Did I wreck my reg?

[otter-cat]

I have a fairly new Apeks ATX 200 regulator (3 mos. old, approx. 20-30 dives.) Last week I was on a 4-day dive trip (salt water) where it stayed wet pretty much the whole time. Naturally, I wanted to give it a very thorough rinsing when I got home. I rinsed off each piece of my gear individually, and then afterwards I filled the tub with cold water, and put it all in to soak overnight. Then I drained the tub and filled it again and let it all soak a while longer.

When I took my regulator out of the tub, the dust cap (actually it's a dust "ball" -- but that doesn't sound right) was not in place, even though I had screwed it down before I put the reg in the tub. I don't know if it came off as I pulled the reg out, or if it had been off for hours while it was soaking. At any rate, the part of the reg it is supposed to protect was exposed under the water for an unknown amount of time.

Anyway, how serious of a problem have I caused myself? Do I need to have my reg serviced before I use it again? Is it ruined? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
otter-cat

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Your reg is not ruined however you may want it serviced before long. You have started an internal corrosion process. It is probably fine today but within a few weeks the corrosion will get worse and worse. Have it serviced.

 

[nickjb]

Possibly a bit late now but...

As soon as you fish it out of the tank and spot this you should connect it to a scuba tank and blast air through it using the purge. The dry scuba air should dry it out pretty well. Still get it serviced though.

I heard from another a diver that the pressure guage can suffer from having moisture in it. Not sure about the validity of this.

 

[deepocean]

Hi

but here is another question:

i have 2 Apeks DIN regs. These dust caps are not as good as the INT JOKE versions with the "BALL". this means i cant let it soak in water for hours... how can i clean my regs. the best just holding it underwater or spraying some water over it? Or can i do also something extra ?

thanks, xerxes

 

[nickjb]

The seal with the ball isn't especially good I wouldn't soak that either. Best to soak the 2nd stages but leave the 1st stage out. Just give that a quick rinse or splash.

 

[reefrat]

I usually connect up my reg and cylinder, pressure it up, remove the front covers/diaphrams and soak the whole lot in a bath of water.
No water or dirt can get in and the occasional tap on the demand lever blows any crud out of the second stage valve.

 

[Guam_Diver]

Like reefrat, I hook my regs to my tank so when I soak my second stages, they are pressurized & water won't get inside.....and as far as the 1st stage, I don't soak that at all....just give it a good rinse off. If I were you, I'd have your regs serviced...

Cheers

 

[otter-cat]

I spoke to the owner of my LDS today, and as per everyone's advice, I'm going to bring my reg in for servicing tomorrow.

I'm just thankful that I didn't REALLY hurt anything. You can bet that I won't make the same mistake again!

Thanks all for the advice and info!

otter-cat

 

[oxyhacker]

When you need to dry a flooded reg by purging it with air, first remove all the port plugs and maybe the filter and shake/blow (one of those BC QR blow guns you can stick on another reg works really good) out as mcuh water as you can, then hook it to a tank and run some air through it with the port plugs still removed. The idea being to get as much water out BEFORE you pressurize it - if you just pressurize it while it is full of water, there's a good chance that some water will be forced deeper into some of the dead ends, like the balance chamber on a diaphragm 1st, or the piston chamber on a non-balanced piston where it will be a long time coming out.

It's also a good idea when you do the final purging with the reg assembled, to fully depressurize the reg between purges (by closing the tank valve and purging all the air), since this will help work out any water that has found its way into any of the dead ends.

There's a more controversial procedure, suggested by SCUBA guru Fred Calhoun, that calls for removing the port plugs and filter, and soaking the reg in fresh - Fred says distilled - water then purging to dry. He recommends doing it routinely, but I think it's better reserved for when a reg gets filled with salt water, in which case it could avoid, or at least postpone, a full teardown.

 

[redacted]

seems to make sense as long as it doesn't wash away th O-ring lub which should be pretty resistant to water. Then again if you are carefull about what gets in the inlet, there is no problem.