Crazy valves

[aquaregia]

No problems using my "300bar" reg in them.

 

[300bar]

Is the M26 different from the 300bar??


Nope, just forget the M 26, just take a VERY good look at the valves you see around you.

 

[Akimbo]

…About 8 minutes into the dive, I blow the oring on the second stage….

Reflecting on your post I started considering the root problem. Maybe you can shed some light.

Are you describing the O-ring on the second stage hose fitting that connects to the second stage inlet or the O-ring between the hose fitting and regulator housing? I have seen a lot of regulator techs very lightly grease the hose O-ring as if it were a static HP seal. I have always tended to pack mine with grease taking care not to get globs into the LP side of the O-ring.

What did the O-ring look like on autopsy? Extruded, split, or missing chunks? Was the regulator breathable even though you were losing gas at the fitting? Can you see any loss of chrome or corrosion on the fitting mating surfaces and O-ring groove?

…Actually it was a bit slow getting started because I vented my wing too enthusiastically and couldn't put air back into it...

What about oral inflation of the BC?

Unrelated curiosity, where in Germany are you diving? Baltic, North Sea, fresh water? How is it compared to Monterey?

 

[aquaregia]

So uh, root cause is sort of embarrassing. I have a tendency not to wrench my connectors just because I swap my regs around a lot. I've been wrenching my necklace for a while just because it comes unscrewed pretty easily because it can spin on the short hose. The others I do a quick visual on and call it good. So uh, I get thirsty while I dive, so with my 109s I'd just slip a bit of water into my mouth and slosh it around. With these HOG seconds, I can't open my mouth in a way that lets water in because my mouth just fills with more air. So, I'd taken my reg out all the way for this purpose, and I guess I'd taken it out by the body instead of by the hose, so in twisting it down to fill it with water (prevent loud mess) I think it got loosened further. Then I put it back in and moved the hose a bit and some air started coming out. I tried screwing it back in-place, but the oring had split along the side.

It was the hose o-ring, and I usually grease it pretty generously, but it looks like I got complacent.

Oral inflation would have been possible, but I had a drysuit on, was breathing off my necklace and was doing an ascent from 30' or so. I inflated orally as soon as I hit the surface, but sort of couldn't be bothered on the way up. It seemed like it might be more stress.

I've been diving mostly freshwater. Many times in Bodensee, which is the exact opposite of Monterey -- deep, good vis, no life, huge rock reliefs. A few inverts. Some places are much colder than Monterey too: I've seen in the 30s. This dive was in Blindsee (Tirol, Austria). Saw a big zander, which I'd previously thought was a walleye, but it looked more like what I'd know as a sauger, and a ton of fallen trees. Also dove some baggersees (pebble quarries?), one of which had some huge (several feet long) carp, another of which had some intentionally sunken crap. Turns out I'm way less stoked on diving a VW than I expected.