I seem to have a problem with mine (HOG D3), particularly on one side (left) in my sidemount rig. The regulator starts out OK, but as the tank pressure drops, it starts to rotate counter-clockwise by 30-40 degrees, pulling the lollipop SPG away from where I can see it, and under my armpit. At first, I attributed this to the damage done while I used the regulator on my backmount rig, when a "helpful" buddy forcibly turned it without venting to give me more hose for my backup (the O-ring got shattered). I have just overhauled the first stage yesterday, though, I cleaned and examined all parts and put in all the new parts from the kit. The regulator started out fine at ~3500 psi, but as the tank pressure dropped to 700 psi throughout the dive, by the end it was rotating quite freely. Is this normal? Any ideas? I should add that I do have a torque wrench, and I torque everything to the spec.
Do your regulators still rotate on the tank valves after getting pressurized?
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SanDiegoSidemount
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Is the nut that holds your male DIN onto the rest of the regulator really good and tight? Mine tend to get loose over time and need tightening regularly. (Mine are HOG D1s.) I keep a hex wrench in my dive kit just for that purpose.
It's pretty easy to bust that nut loose twisting the reg around after the DIN is screwed in, or while screwing it in.
I doubt the actual DIN is moving at the seal to the tank valve. You'd see a ton of bubbles.
It's pretty easy to bust that nut loose twisting the reg around after the DIN is screwed in, or while screwing it in.
I doubt the actual DIN is moving at the seal to the tank valve. You'd see a ton of bubbles.
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at 700psi they should be able to move, but not certainly not freely or under their own weight. If the other one is doing it too then I wouldn't be worried, but if one is noticeably worse than the other the turret might be damaged. Luckily you can replace the turret bolt on its own, so the whole reg shouldn't be fubar
Thanks, guys!!!
You are definitely onto something, brother... I did notice that the regulator actually started to get a little easier to turn as I tightened the male DIN against the tank valve. This seems consistent with your hypothesis. I did torque the damned thing to the required 80 inch pounds. I will see how loose it was as soon as my stuff dries out. I guess I may have to try and re-torque before each dive as you suggested, and see if it helps. It is only the left one, but that's probably because that's the one getting the most pull on the regulator body from the short 9'' inflator coming off the 5th port (my right one has a 14'' hose that routes to drysuit inflator and has enough play, the left one just had to be made shorter).
You are definitely onto something, brother... I did notice that the regulator actually started to get a little easier to turn as I tightened the male DIN against the tank valve. This seems consistent with your hypothesis. I did torque the damned thing to the required 80 inch pounds. I will see how loose it was as soon as my stuff dries out. I guess I may have to try and re-torque before each dive as you suggested, and see if it helps. It is only the left one, but that's probably because that's the one getting the most pull on the regulator body from the short 9'' inflator coming off the 5th port (my right one has a 14'' hose that routes to drysuit inflator and has enough play, the left one just had to be made shorter).
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even with that torque on the regulator, it shouldn't be turning until well below 1000psi, you shouldn' have to retorque every dive. I'd swap the first stages and see if the other one does it too, just as a sanity check before you start ordering parts.
Thanks, yeah I will have to... by the way, by "freely" I did not mean as freely as, say, the turret rotates around, and definitely not under its own weight, just that I can turn it by tugging on the inflator without excessive force, which I would expect should not be possible. You seem to be implying that some turning under 1000psi is not unusual? If so, I suppose maybe I just have to live with some of it... or fiddle with house routing... I don't really like the fact that by using the 5th port on inflators, a strain is placed on the regulator, even if the resulting hose routing is neat and streamlined.
Miflex?
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I have all double-braided hoses on the sidemount rig, is Miflex possibly more flexible? I never tried...
Nah, should be similar. Is the strain on the reg pulling it from your mouth?
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Just the inflator tugging on the first stage... I like my D3, but I have not gotten this intimate with it yet
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