O-ring & Nitrox

[furby076]

For diving with EAN32 and EAN36 do we need to use nitrox o-rings and nitrox silicone grease or is the standard air orings and grease suffice?

EDIT: I ask because I am pretty sure ean40 is where I need to start using nitrox orings/grease, but some places say at 32/36 which could just be a sales pitch.

 

[SkimFisher]

For what piece of gear are you talking about? Tanks? Regs? What?

For regs, follow the mfg recommendations/limits.

For tanks, most places that fill your tanks are doing partial pressure fills. Meaning your tanks are going to come into contact with pure oxygen and thus need to be O2 cleaned. So your answer would be "yes".

I'm not sure what the requirements are for banked fills, but I very rarely EVER run into a shop that does banked fills. Hopefully someone else can help here.

 

[furby076]

My equipment will be a stage1 and 2 which is rated for nitrox by the mfg.
The tanks will be from the dive shop which provides ean32, so I assume they will take care of their end.

I just want to have spare orings in case I blow an oring.

 

[SkimFisher]

Ok, so you're talking about the o-ring on the valve seat? You can use a standard o-ring there. It doesn't need to be anything special.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I just want to have spare orings in case I blow an oring.

Ok, so you're talking about the o-ring on the valve seat? You can use a standard o-ring there. It doesn't need to be anything special.

@furby076: For replacement o-rings on the yoke tank valve of a nitrox tank (32% or 36%), you could use any old o-ring that's the proper size (AS568B-014). If you order viton o-rings online, they really aren't that expensive. I get most of mine from Divegearexpress.com. For this particular application, the 90A durometer is probably what you want.

In your initial post, you mentioned o-rings and lube. Do NOT lube the yoke tank valve o-ring. Lubing it will only encourage debris to stick to it, then when you mount your reg on the tank valve, you might not get a good seal. By the same token, one should not lube the tank valve sealing o-ring on a DIN regulator either. Same goes for the o-rings that go inside the yoke inserts of DIN/K convertible tank valves.

 

[furby076]

Bubble - thank you! I also called my dive shop and they said unless I go 40%+ I can use any o-ring. I also ordered from divegearexpress.

So don't lube up the yoke o-ring.
Lube up the LP/HP hose o-rings since, for the most part, they will not be removed? SOmetimes I pull out the octopus from my primary 1st stage. This is done if I have the option to use a pony (I don't need three 2nd stages for general diving).

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Lube up the LP/HP hose o-rings since, for the most part, they will not be removed? SOmetimes I pull out the octopus from my primary 1st stage. This is done if I have the option to use a pony (I don't need three 2nd stages for general diving).

Yes, you can lube the o-rings for first stage connections of LP and HP hoses.