It finally happened - my CCR tried to kill me

[stuartv]

Just a shot in the dark regarding why your battery canister flooded. I flooded a Delrin epirb canister because I was unknowingly lubricating the threads with grease. I was later advised that the Delrin canister would only seal when the threads are completely dry. Just my 2c.

Thanks for that tip, but that wasn't my issue. Also, that seems really hard to believe. Putting grease on the threads would prevent the O-rings (I assume) from doing what they do??

 

[cathal]

Also, that seems really hard to believe. Putting grease on the threads would prevent the O-rings (I assume) from doing what they do??

The explanation was that the lubricant creating a thin film between each thread that allowed the ingress of water. As an aside, after I stopped using grease on the threads, the canister never leaked, he called it a 'dry seal' between the threads.

 

[stuartv]

The explanation was that the lubricant creating a thin film between each thread that allowed the ingress of water. As an aside, after I stopped using grease on the threads, the canister never leaked, he called it a 'dry seal' between the threads.

Weird. No matter, though. I never lubed the threads before. Not going to start now. But, the new canister I got does clearly have white grease on it from the factory, just in the area where the O-rings are.

 

[rjack321]

grease causes leaks? dry threads don't?

This is a bizarre

 

[lermontov]

Just a shot in the dark regarding why your battery canister flooded. I flooded a Delrin epirb canister because I was unknowingly lubricating the threads with grease. I was later advised that the Delrin canister would only seal when the threads are completely dry. Just my 2c.

i find that hard to believe i lubricate all o rings on every piece of equipment (except my shearwater battery cap ) and never had a leak on anything - rEvo manual tells you to lubricate the lid o rings

 

[lermontov]

 

[stuartv]

i find that hard to believe i lubricate all o rings on every piece of equipment (except my shearwater battery cap ) and never had a leak on anything - rEvo manual tells you to lubricate the lid o rings

He was talking about the battery box cap threads, not the O-rings. He then added the example of an EPIRB canister.

 

[lermontov]

He was talking about the battery box cap threads, not the O-rings. He then added the example of an EPIRB canister.

ahh yes ok

- there is an issue to be aware of in lubricating threads, its relatively easy to over tighten them (up to 30% ) as any torque readings take into account the friction of the threads as part of the resistance so dry tension has less than lubricated tension with the same torque readings. I dont know where the threshold is and it may not be relevant to a battery box but certainly with changes in ambient pressure it may be a contributing factor. Having said that i still doubt the 'thin file' creating an ingress theory. My guess is a slither of delrin or foreign material in the threads creating a channel.

 

[cathal]

i find that hard to believe i lubricate all o rings on every piece of equipment (except my shearwater battery cap ) and never had a leak on anything - rEvo manual tells you to lubricate the lid o rings

I was not talking about whether you should lubricating o-rings, I mentioned how I had experienced a Delrin Epirb housing conistently leaking on me and that what solved the leak was removing any lubricant from the threads of the housing so that when the threads of the housing engaged they formed a dry seal against each other. And all I can comment on this advice is, that it worked. hence whi I brought this up as it may have been a possible solution to the rEvo external delrin battery housing leaking as posted by the OP.

 

[uwxplorer]

Interesting analysis and glad this warm water dive ended well. I can imagine how this could have ended in colder, rougher waters.
Others, more experienced, have said many true things. Few comments though (from a rEvo diver whose unit has been sitting dry for one year):

1) Wrong title, as pointed out earlier. I surmise this was humor, but some could take it at face value. The truth is you almost killed yourself due to complacency (we all do).

2) 100 hrs is in fact the proverbial time when we screw up. You did, I did, plenty others have. My buddy did not make it, sadly. It only gets worse from there on (complacency-wise) unless you do not dissect your dives aggressively... Every dive, not just those that look problematic.

3) The battery box has always had the 1/4 turn back recommendation, AFAIK. In fact, there are a lot of precautions to follow in order to not damage the seals which are very thin and fragile. I once noticed that something had felt different than normal when closing it. At the end of the day, the battery box had flooded. Know your unit, feel your unit.

4) You have your own SOP to build the unit. Paul Raymaeker wrote a build list for a reason. I have packaged it in X's rEvo checklist (Google app). There is a reason for each step and their order. Now you have just demonstrated why installing tanks come after closing the lid.

5) You figured out that your breathing was abnormal and you did not abort. I'll guess you will reconsider next time .

6) You realized that some cells were reading crazy, but you decided that a few of them were nevertheless worth trusting. I don't recall reading that you did a loop flush to check them out. Granted, if they were all connected to a single computer, the computer could be suspected, but yours is probably hard wired, so connections are not very sensitive, unless you snagged the cable (has happened to me, with predictable consequences - which I discovered post dive, but still worked fine).

7) I can't resist to express my surprise that the incomparable rMS did not pick up the flood...Shocking.

Dive safe (or don't dive... it amazing how easy it is to do, in retrospect).