O2 cleaning question
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PfcAJ
Contributor
I believe the nylon seat is one of the most suspect parts of any scuba valve, but we don't have many options.
bvanant
Contributor
Actually you don't. I know you were kidding but a good guy lost his arm here.
Former WRAL photographer, wife injured in explosion :: WRAL.com
Bill
I'll throw in a couple cents here...
We use Sherwood Bruts as our rental regs... As such, I repair and service them quite often... Typically I'll do just one stage at a time, and these guys are never used with anything more than 36% Nitrox. Very reliable, very simple regs. Hardly anything to them really. Now, I don't know if one can even be made Oxygen safe, however, if we are talking a time difference in service as a justification for price differences, then yes, most definitely.
I can fully service (replace every O-ring, the dust filter, and replace the high pressure seat). While doing this, I'll have everything soak in a 50/50 vinegar/water solution. Typically, it takes me about a minute to a minute and a half to disassemble one completely. I'll strip the o-rings, dump everything in the 50/50 solution, and walk away while I fill a tank or two of nitrox (partial pressure blended). When I come back, 10 minutes later, I take a toothbrush to the reg, scrub a little to make sure all the corrosion is off of everything, and then I rinse well in plain water. Use the air hose to dry off everything, and inspect closely. Reassemble with all new o-rings, seat, etc, and test the intermediate pressure - this whole process has taken 15 minutes, which included 10 minutes in the middle I got to walk away and do something else.
Now, if I was to O2 clean this same reg, instead of walking away for 10 minutes while the stuff soaked, I would have spent that 10 minutes cleaning, in fact, most likely, I would have spent more like 45 minutes cleaning, and the solution I used would have cost more than $2.00 per gallon, in fact more like $30 per gallon.
Do we see why it costs more yet?
We use Sherwood Bruts as our rental regs... As such, I repair and service them quite often... Typically I'll do just one stage at a time, and these guys are never used with anything more than 36% Nitrox. Very reliable, very simple regs. Hardly anything to them really. Now, I don't know if one can even be made Oxygen safe, however, if we are talking a time difference in service as a justification for price differences, then yes, most definitely.
I can fully service (replace every O-ring, the dust filter, and replace the high pressure seat). While doing this, I'll have everything soak in a 50/50 vinegar/water solution. Typically, it takes me about a minute to a minute and a half to disassemble one completely. I'll strip the o-rings, dump everything in the 50/50 solution, and walk away while I fill a tank or two of nitrox (partial pressure blended). When I come back, 10 minutes later, I take a toothbrush to the reg, scrub a little to make sure all the corrosion is off of everything, and then I rinse well in plain water. Use the air hose to dry off everything, and inspect closely. Reassemble with all new o-rings, seat, etc, and test the intermediate pressure - this whole process has taken 15 minutes, which included 10 minutes in the middle I got to walk away and do something else.
Now, if I was to O2 clean this same reg, instead of walking away for 10 minutes while the stuff soaked, I would have spent that 10 minutes cleaning, in fact, most likely, I would have spent more like 45 minutes cleaning, and the solution I used would have cost more than $2.00 per gallon, in fact more like $30 per gallon.
Do we see why it costs more yet?
James R- apologies for calling you stupid - and no worries about the post modification - thanks
Given that I do this sort of stuff for a living, I tend to bite when people accuse of us ripping them off - for sure it happens, but in the majority of cases, expenses incurred are honestly passed onto the customer. My daily wage for pumping trimix tanks in Thailand was substantially less than what other posters here have claimed to have been charged for a single nitrox fill.
Sorry folks if I have caused offence - but please understand there is a lot of work involved, and - depending on the environment in which you dive - a premium must be applied.
Thanks for your understanding
C.
Given that I do this sort of stuff for a living, I tend to bite when people accuse of us ripping them off - for sure it happens, but in the majority of cases, expenses incurred are honestly passed onto the customer. My daily wage for pumping trimix tanks in Thailand was substantially less than what other posters here have claimed to have been charged for a single nitrox fill.
Sorry folks if I have caused offence - but please understand there is a lot of work involved, and - depending on the environment in which you dive - a premium must be applied.
Thanks for your understanding
C.
fire_diver
Contributor
Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what Mr. Keller wants. Don't fall for the trolls trap.
It is more work to properly 02 service and clean regulators, tanks and valves, but one thing that i haven't seen in this thread is the responsibility of the dive shop if some thing were to happen while filling a tank or using your regulator with a high 02 mix. The dive shop and tech that did the work would be legally responsible for any damages, death or injuries and because of this insurance is not cheep...
not completely true...
by definition, something is only O2 clean at the time it was cleaned, and as soon as it is used, it is not certified O2 clean anymore...
in theory, so long as you are using oxygen compatible air, you are good, but, just one misplaced finger on a dust cap or tank valve, and you have introduced oily residue...
same thing goes for visual inspections... all we can do is verify what the current state of the gear is in, anything that happens in the future is beyond our control...
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I'll give you the short story on my end. I am an active repair tech and have been for over 10 years. I clean every reg the same way, I use Christolube on every reg for rebuild and they work fine for normal EANx. The reason I charge extra for O2 clean regs is I by O2 compatible parts and O'rings for them from the factory. They charge me more for parts, I charge you more for parts. Now if somethings happens and your people contact my people I have a good defense and PROOF that I was doing it "By the Book". Oh and btw, I only charge a few dollars extra for the labor of regular service rebuild vs O2 clean rebuild. It's the parts that cost.
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