Cleaning the second stage after a salt water dive

[JohnN]

This seems way too easy, but I haven't seen it mentioned before. . . but on to my epiphany. . .

I was about to rinse out my second stage after a dive when I spotted a hose on the dock with one of those old-fashioned brass twist nozzles. Stick the end into the mouthpiece and open it up, and viola lots of water flushing the residual salt water and crap out of all the internal parts. Wiggle the adjustment knob and I was done. No need to soak, done in 15 seconds or less.

I've never seen anyone do this, am I missing something?

 

[NAM001]

nope not mising a thing. you are just washing the future salt crystling ansd water floaties out of the reg. not even close to b0ttle rocket science. scuba gear is very rugged and requires only the minimal of care to maintain.

This seems way too easy, but I haven't seen it mentioned before. . . but on to my epiphany. . .

I was about to rinse out my second stage after a dive when I spotted a hose on the dock with one of those old-fashioned brass twist nozzles. Stick the end into the mouthpiece and open it up, and viola lots of water flushing the residual salt water and crap out of all the internal parts. Wiggle the adjustment knob and I was done. No need to soak, done in 15 seconds or less.

I've never seen anyone do this, am I missing something?

 

[redacted]

This seems way too easy, but I haven't seen it mentioned before. . . but on to my epiphany. . .

I was about to rinse out my second stage after a dive when I spotted a hose on the dock with one of those old-fashioned brass twist nozzles. Stick the end into the mouthpiece and open it up, and viola lots of water flushing the residual salt water and crap out of all the internal parts. Wiggle the adjustment knob and I was done. No need to soak, done in 15 seconds or less.

I've never seen anyone do this, am I missing something?

I doubt if wiggling the adjustment knob was enough to remove much salt from those threads (not that critical if plastic). But what did you do to remove the salt from the metal threaded connection of the LP hose to the 2nd stage?

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . No need to soak, done in 15 seconds or less.

The "soak" is useful if you let the saltwater dry on the reg. At that point, a simple rinse with a garden hose may not remove all the salt residue because it hardens into crystals. Sure, if you have a garden hose or a dunk tank available on the dock, then using that to rinse the reg immediately after diving is a no-brainer.

 

[freewillie]

The only concern would be if the force of the hose forces water from the second stage back up to the first stage. It would then depend on how much you've opened up the hose and how close to the mouth piece you place the nozzle. If you get water into the first stage due to the pressure of the hose then the internal parts of the first stage can corrode. The whole purpose of sealing the first stage and keeping the hoses pressurized is to prevent water from entering.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

After a saltwater diving day, I soak my entire reg, coiled up, in a tub of warm fresh water. Then when I think of it, I retrieve the reg from the tub and attach it to a tank that still has lots of air. I press on the 2nd stage purge valve and let the tank blow any water from inside the reg out the mouth piece. I hold the purge valve open until there no longer is any mist coming from the mouth piece. I'm sure there's lots of reasons why this is not a good method. But I've been diving for 30 years and haven't had any problems that can be traced to my rinse method. Also, my current reg is titanium. Also, my "soak" is with the dust cap ON."

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I used to just attach them to pony or deco bottles, pressurize them, and throw them in the tub. But since I dive fresh water and am super duper lazy, I just throw them in the reg bag with the zipper open .

For salt water I'll give them a soak.

 

[Landlocked123]

After every dive I pressurize my regs and soak them for 2-3 hours in the tub. One with my Pony and one with my HP100. I then remove the reg and leave the reg in the reg bag with the dust cap off to let any possible moisture evaporate. I also leave the tank valve cap off to let that dry as well. Next morning I put the covers/caps back on. So far with clost to 40 dives on the regs I can say they look like the day I purchased them.

 

[naturesenergies112]

Firstly, it’s not that bad if you flood it with fresh water. If your regulator is flooded with salt water, rinse with fresh water immediately, to avoid corrosion.

 

[Water Boy76]

Close your first stage. Throw all of you dive gear into your dive bag. Throw your dive bag into a tub of fresh water. Drink a beer. Remove bag and throw in the back of your truck. Drive home. Throw dive bag into garage.
Dive, Rinse, Repeat.