pre diving regulator check help plz.

[halocline]

I'm unpressurized, the valve is open, I can inhale and exhale.

What valve are you talking about? Can't be the tank valve, right? Then you're pressurized.

If there's a "seat saver" spring in the atomic 2nd stage, it must keep the orifice off the seat when the stage is not pressurized. This would mean air could travel freely in the mouthpiece, down the hose to the 1st stage, back out the octo hose and there you go. I'm pretty sure this is what the guy who told you your life is in danger was getting at. It doesn't mean there's a leak. Since the other 2nd stage does not have this feature, you can't draw air into it. Try inhaling on the atomic 2nd stage with the purge on the octo depressed, you should get some air.

Just to make sure, you're doing this with the reg on a tank, but the tank valve closed, right?

 

[do it easy]

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.



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


thanks

OK- it sounds like your reg is fine. I misunderstood the part about where the air was coming from. To be 100% sure, you could remove the octo from the 1st stage and put your thumb over the end of the hose and then try the test, if you feel comfortable taking it apart. You might also be able to put your thumb over the primary mouthpiece, but it might be harder to get a seal to eliminate the leaks.

 

[fisherdvm]

HMMM very interesting. So the darn atomic second stage when unpressurized will let air into the system, which prevents you from doing a vacumn test like other regulators?? I've heard this before, on how you can not rinse out atomic regulators unless they were pressurized.

So the only way he can test his back up octopus second stage is by unscrewing it from the first stage, then plug up the hole at the end of the low pressure hose, and suck until it forms a vacumn?

What a screwy set up, these atomic regulators?

 

[fishgirl21]

Yep, that sounds normal for atomic. Like someone else mentioned
Always leave system pressurized when you wash it or you will flood the whole system.

 

[dandestroy]

I believe you have all found the culprit!

It now make a lot of sense that the open seat saving orifice of the atomic will allow air to get in when unpressurized. Good think to know since now I know that it might also make my life more complicated for rinsing... guess I'm going to have to buy a tank sooner than I tough.

Just to clarify something, when I'm doing this vacuum testing I'm not on a tank, but I do have the dust cover on. Also when I block the mouth orifice of the Atomic and suck on the Octo I do get a seal...thus showing that the octo is probably fine and that the issue was the atomic (which was bothering me a bit considering the price). But to make sure I will unscrew the octo form the first stage to test the vacum by blocking the hose directly, as well as sucking on the atomic hose.

But now it make a lot of sense that the seat saving orifice would allow one way air when unpressurized.

I will contact Atomic on Monday to confirm all this.

 

[redacted]

Congratulations on the successful assembly of your regulator.

A good dust cap will create a water tight seal for the inlet on your first stage. But they can, on rare occasions, leak which is why it is preferable to soak your regulator under pressure from a tank if possible. The Atomic seatsaver feature does present a bit of a problem soaking your gear not under pressure. You do need to avoid getting water into the 1st stage. Clean fresh water in the 2nd stage, even into the LP hose is not really a problem but you do have to handle your gear so that water can not migrate into the 1st stage. Tank pressure makes it easy. Partial disassembly will work and may be your best alternative if you do not have access to a tank. So will careful handling of your gear to make sure than any water that may enter the 2nd stage hose is expelled so it can not migrate into the 1st stage.

 

[fisherdvm]

I find the rubber first stage dust cap my son has on his genesis much more trust worthy than the hard plastic dust cap cover I have on my sherwood. I wonder where can you buy these rubber dust cap cover. I think they make better water proof shields.

 

[halocline]

The hard plastic cone shaped ones have an o-ring just like a tank o-ring. If it's not there, that would explain the bad seal. One of my MK5s has one; with the o-ring it seals really well.

 

[dandestroy]

So my best guess without having a pressurized tank, is to let the first stage on the counter top, than put the second stage in the sink with water (so first stage is above water level),

than once I remove this, let it dry with the first stage higher than the second stage,

than immerse the first stage by itself with the remaining second stage outside of the water.

or by a tank

 

[halocline]

Yep, that seat saver really complicates one of the most important aspects of maintaining a reg; thorough cleaning after diving. Another brilliant example of a solution to a non-existent problem. The dive industry is full of them. You'd think Atomic would have planned for this one, and maybe they did, I don't know.

Storing a reg with the purge partially depressed does exactly the same thing, only you get to choose when you want it to be engaged. Some SP regs had a feature like this, you could push in the purge button a little and turn it so that it stayed in place for storage. It's easy to find something to hold it in a little, maybe a guitar pick would work.

Personally, I would find a way to disable the seat saver function. I'm sure the reg is a standard barrel poppet balanced 2nd in the G250/S600 tradition. Those have really small springs holding the seat closed, and you can back off the tension to almost nothing with the adjuster.