Reg disassembly advice needed
- Thread starter elan
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I have seen them just tightened with minimal torque by hand, only to be stuck beyond belief less than 30 seconds later. Remember, the friction of rubber components is very powerful. After all, rubber prevent the wheels from spinning on a top fuel dragster, despite those 6,000 HP delivered to the rear wheels.
Now, it is sometimes time consuming to get the oil in there. But once you do, they come apart like a charm.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
R
redacted
Guest
Will assembly with a bit of lube help prevent it?
LeadTurn_SD
Contributor
Interesting question. I'd considered lubing the threads on the next one I rebuild, but after the point Phil made, I was also wondering about lightly lubing the mating surfaces that contact & trap the environmental seal.... But I'm not sure if lubing it could make it extrude or something else nasty, so I'd be hesitant....
I do have one more (Flathead VI) that I'll be servicing soon, so I'll be thinking about the whole lube / don't lube issue again.
Best wishes.
I don't use any lube in the reassembly. I don't thing binding in the threads is a problem. It certainly would not be a good idea to put lube on the environmental seal. Adding lube during assembly would just require that you use more torque to make sure the seal is properly "captured".
The best solution is to NOT over-torque environmental caps during assembly. The addition of a "little extra" torque, combined with the "holding" power of the flexible diaphragm is a formula for trouble during dis-assembly.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
Phil et al,
Is the part you intend on wetting with silicone oil made from silicone? If so, would that not tend to distort it?
c
Is the part you intend on wetting with silicone oil made from silicone? If so, would that not tend to distort it?
c
Hi Couv. I think most of them are made from silicone, though I will admit that I don't know for sure. I really am not concerned about distortion, but the impact that lubrication would have on the friction fit of the diaphragm. This flat disk is captured between the two metal pieces. I would have a fear that lubrication would allow the diaphragm to extrude, causing a leak.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
Oh, just for clarity. When you use the needle and silicone oil to break the friction hold during dis-assembly, you should expect to replace the environmental diaphragm. This should be replaced anyway during a proper rebuild, but it will very likely need to be replaced after a difficult dis-assembly.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
ScottZeagle
Contributor
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I will be the first to admit that I am not well versed on the magical solutuions to reg problems - I leave all of that to Jim Fox, who has years of experience and has generally seen and done it all when it comes to regulator issues.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fox is taking the day off, so I can't ask him about this until Monday.
I will post his thought at that time.
Thanks,
Scott
Unfortunately, Mr. Fox is taking the day off, so I can't ask him about this until Monday.
I will post his thought at that time.
Thanks,
Scott
I just consulted the Apeks ATX100 (sorry, I do not have access to the information published by Zeagle) first stage assembly manual. It says reassembly of the hydrostatic (environmental) diaphragm should be as follows:
"Mate the environmental end cap onto the diaphragm clamp and turn it clockwise by hand until snug. Apply the spanner tool to tighten the end cap clockwise until it is completely snug and flush, metal against metal, with the diaphragm clamp".
I added the emphasis to the last statement in this paragraph. Personally, I am not sure that the thing becomes flush "metal against metal" on this regulator. If so, I think this is way too tight and will result in real problems when attempting a future dis-assembly.
For comparative purposes, Apeks states the following for the ATX200 first stage:
"Thread the end cap onto the dry chamber until hand tight. Using the face apanner wrench, tighten the end cap until snug."
Even though the two first stages are identical in this place, and the part number for the diaphragm is the same, I notice the elimination of the "metal against metal" part of the description. I wonder if this is an updated instruction as additional knowledge was gained?
In our store, we only apply the slightest of a pull with the spanner wrench, regardless of which model we are servicing.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
"Mate the environmental end cap onto the diaphragm clamp and turn it clockwise by hand until snug. Apply the spanner tool to tighten the end cap clockwise until it is completely snug and flush, metal against metal, with the diaphragm clamp".
I added the emphasis to the last statement in this paragraph. Personally, I am not sure that the thing becomes flush "metal against metal" on this regulator. If so, I think this is way too tight and will result in real problems when attempting a future dis-assembly.
For comparative purposes, Apeks states the following for the ATX200 first stage:
"Thread the end cap onto the dry chamber until hand tight. Using the face apanner wrench, tighten the end cap until snug."
Even though the two first stages are identical in this place, and the part number for the diaphragm is the same, I notice the elimination of the "metal against metal" part of the description. I wonder if this is an updated instruction as additional knowledge was gained?
In our store, we only apply the slightest of a pull with the spanner wrench, regardless of which model we are servicing.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
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