Concerned about water in 1st stage...

[davidbaraff]

Got back from my checkout dives yesterday, filled up a basin with water, and put my regulator assembly in it...

... and this morning woke up worried. When I finished my dives yesterday, my instructor detatched an air-pressure/depth gauge console I had borrowed. When he handed it back to me, I did screw the port cover back, but not having a wrench handy, all I did was use my fingers to simply screw it in till it stopped turning.

Is that likely tight enough to have prevented water from getting in while it was soaking last night? Or did I need to use a wrench to really tighten it down all the way to prevent water damage? Either way, how do I go about checking I didn't just do something stupid to my regulator?

Related question: do you use a standard allen wrench to tighten/loosen those ports, or is it some specific tool I need to get?

 

[herman]

Odds are it was tight enough. I would take the plug back out and inspect to see if there is any water showing. Then attach it to a tank and SLOWLY crack the valve watching for water to come out. If nothing comes out, likely no problem. If it does, let it blow until it is clear, then purge both seconds for several seconds to blow any water that may have gotten into the system. I would then have a tech check the reg out. Fresh water removed within a few days is not likely to do any damage but should be inspected and cleaned as necessary-basically a normal yearly overhual.

As long as it's the correct size, pretty much any Allen wrench is fine. I have seen seveal different sizes but 2 are the most common. When tighing the ports, they should be snug, no need to really crank down on them, the Oring is what does the sealing.

 

[BarryNL]

Provided you managed to screw it in all the way with your fingers it should be OK. It's the O-ring that makes the seal, not the tightness of the bolt. You only need to tighten it enough to make sure it doesn't fall out.

 

[hudson]

I got fresh water in mine before, dried it out, and it was fine. Make sure you take the console/pressure gauge off before you connect it to the tank though.

 

[fisherdvm]

Salt water is the worst crud, as it causes corrision. Fresh water also cause calcium and other salt build up. Not as bad. As long as you finger tightened it, it should be fine. Some folks like to keep it pressurized with a pony bottle while it soaks. I usually just soak my second stage and hose down the first stage .... but I do mostly fresh water dives.