Gauge failure? Any ideas?

[Steve A]

I have just got back from Sharm and as a relative newbie had my equipment serviced before going. My regs are Oceanic cdx 5 1st stage, 2 Alpha 8 regs and oceanic swiv triple console. They were working fine before being serviced. On holiday on the first dive the pressure gauge although reading correctly had a drop of water behind the glass which I noticed straight away. I continued the dive and it didn't get much worse. After getting back off the boat I noticed the water had disappeared but you could see where it had been so showed the guide. As the next dive was on the house reef and only shallow I decided with my buddy aware of the situation to try the regs again. Immediately on decent the gauge filled to about half way. I showed the guide and my buddy but continued the dive as it was reading fine and it was a very easy dive to 18m max and all remained ok. On getting back to base I cleaned the regs and hung them up and again ther water disappeared. The gauge I presume is scrap but any ideas where the water could have got in? There is no visible damage? I observed no Bubbles coming from the gauge? Could it be due to the service? Could the salt water get in through due to a fault or leak with the the first stage? If salt water has tracked back or got in to the first stage will it cause problems? Any ideas or opinions welcome, thanks Steve

 

[buddhasummer]

Without seeing it its a little hard to know. Does the case have any visible damage? You may need to remove it from the boot to check properly. A damaged case is the most likely cause resulting from an impact of some description.

I'm guessing its a plastic gauge in which case it's probably toast. How old is it? Oceanic have a reputation for good customer service if its not old it's probably worth mailing Oceanic.

Salt water is never good in the 1st stage but again impossible to know without inspection. AFAIK unless the spool itself or the spool O ring in damaged it's unlikely that water has travelled into the first stage. I guess it would be possible if the O ring/s was damaged and you submerged while unpressurized.

Have you contacted the shop that serviced it?

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.

Sorry can't be of more help. Good luck.

 

[redacted]

Visible water in a working gauge indicates some type of case failure. If your gauge was also serviced, as it should have been, It had to be removed from the console. Case damage could occur during that process.

 

[Fishpie]

As others have said it's either a cracked case or the burst plug at the back of the gauge has popped out, the water didn't get in there through the 1st stage.
.....have fun getting the "swiv" console apart and back together to check out the pg.

 

[ianr33]

It's scrap but the good news is nothing else will be damaged. The water got in through a crack somewhere but its between the housing and the bourdon tube inside (the part that actually measures the pressure) so there is no chance water can be inside your regs.

It's a common problem. Gauge will probably work for a while but as you can't predict when it will fail it's best just to change it. (Get a glass/metal one rather than a plastic one)

And you guys type too fast!

 

[drbill]

I've had several Oceanic pressure gauges fail over the years. I've only had one brass/glass one fail... when I mistakenly set the tank down on top of it!

 

[Steve A]

Thanks for the replies, I was a little worried as one of the service guys at the dive centre we were using said I must have dropped the a clamp in without the dust cap which I new I definately hadn't as I am ultra careful being a newbie and a little paranoid bordering ocd when it comes to my gear lol.

---------- Post added March 23rd, 2013 at 05:21 PM ----------

Unfortunately I just bought a brand new one off ebay oceanic swivel triple gauge to replace it but it was a bargain £66 including delivery but well see how long it lasts? I hope a gauge failure wont lead to loss off pressure or any other problem that could put me in immediate danger? My regs with damaged gauge are currently with my local dive shop who serviced them awaiting results.

 

[milbournosphere]

This happened to me a few months ago and I over reacted a bit, actually calling the dive. My gauge was plastic and the water came in at depth, under the increased pressure, likely from a hairline crack in the housing or in the seal between the two housing pieces. The feedback that I got was that there's generally no issue with the gauge until the water starts to corrode the internals. Not wanting to wait for the eventual failure, I replaced it immediately with a used SPG that a buddy gave me and have had no issues thus far. I'll eventually upgrade to a nice brass/glass one.

 

[Steve A]

Beginning to wish I had bought a new brass/glass one already but ive bought it now so we'll see how long it lasts. I was surprisingly calm when it happened and continued the dive knowing it was very easy with little current, max 20m bottom and my buddy and the guide were made aware so I had a bailout plan if there was a problem. I wouldn't have continued on a drift dive or a more challenging dive as I wouldn't put myself or anyone else at risk so I wouldn't say you over reacted but quite sensible to be honest and a wise call.

 

[ianr33]

I hope a gauge failure wont lead to loss off pressure or any other problem that could put me in immediate danger?

Even if you cut the High Pressure hose in half ,you still have about 20 minutes worth of air. The HP port in a reg only has a pinhole size opening in it ,so takes a long time to drain a tank.