Long-term regulator storage question

[bill_bain]

Given the economy, I need to face the fact that I may not be diving as much as I'd like in the next year and my son, my dive buddy, certainly won't be as he's just starting out and needs to watch his pennies. So, how to store the regulators for long term storage? We recently have a situation in which one of the Conshelfs we use had an LP hose leak from being hung by the first stage and the weight of the second stage stressed the hose fitting and it started to leak where the rubber joins the ferrule of the fitting. Thoughts:

1. Get the regulators/consoles all serviced. I just got them back from my son who took them with him to his job in Florida but very infrequently used them.
2. Take all the hoses off the first and second stages, plug the ports and store the first and second stages in ziplock bags to keep dust out. Store the hoses flat and straight. It would only take afew minutes to re-assemble everything if we needed it and we'd need to do the "pre-flight" inspections anyway.
3. BC's partially inflated and hung by the tank straps to take the weight off the shoulders and the bladder? My Manta hangs nicely by the dual cam straps.

Am I off-base here?

 

[halocline]

Sounds like a good plan. Make sure the shop tests the regulator after they service it. If you have a way of storing the 2nd stages with the purge slightly depressed, you'll take the seat off the orifice and prevent it from wearing while in storage. I wouldn't worry about storing the hoses straight, if it's convenient, fine.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Yes, taking the hoses off and plugging the ports is overkill.

It is a very good idea to have the reg freshly serviced to ensure it is clean and dry. Once you are confident the reg is completely dry, store it lying flat with the hoses loosely looped. Storing it inside one of the really large zip lock bags is great as it will protect it from dust, moisture and creepy crawlies. That is especially important if you use something to keep the purge button slightly depressed.

As matt indicates, keeping the purge depressed keeps the orifice from pressing on the seat whihc would othwise create a deeper seating groove in the seat and "wear" it out just sitting on a shelf over time. Do not fully depress the purge as that can cause issues with the spring being continually compressed near the end of its working range.

The first stage seat is not in contact with the orifice when it is depressurized, so they will store well for decades as long as the rubber parts and lubricant do not dry out.

Some models have switches or buttons that hold the purge slightly depressed. Others have designs that allow you to hold the purge open with a special key, a coin or perhaps the end of a q-tip. If not, it's no big deal, just have the second stage flow tested and checked when you put it back in service. If you explain where it has been and are not concerned about warranty issues, the tech may just charrge you for the seat relacement and the flow test, rather than a full service charge - although on some models, replacing the seat in the second stage requires complete disasembly so the labor and time is nearly the same.

 

[bill_bain]

Thanks for the tips -- I hadn't thought of the purge/second stage seat issue, but since all the regulators and octopi involved are Conshelfs, it would be easy enough to put Q-tips or small wedges between the purge buttons and the housings to depress the purge buttons a bit.

I'd rather be diving than putting this stuff up, believe me . . . .