Question Can any regulator be o2 cleaned?

[rx7diver]

... I have done some googling the last hour and it does seem scarce indeed to find these unicorn o2 kits.So far the only option that's still available is far away in CA; they got like 3 more and that'S all, not very sustainable.

I guess the MK10s will have to stay on the std. kits and find other choices ...

You might ask the SB "SP Whisperers" here about the sizes and durometers and recommended materials of the couple of oxygen-compatible HP O-rings you need for making your Mk 10's oxygen-compatible. If your Mk 10's are DIN-converted, don't forget the O-ring(s) for the DIN part, too. Also, ask them what you might use for a HP seat. Could be that an oxygen-compatible HP seat made for another SP (or other) reg will work.

I love my Mk 10's for diving in temperate water using LP cylinders! I have four Mk 10's, two of which I converted to Mk 10 Plus's, all purchased ca. 1987. I service them myself using everyday kitchen drawer tools, a brass "Peter Built" Scuba Pro tool, and a homemade brass pic for removing/replacing that little deep-seated O-ring. That's it!

(For very cold water, or very HP cylinders, I use Poseidon Odin regs.)

rx7diver

 

[Mobulai]

Could be that an oxygen-compatible HP seat made for another SP (or other) reg will work.

Ah thats's good to hear, thanks for the heads up

SB "SP Whisperers"

like the Tinkrer in Brass: Rob S.? I actually have reached out to attend his class as well; but might be a good idea to spawn/find the right thread for that for the collective good.
I actually got my 1st mk10s mainly to leran on it serviceing; and they are growing on me so I started getting more

I dive the tanks I find at the LDS so either ALU80s at the redsea or some LP(mostly) steels when I feel brave enough to dip in the cold lakes here.

If your Mk 10's are DIN-converted

Everything is DIN over here-- it's the german std. (literally ); but these O ring are easy to come by

I think what @mr_v said also is on point; there is no rush on my side to O2 clean more regs -- and if it comes up till this workaround bears fruit; an easy access option is what I would go for.

 

[Mobulai]

A DS4 will run you $400 in US of A...

that's highway roberry -- I am sorry that y'all gotta deal with that; but you also got much better access to Deep6 (I would have preferred that actually)
You lose some you win some

 

[cerich]

I have a scuba pro mk10 + g250 and a super old (early 2000s) first gen Aqualung Titan first stage (balanced) with balanced and unbalanced second stages.

I’m hoping to repurpose these as stage bottle regs for 50% and 100% o2, however I don’t know if they are “capable” of being o2 cleaned, which leads me to my question:

Are all regulators able to be o2 cleaned, or only certain regs that have been explicitly “tested” for o2?

ever have a brand new car and also say an older one? Note thatthe new car, when you clean the windshield, it's really clear. That older one, when you clean it the exact same as you do the new car, it is clear but not the same.

Older regs, even if cleaned for use with nitrox per all industry "recommendations" are kinda like an older windshield. Depending on mileage and age, there is more likely to be little imperfections that have occurred. These imperfections are where containments can lurk, small imperfections (cracks peeling) in chrome can hold containments and are also problematic as a easy fuel for combustion.

I would recommend that newer regs for oxygen regs

 

[Angelo Farina]

regarding the "All" part: No
Titanium regs are absloute no go since Ti already, as a hardened alloy (it rarely is on it's own), partially saturated / meshed with Ti oxide; and pressureized oxygen will cause it to oxidise even more; thus "rusting" out
Titanium oxide is extremely brittle; and powders very easily
I think Aluminum is more or less the same, but maybe slightly more stable -- but I am also not a metallurgy expert

Now that the fancy / rare / exceptions are out of the way; I can't say if there might be other blockers for other things.


getting to the nitty gritty of your specifi case; I believe that's fairly possible, probably easy even -- but wait for someone to "+2" this just to be 100% sure (I am just begining to learn about these 2 as well)
I think the tricky part would be sourcing the right o-rings with the right o2 friendly materials -- but beyond that should be easy

let's ask the local experts @buddhasummer , @Angelo Farina

I have no idea about the Titan

You need to rebuild your MK10 with Viton O-rings and O2-compliant grease (Christolube or the like).
You also need to find the conical seat of MK10 rated to be 100% oxygen compatible.
Of course you need very good cleaning and a new syntherised conical filter.
After this, you will be forced to reduce the interval to the following rebuild, as Viton O-rings are less durable and you cannot pack with silicon and water-seal the pressure balancing chamber.
A properly sealed MK10 usually needs a rebuild every 5 years, an unsealed one with Viton O-rings and used with pure oxygen should be rebuilt every year, or 2 years max, but this would be already a stretch.

 

[Wookie]

You’ve asked the wrong question.

Almost anything can be O2 cleaned, just remove the hydrocarbons.

The question you meant to ask is, can these older regs be made O2 compatible?

Precision matters when you’re asking engineers a question.

 

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

You’ve asked the wrong question.

Almost anything can be O2 cleaned, just remove the hydrocarbons.

The question you meant to ask is, can these older regs be made O2 compatible?

Precision matters when you’re asking engineers a question.

No, the question was all regs, whether new or old

 

[Wookie]

No, the question was all regs, whether new or old

Everything can be O2 cleaned, maybe excepting a turd. It therefore follows that all regs can be O2 cleaned.

Not all regs can be made to be O2 compatible.

 

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

Everything can be O2 cleaned, maybe excepting a turd. It therefore follows that all regs can be O2 cleaned.

Not all regs can be made to be O2 compatible.

Obviously I’m not talking about turds, cars, pots, pans, etc…this is a scuba based forum

—

For future readers, I got this response from Airtech scuba regarding my regs:

“As per the manufacturer, the Aqualung Titan regulator you have is only suitable for use up to 40%.

Same with the Scubapro MK10/G250, it’s only suitable for use up to 40% as well.

Neither models can be O2 cleaned as per the manufacturer for use over 40%.”

@Angelo Farina do you think this is a response just for liability either from the manufacturer or repair center?

 

[Bigbella]

"Can any regulator be O2 cleaned?"

Many purists would argue that that answer is a qualified no -- that it is near impossible to fully remove the combustible lubricants from the original milling processes of the regulators themselves; that the average hobbyist / consumer has little to no access to clean room environments, necessary to assure optimum safety; but that also flies in the face of almost seventy years of conventional regulator manufacture and the concomitant decades of elevated O2 usage (nitrox use originated around 1874 with Fleuss) whether for sport or medical purposes, with relatively few incidents, considering those very real risks and despite the wholesale lack of modern lubricants, some of which, Tribolube among them, only originated by the late 1980s.

There was also plenty of hedging -- cover my arse -- language from both government and industry, in the handling of O2 in general, "[F]rom the point of view of stringent U.S. aerospace guidelines and Compressed Gas Association handling standards for oxygen, nothing in general use in recreational diving is suitable for oxygen service . . . Using oxygen for diving requires you to make an informed decision to accept for yourself the risks of handing . . ."

There was an exhaustive conversation of this very topic last Spring; and while the thread specifically dealt with Poseidon regulators and 100% oxygen use, it still remains applicable to the service of most any other regulator make:

Poseidon Regulators and 100% O2

The XStream service manual goes into O2 cleaning in some detail, and the reg is certified for 100% at 3000 psi. Yet the XStream's predecessors have been used for accelerated deco with 100% O2 for decades, and the company markets a Viton service kit. So here's my question: does the absence of...

scubaboard.com

Here is a nice courtesy warning on the principle of O2 combustibility, from the nice folks, over at Poseidon, by way of -- what appears to be -- an old Warner Brothers Roadrunner cartoon . . .