Odo
Registered
I had always turned my pony valve on so it was always pressurized. I did this because it would have been hard to turn on with the valve behind my back. I recently got a new pony mount that has the tank upside down and the valve at my side; easy to turn on, right at my hip. I also got a new pony reg set up (HOG D2 1st stage and HOG 2nd). I was concerned that this easy breathing reg might free flow, so I pressurized the system before the dive, but then turned the valve off. From what I had read, this was an acceptable way to go. After diving, I dried the din cover with a T shirt and screwed the cap on tight. When I got home I let all my gear soak for an hour or so, as always, taking care not to push the purge button.
Fast forward a couple weeks: I check out my gear in prep for a dive the following day. I unscrewed the din cap and water came pooring out of the first stage. How can this be? I thought maybe the cap was loose and water had gotten in while soaking. I thought the best course of action was to open the first stage as much as possible and dry it out. When I took the second stage hose off, it was also full of water. I tasted it. SALT! Unbelievable. I don't have the tools to take the first stage apart, or the repair course, so I soaked everything in fresh water with all plugs out and apart as far as I could get it. I put the first stage in a 200 degree oven (turned off) to dry it out.
That was the first time I used that reg. First time. Brand new. It ended up full of salt water and then sat for three weeks. My question is: did diving with the pony bottle turned off cause my first and second stage to become flooded? Maybe I hit the purge button? I was scootering and the current was running hard, so maybe the inlet or exhaust valves unseated? I'm not a tech diver, but don't stage bottles go down turned off? Is the lesson I learned the hard way to always dive with my pony bottle valve turned on? I suppose I'll need to get my new equipment serviced. Any help is appreciated.
Fast forward a couple weeks: I check out my gear in prep for a dive the following day. I unscrewed the din cap and water came pooring out of the first stage. How can this be? I thought maybe the cap was loose and water had gotten in while soaking. I thought the best course of action was to open the first stage as much as possible and dry it out. When I took the second stage hose off, it was also full of water. I tasted it. SALT! Unbelievable. I don't have the tools to take the first stage apart, or the repair course, so I soaked everything in fresh water with all plugs out and apart as far as I could get it. I put the first stage in a 200 degree oven (turned off) to dry it out.
That was the first time I used that reg. First time. Brand new. It ended up full of salt water and then sat for three weeks. My question is: did diving with the pony bottle turned off cause my first and second stage to become flooded? Maybe I hit the purge button? I was scootering and the current was running hard, so maybe the inlet or exhaust valves unseated? I'm not a tech diver, but don't stage bottles go down turned off? Is the lesson I learned the hard way to always dive with my pony bottle valve turned on? I suppose I'll need to get my new equipment serviced. Any help is appreciated.