Lost Improperly Tightened 2nd-Stage Regulator

[mdwalter]

Oddly enough, hand tightening 2nd stages was all the rage back in the mid/late 90's in Tech/Cave diving. I did it for years. "Purpose" was if you had a 2nd stage failure, especially on a deco bottle, you could just swap it with your primary and be back in business (and I actually had to do that once coming up from a 200' mix dive). Downside, they blow off. Today in tech/cave circles its not in vogue.

Yeah, the new cool way to accomplish this is to carry a stainless steel wrench to swap out that 2nd stage if needed. That way you have a mitigation for 2nd stage problems as well as preventing the 2nd from falling off. Have one; never needed it, yet.

 

[SlugLife]

Yeah, the new cool way to accomplish this is to carry a stainless steel wrench to swap out that 2nd stage if needed. That way you have a mitigation for 2nd stage problems as well as preventing the 2nd from falling off. Have one; never needed it, yet.

The XS Scuba Star tool I have is pretty solid. No rust yet, and it's been on many fresh-water dives, about 6 salt-water dives. It has all the right sizes for regulator hoses and plugs.

I tried some offbrand "scuba star tool" once that was "on sale" and it turned out to have all the wrong sizes.

 

[BlueTrin]

I never carry it in the water but the Pandora tool has a titanium version. It is quite slim. Maybe you’d not get enough grip underwater though with its shape.

Pandora Tool 2 | PANDORA-LAB

PANDORA-LAB

www.pandora-lab.com

 

[Hatul]

I once had the connection between the hose and the 2nd stage loose underwater and I noticed bubble coming out. At that time I was using the Atomic 2nd stage swivel. When pressurized this swivel becomes quite stiff and the hose becomes a lever arm that can easily unscrew the connection. This connection does need to be checked especially if using the swivel.

 

[Hatul]

The XS Scuba Star tool I have is pretty solid. No rust yet, and it's been on many fresh-water dives, about 6 salt-water dives. It has all the right sizes for regulator hoses and plugs.

I tried some offbrand "scuba star tool" once that was "on sale" and it turned out to have all the wrong sizes.

I don't carry tools underwater, but in my save-a-dive kit I prefer to include a 6" adjustable wrench. They're more versatile and make a smaller package.