Free flowing Octo Z

[WetDawg]

Hey Guys, any advice on stopping that annoying little leak on a fairly new Octo-Z?

I used to be able to just breathe from it and it would stop... last night it would not.

 

[redacted]

Sure. Most likely the LP seat is taking a set (perfectly normal) and a small adjustment of the orifice will correct it. It takes a couple minutes with either a screwdriver or allen wrench (I'm not experienced with Zeagle regs) to do the job. Such an adjustment is normally taboo for a diver. Would you like to try it yourself or do you want to take it to a technician?

 

[DIVESeekers Jason]

Hello WetDawg,

Hey Guys, any advice on stopping that annoying little leak on a fairly new Octo-Z?

Can you please elaborate (1 month, 6months, 5 dives, 10 hrs)?

I used to be able to just breathe from it and it would stop... last night it would not.

There could be a couple of things going on here:
1) The 1st stage of a regulator is like a video card of a computer, if the monitor isn't working properly, it could be to monitor or it could be the video card. Whenever a diver has a second stage free flow/leak, prior to making any adjustments, it always a good idea that the 1st stage is functioning properly. To make sure the first stage is functioning properly you can plug in an intermediate pressure checker/gauge to make sure the first stage is maintaining the appropriate PSI/BAR that the Manufacturer specifies. Most First Stages should lock in at 135-140 PSI (9.18-9.52 BAR). If the needle on the gauge does not lock in or hold the PSI/BAR, you will see it slowly (sometimes quickly:shocked2 creep up. This id referred to a High Pressure (HP) Creep. In this particular case, you would have to have the 1st stage serviced because the HP seat and/or Cone is shot

2) It seems to me that the cracking effort could be a little to easy since you previously stated that it would stop when you would breathe from it. The actual act of breathing off of it opens the internal poppet and seat and re-seats it.

If this is the case, it would have to be adjusted by a qualified person. The would have to remove the hose from the second stage and make an adjustment to the cone that the poppet seats against. Turning it clockwise increases the sealing surface by moving the cone closer to the seat and counter clockwise will do the opposite. *a special note to the qualified person that whenever making an adjustment the the cone, they should first depress the purge button of the second stage so the knife edge on the cone doesn't cut into the seat!

Good luck and I hope this helps you!

 

[redacted]

If this is the case, it would have to be adjusted by a qualified person. The would have to remove the hose from the second stage and make an adjustment to the cone that the poppet seats against. Turning it clockwise increases the sealing surface by moving the cone closer to the seat and counter clockwise will do the opposite. *a special note to the qualified person that whenever making an adjustment the the cone, they should first depress the purge button of the second stage so the knife edge on the cone doesn't cut into the seat!

Nice approach Jason.

I would add that that qualified person would know that, with a slight leak from the octo like that, it should only take about a 30 degree (1/12 of a circle) adjustment to stop the leak. If that adjustment did not do the job, then it would be time to consider other faults. In a pinch (like he was getting ready for a dive), he might give it two such adjustments and check that performance is still OK. If that does not stop the leak, there is almost surely another problem beyond a simple adjustment.

 

[DIVESeekers Jason]

Hi awap,

Nice approach Jason.

Thank you, it's my way of giving back a little to SB, just like many others on here!

I would add that that qualified person would know that, with a slight leak from the octo like that, it should only take about a 30 degree (1/12 of a circle) adjustment to stop the leak. If that adjustment did not do the job, then it would be time to consider other faults. In a pinch (like he was getting ready for a dive), he might give it two such adjustments and check that performance is still OK. If that does not stop the leak, there is almost surely another problem beyond a simple adjustment.

I concur!

Cheers

 

[h2ofria]

I had a fairly new Zeagle primary that developed an annoying leak while on a dive trip. The person I had bought it from (a highly qualified/certified technician) tried to do some field repairs to no avail. When I got home I took it to my local dive shop who serviced it, replaced several parts and declared it good as new. Next dive trip - same thing. Went back to the local dive shop. This time they looked at the plastic seat inside the regulator using a microscope and found a tiny ridge of excess material in one spot of the seat. Replaced the seat and all was well.

Please do not try and fix this yourself unless you are a certified tech. It could cost you your life.

 

[redacted]

Please do not try and fix this yourself unless you are a certified tech. It could cost you your life.

How do you figure that could happen?

 

[h2ofria]

Another diver has an out of air situation and grabs Wetdogs primary out of his mouth and bolts for the surface. Wetdog keeps his head and calmly goes for the secondary but it doesn't work properly so now he has no air and has a paniced diver with the primary. Both could end up dead.

 

[redacted]

Another diver has an out of air situation and grabs Wetdogs primary out of his mouth and bolts for the surface. Wetdog keeps his head and calmly goes for the secondary but it doesn't work properly so now he has no air and has a paniced diver with the primary. Both could end up dead.

Why would it not work properly???

What do you think he could do that would leave him with an undetected non-working regulator at depth?

The point is that adjusting most 2nds stages is really quite simple. When you are finished, it will either hold gas and breath satisfactorily when you test it or it will not. The only real, potentially endangering, error that one could make that may well go undetected is over or under tightening of the hose connection. And a few divers pay technicians to make that error.

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

hey awap (hope all is well)
ill probably be in touch with you soon. glad to see you hit it off with jason for your first impression ... however (not to steal but only borrow this thread for a moment) it is not actually your "first impression" of him. he was/is primarily responsible for where my skill was/is currently. yup, he is an owner of the shop we discussed ... pretty amazing individual himself as well.
(ironic? i think not)
say hi to the missus por favor ... might hit mexico in june or july again