pre diving regulator check help plz.

[dandestroy]

Hello,

so I've been told to check my reg before putting turning the air on. I've been told that I should be able to exhale, but not inhale.

So today I just assembled my reg first stage with all the hoses.

So doing the breathing check, the second stage is ok, but when I inhale in the octo I canget some air in. This air actually come from the primary second stage mouth piece.

is this normal?

If I inhale on the octo underwater, my guess is that water will go in the primary second stage?

thanks for helping

(reg is a Atomic ST1 and octo is a aqualung kronos octo)

 

[tfsails]

Can we assume the reg is unpressurized when you do this test?

With the Atomic sliding orifice setup you can get some air on inhalation when the first stage is unpressurized. This is normal. The orifice moves away from the poppet seat when the second stage is unpressurized. It will reseal itself when the reg is pressurized.

I'm not all that familiar with the Kronos, but I've done more than a few Aqualung second stages, and every one of them remains sealed up when unpressurized. Does this stage free flow when pressurized? If it does, then a simple adjustment will probably fix it.

There is no connection between the primary second stage and the octo other than a common source of LP air (the first stage). You will not inhale water from the primary through your octo if the regulator is working correctly

Let me guess--you bought this reg online and assembled it yourself in order to save some money, right? If I'm right, you are taking a chance with your life by trying to put something together that you know very little about. If I'm wrong, then please accept my apologies. Either way, I'd strongly suggest you take it to your nearest dive shop and have a professional look at it. It's your life...

 

[do it easy]

Yes, you might get water in the octo when you breathe from it. It sounds like the mouth piece on the octo is loose or has a hole in it. It could be as simple as tightening up the zip tie or replacing the mouthpiece.

 

[fisherdvm]

If the regulator is not pressurized, it will take about 3 to 5 breaths before you will create a vacumn in your system. You should be able to inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale for about 3 to 5 times. Then a vacumn should form.

I usually do this after I assembled and pressurized the system, take 3 to 4 breaths, then close the valve, then check both main and octo for a good vacumn. I continue to breath until all the air is gone, and then keep on sucking. A good vacumn should be formed if your regulator have good exhaust valves. A very slight leak is acceptable. But a significant leak is very bad. It means that your thin exhaust valves (which you can see or feel inside the exhaust port) are ripped, torn, or damaged.

 

[halocline]

Let me guess--you bought this reg online and assembled it yourself in order to save some money, right? If I'm right, you are taking a chance with your life by trying to put something together that you know very little about. If I'm wrong, then please accept my apologies. Either way, I'd strongly suggest you take it to your nearest dive shop and have a professional look at it. It's your life...

Oh here we go again....

 

[dandestroy]

Can we assume the reg is unpressurized when you do this test?

yes it is unpressurized

With the Atomic sliding orifice setup you can get some air on inhalation when the first stage is unpressurized. This is normal. The orifice moves away from the poppet seat when the second stage is unpressurized. It will reseal itself when the reg is pressurized.

The atomic is fine on inhalation, it the aqualung kronos octo that I can suck air in

Let me guess--you bought this reg online and assembled it yourself in order to save some money, right? If I'm right, you are taking a chance with your life by trying to put something together that you know very little about. If I'm wrong, then please accept my apologies. Either way, I'd strongly suggest you take it to your nearest dive shop and have a professional look at it. It's your life...

You are right, I bought this online and I'm assembling it myself. I believe people make a big deal out of it for what it is really...just turning a couple of hose with proper lubrification and the right torque (I'm talking about new gear, not used). Even if I'm new to the field, thanks to message board like this one, I can get help from people that have experience, and if I don't feel secure in doing something, I won't do it (such as doing the maintenance on my regulators... )

The diving industry is a bit weird in the sense that the big strong companies with good reputation stand behind their product like their is no tomorow (like Atomic)... unless you buy them from someone else (such as leisurepro), than Atomic will tell you that their product is now unreliable? I understand Atomic's perspective in not being able to oversee non-authorized dealer and therefore don't want to have reliability issue... This make sence to avoid been reliable for used equipment, but it also serve the purpose out controlling pricing and profit margin.

So do I feel safe buying a regulator form Leisure pro... yes I do, Do I feel safe hooking the hose myself... yes I do (I did ask some pertinent question so I don't mak any stupid mistake)... Am I going to take the octo apart, if I don't get a seal or if there still a wrong behavior with it... No I wont (I'll get a specialist for that).

I feel more secure understanding doing some stuff myself than just jumping into the water without knowing anything and thinking that everything work magically. I'm not saying this to offend anyone, I'm saying this because getting involve like this is a great way of becoming a safer diver in my opinion.

I understand the concern for safety, and I appreciate your advice, and this is why I'm asking these kind of question around here.

 

[dandestroy]

If the regulator is not pressurized, it will take about 3 to 5 breaths before you will create a vacumn in your system. You should be able to inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale for about 3 to 5 times. Then a vacumn should form.

I usually do this after I assembled and pressurized the system, take 3 to 4 breaths, then close the valve, then check both main and octo for a good vacumn. I continue to breath until all the air is gone, and then keep on sucking. A good vacumn should be formed if your regulator have good exhaust valves.

Ok so I've try what you said,

I'm unpressurized, the valve is open, I can inhale and exhale.
I close the valve, I get instant seal on inhaling in the Atomic second stage, but I can still suck on air on the octo. (I kept on breathing and air kept on coming)

I ear the air coming inside the system from the mouth opening of the atomic second stage (this air then travel to the first stage and into my mouth of the octo).

To get the same effect when inhaling from the atomic second stage I have to push and maintain the purge of the octo. (just saying this as a comparison of the noise it make and the kind of air flow I get).

Should I get this to a tech, or should I get this underpressure to see what it does before putting it into water.

A very slight leak is acceptable. But a significant leak is very bad. It means that your thin exhaust valves (which you can see or feel inside the exhaust port) are ripped, torn, or damaged

Are you talking about the second stage or the octo exhaust valves?


thanks

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Someone forgot to tell you that only LDS that are authorized have the magic fairy dust to make all your gear work perfect!

My rig works the same way as yours, the primary will not allow me to inhale on a non-pressurized system. My octo does allow me to inhale via the primary, although it takes some effort. My rig works fine, although it is a different brand than yours. Since I have 3 identical sets and all 3 work the same, I assume this is normal for mine and it might be normal for yours also.

 

[fisherdvm]

Are you talking about the second stage or the octo exhaust valves?


thanks

There are two second stages: 1. the breathing primary. 2. the back up reg, or some might call an "octo".

If the octo is not creating a vacumn, it needs to be serviced. It might be as simple as a piece of stick being trapped between the flap valve, a leaky mouth piece, a loose reg cover. If you inspect it well enough, you might actually find the defect.

Sometime, the plastic diaphragm get stuck, or is put in incorrectly, and will leak air under the seal. Sometime, the flat round exhaust valve is torn. My gut feeling is, if you took it apart, you will find the cause. But if you are not comfortable, a dive shop can likely fix it in less than a half hour.... For nothing more than a few bucks for a new exhaust valve flapper.

 

[jiml]

Atomic second stages have a "seat saving orifice" feature. Does anybody know if that actually keeps the valve open when not pressurized? That would explain it if it does.