I am not clear on the purpose of a prolonged soaking of the first stage. Where is the soaking water going, and what purpose is it achieving?
"Not just a dust cap" cap
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OP
The water isn't particularly going anywhere when soaking, rather it's loosening up crud and crusted on deposits which then are shaken off. Depending what's in the water, also disinfectanting.
I soak regs for the same reason I'll soak a burnt pot of food. It softens up the sticky bits.
Probably a bigger reason is because some old salts I know also soak.
.. That and it's given me clean regs without deposit build ups that commonly need ultrasonic cleaning during servicing for years without issues. Especially in salt water and when the equipment dries before I get it to my dunk tank. Same goes for the clay (and other crusty nasties) in suspension in the water back home.
A rinse doesn't loosen it up enough and soaking it seems to work with less effort than extended vigorous agitation.
I'm curious why some of the rest of us soak. I've been told it is a useless practice before.
Regards,
Cameron
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It makes me feel better.
OP
There. Yes. That.
: D
... And anyone who suffered through reading my rambling post... You got what you paid for.
During a dive trip, I find rinsing adequate as salt crystals do not have much time to form. AFTER a dive trip I soak overnight so the fresh water has time to dissolve any crystals that may have formed-particularly in the ambient chamber and around threads exposed to salt water, like the adjustment knob on my 109. The swivel of an SPG is another area that needs a good soak.
Hoz that for rambling? I haven't even gotten around to asking my question.
Which manufactures, if any, actually refer to the device in question as a "dust cap?" I never heard it referred to as such except on diving forums.
These caps can hold a lot more pressure than one would think. One day when I'm not feeling too lazy, I'll make a post with pictures in the DIY section showing how I use these caps to cycle multiple first stages simultaneously using only one tank.
Hoz that for rambling? I haven't even gotten around to asking my question.
Which manufactures, if any, actually refer to the device in question as a "dust cap?" I never heard it referred to as such except on diving forums.
These caps can hold a lot more pressure than one would think. One day when I'm not feeling too lazy, I'll make a post with pictures in the DIY section showing how I use these caps to cycle multiple first stages simultaneously using only one tank.
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I am just an old broken down diver from Orange county California - where most of the original dive manufactures were located.
I once was a consultant, or an advisor to many of the companies at one time or another
A consultant is on a paid monthly retainer, an advisor is utilized and paid on an individual one time advice
One Company owned by the late great Harry Recigno (ree Cee No) Sea Tec - Inflatable systems, produced floatation devices and were the first to introduce the double bag system. All too soon problems developed Salt Crystals were firming inside the plastic inner bags creating holes for a leak path.
The simple home solution was Downey dish washing soap - At the time it was the best solution - the best soap for breaking down salt crystals.
I had a dip tank which I soaked the salt water exposed equipment as well as a few drops of Downey in the inflation systems -- never a problem with salt water build up
Of course I rinsed with fresh water
@boulderjohn I appreciate that Downey is not PADI approved... but how about you and others giving Downey a try...
SDM
I once was a consultant, or an advisor to many of the companies at one time or another
A consultant is on a paid monthly retainer, an advisor is utilized and paid on an individual one time advice
One Company owned by the late great Harry Recigno (ree Cee No) Sea Tec - Inflatable systems, produced floatation devices and were the first to introduce the double bag system. All too soon problems developed Salt Crystals were firming inside the plastic inner bags creating holes for a leak path.
The simple home solution was Downey dish washing soap - At the time it was the best solution - the best soap for breaking down salt crystals.
I had a dip tank which I soaked the salt water exposed equipment as well as a few drops of Downey in the inflation systems -- never a problem with salt water build up
Of course I rinsed with fresh water
@boulderjohn I appreciate that Downey is not PADI approved... but how about you and others giving Downey a try...
SDM
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@boulderjohn , as many of my other posts suggest (Piston or diaphragm starting w/ pg2), I'm a bit of a fanatic about sealed pistons. For those that don't seal (or can't, read: Scubapro), soaking is a helpful way to reduce the accumulation of stuff around the sticky piston head oring where the film of Christolube attracts grit. Rinsing just doesn't do it, in many cases. The pics in that thread show the results of inadequate rinsing.
Well, @Sam Miller III, I got that bag of rubber stoppers from Amazon. They work great, but forget ordering Amazon's SEOH stoppers for $10 - they're Chinese garbage with very cracked and imperfect surfaces. Maybe 2 stoppers out of the 1lb. bag were adequate. It's off to Boston Scientific next, lol.
Well, @Sam Miller III, I got that bag of rubber stoppers from Amazon. They work great, but forget ordering Amazon's SEOH stoppers for $10 - they're Chinese garbage with very cracked and imperfect surfaces. Maybe 2 stoppers out of the 1lb. bag were adequate. It's off to Boston Scientific next, lol.
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For fun, i looked on a bunch of mfg web sites.
Aqua Lung: dust cap
Oceanic: protector cap
Atomic: no mention
Apeks: no mention
Mares: no mention
Sherwood: no mention
Scubapro: no mention
DiveRite: no mention
Deep 6: no mention
Trident: dust cap
Innovative: dust cap
"No Mention" means I could not find the thing described that they all had a picture of...
Deep 6 also calls it a dust cap
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