non-clumping sorb

[broncobowsher]

So I had a weird one. Had sorb that didn't clump.

Back story...
Getting back in the rEvo after a bit of time off. Tore up a knee, had surgery, therapy, getting back into diving again.
Sorb is a couple years old. Have a couple open kegs due to getting another keg while on a trip. But they have been kept sealed up, indoors, in a dark corner.
Loaded one scrubber with 812 and the other with 797 (using up the open kegs). I don't remember which one is I put on top.
Did a little 30 minute, 80-foot check dive, all was good. Pulled everything apart, stored the cassettes in tupperware like I usually do. Not enough time to justify tossing it. Couple weeks later went out and did a more proper 130' dive and was out for about an hour. Doing good, getting back up to speed, everything is working right.
Got home, now had an hour and a half over 2 dives. Time to dump the top scrubber. Went to dump it, no clumping. That's not normal. OK, maybe I screwed up and dumped the wrong scrubber? Not taking any chances, dumped it as well. Again, no clumping. The sorb worked, I did a little over an hour and a half on the loop without issues. I've never seen sorb not clump. Even if I let it dry out before emptying it, it is still clumped even if crusty.
Anyone ever seen this before? Any idea what is going on?

 

[davehicks]

If the sorb is not wet and only lightly used at 90 minutes, I would not expect it to be clumping to any great degree. I don't usually see that until 2 hours or more. I don't think that what you are seeing is outside of the expected condition.

I have a KISS Spirit with two sorb canisters connected in series. The exhale side canister gets used up first. Plenty of times I will put two hours on freshly packed scrubbers. Then I have another two-dive day come up. I will dump the exhale canister and refill that one with just 90-120 minutes on it. It usually still looks pretty good, white rather than gray and not clumpy. If I put 3-4 hours on the scrubber, then that exhale side is gray and quite clumpy.

 

[JonG1]

Different unit, but I always used to get clumping in my Kiss Classic, if I was too aggressive with packing and settling the sorb. Originally I used to use a rubber mallet to tap the sides of the can, but changing to lightly cuppling it by hand I got much drier sorb even after up to 2 hours in 8 degree water.

 

[mr_v]

Sounds like your scrubber was too fresh to clump. Welcome back to diving, btw!

When I change my scrub earlier than prescribed by the standard schedule, I see less clumping.

 

[broncobowsher]

So it doesn't sound like I have much to worry about. Just an odd profile of a couple of short dives with a lot of time between. Dumping the second scrubber wasn't necessary, but I still call it a wise move in case I messed up. See what happens the next time I go out. This time I will keep track of what sorb is in which cassette.

 

[bubblemonkey2]

So people are just refilling the first canister and assuming the second one is still good, based mainly on how clumped or deteriorated the material in the first can is?

Is it actually unsafe to use a dye-indicating sorb? Is there anything non-toxic? Can someone refresh my understanding about why we don't do this?

 

[davehicks]

So people are just refilling the first canister and assuming the second one is still good, based mainly on how clumped or deteriorated the material in the first can is?

Is it actually unsafe to use a dye-indicating sorb? Is there anything non-toxic? Can someone refresh my understanding about why we don't do this?

No, mainly based on scrubber run time. You can't inspect the condition of the sorb without dumping it out of the scrubber canister.

 

[Marie13]

So people are just refilling the first canister and assuming the second one is still good, based mainly on how clumped or deteriorated the material in the first can is?

Is it actually unsafe to use a dye-indicating sorb? Is there anything non-toxic? Can someone refresh my understanding about why we don't do this?

DGX’s website indicates they don’t sell the indicating sorb as US Navy standards call for the non-indicating stuff.

 

[bubblemonkey2]

No, mainly based on scrubber run time. You can't inspect the condition of the sorb without dumping it out of the scrubber canister.

Same here on mine... however since it sound like you guys are dumping one out of two canisters at a time, what if you had an indicator in the first one? Would that help to answer some of the curious questions posed in this thread?

You can actually see the [outside of the] sorb in a Hollis P2! [haha]

 

[davehicks]

Same here on mine... however since it sound like you guys are dumping one out of two canisters at a time, what if you had an indicator in the first one? Would that help to answer some of the curious questions posed in this thread?

You can actually see the [outside of the] sorb in a Hollis P2! [haha]

Kiss used to have clear canisters, but i have never seen one. Everyone uses canisters covered with their high density coating to insulate them better.

I have used indicating sorb in the past with no issues. However it just does not seem to be useful in any way as you can't actually see it until you dump it out.