) is slightly too high for the octo, a very slight freeflow will result.

It is also possible the high pressure seat is leaking in the first stage, causing the IP to increase and vent the excess pressure through the path of least resistance which just happens to be your octo. If the octo freeflows slightly as soon as it is pressurized l would suspect the octo. If it freeflows a few seconds or longer after it is pressurized, the problem is most likely with the first stage.

A leaking connector on the power inflator is usually just an indication the connection leaks with no deeper or darker significance - just replace the hose or if removeable, the connector. If the power inflator itself leaks bubbles or leaks air into the BC, it needs to be rebuilt.

Whatever the problems, get them fixed. Your reg and related equipment should pass a "bubble check" with no bubbles and or stay pressurized for a long period of time if the tank valve is shut off. A good check for this is to asemble your gear, test your regs and note the tank pressure, then shut off the valve but do not purge any air from the system. Several minutes later you should have close to the same reading on the SPG - if not you have a leak that needs attention.

It is important to get it fixed as while some leaks are failry stable, most tend to get progressively worse and sometimes a minor leak can be an early warning of a very rapid and serious failure.

 

[keyshunter]

Your reg and related equipment should pass a "bubble check" with no bubbles and or stay pressurized for a long period of time if the tank valve is shut off. A good check for this is to asemble your gear, test your regs and note the tank pressure, then shut off the valve but do not purge any air from the system. Several minutes later you should have close to the same reading on the SPG - if not you have a leak that needs attention.

Assuming no other leaks, this is also an easy way to check for a leaking face o-ring on a yoke valve.