Cleaning 1st Stg without usltrasonic

[Eric Sedletzky]

Same. It's the "ebay regulators" which need an ultra-sonic. O-rings are crumbly. Salt-corrosion in places you'd think was impossible. Cleary drug through all kinds of muck. Probably flooded multiple times with salt-water. Probably not serviced since they were bought.

My own regs which I've already serviced, I may take them apart and rinse once a year because I'm bored and it's too cold for me to scuba-diving. Or if I accidentally flood them. They usually look like I serviced them yesterday.

I’ve never bought any regs off eBay but I have been handed some pretty crusty stuff from friends/acquaintances. I ended up soaking one reg for two days and even re-soaking in a fresh batch of vinegar to loosen the crud. The reg in question was an old SP MK3/108 (predecessor to a MK2-ironically enough!). The reg was given to me. My buddy got it in 1971 (used then) and he used it all the way up to 1988. It was never serviced or rinsed. On it’s last dive he was in Florida hunting grouper at 200’ on a single 120 and ended up getting bent.
He was a competitive free diver hunter, not a scuba diver so could care less about scuba equipment or protocols. Anyway, I ended up with the reg and it was 100% corroded to where all the chrome was almost missing, it was completely green. It was so bad that I ended up stripping off all the chrome and polishing out the brass on the 1st and 2nd stages. Believe it or not the reg cleaned up, I put O-rings in it, flipped the seat and went diving!
I have pics somewhere, I’ll try to find them and post.

 

[lexvil]

For the most part the US just saves some elbow grease, the vinegar tooth brush should do fine.

 

[happy-diver]

Almost lost mine the other day, a bit too vigorous splashing water around the new laundry trough
I ended up putting the phosphoric acid-water mix in the microwave, and then Jacub was my uncle

Anyway I pulled it apart, cleaned up the electronics, put new rubber feet on it, and it came back to life

Poseidon manuals suggest hydrochloric I've used the stuff to no detriment and your regs sparkle arkle

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

CLR?

 

[plaamook]

You can also microwave the parts. Yes, in a regular microwave. Just make absolutely sure that all parts are completely submerged. Unless you like the lightning bolt in a box feature.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but it worked like a champ!

I’d have to buy a microwave. Ultrasonic might be cheaper!