Regulator preventative maintenance - what's your routine?

[Meggie66]

I've finally just been able to afford my dream reg, and it got me thinking about preventative maintenance - something I've always (well, most of the time) been finicky about with previous reg sets and follow manufacturer recommendations, and will be even more so with my beloved XTX200 (my previous regs are still fine but I couldn't resist). Keen to know how other divers treat their regs post-dive. In particular:

• Do you rinse your first stage while pressurized? How do you manage this on a day boat where fresh water may be scarce while swapping your kit over for dive 2? (From here on in I'm planning to take a bottle of fresh water to pour over the first stage, but not sure how effective this is - I suppose it's better than nothing).

• If you can't rinse your first stage while pressurized, do you run water over it (with dust cap on of course!) when you get home, or soak it? With one of my former reg sets, the manufacture recommended soaking the whole assembly in warm water, but I notice many manufacturers only recommend soaking for the second stages.

• How do you dry and store your regs?

• Any other post-dive reg rituals?

Thanks in advance and happy diving!

 

[kwinter]

Don't worry about rinsing between dives. Or even after diving if you remove your regs for the trip home. But I say definitely soak them while pressurized when you get home. There are some dust caps that are rubber or some that have o-rings that do seal, so they could be soaked without being pressurized. But I would rather be safe. I've serviced regs with cracked, broken or leaking dust caps (they are called dust caps, not water caps) that were totally corroded inside.

Dry thoroughly if you are going to store them. But better advice is to dive more often.

 

[Ste Wart]

I have XTX200's they're fairly robust.

Most I ever do is soak the 2nd stages for a bit in the bathtub with all the other kit and leave them to air dry.

The 1st stages might get dunked briefly (I have DIN) but I don't soak them.


I have had them freeflow when I've been extremely lazy and haven't bothered washing them for a week after a dive trip, stripping them and a quick vinegar/water soak remedies that. But I would probably leave that for service technician.


You'll have a hard time screwing up these regs. I've tried, but they keep on coming back for more

 

[Fishpie]

Your FSR 1st stage is a double sealed diaphragm that needs a simple rinse to get the salt off the outside (soaking is fine but not necessary). The places that corrode are the threads of the yoke knob and under the plastic saddle.
The 2nd stages will benefit from a thorough soaking.
Typical places that corrode are the air barrel and the area around the orifice.

edit
.......come to think about it there isn't a "saddle" on the FSR.

If I were being hyper anal I'd remove the yoke every 6 months and smear some silicone grease on the 1st stage body under the saddle and remove the 2nd stages from the hoses before soaking them in warm water. I'd also completely disassemble the 2nd stage and lube the orifice and knob threads and the o rings on the barrel and venturi scoop and lube under the L or R sleeve on the barrel. I'd also replace the Micro adjustment knob with a solid one.

OR

Just rinse/soak and make sure that there is no salt anywhere before storing away for more than a day or two.

 

[maniago]

...in my best Richard Dawson impression: "....and the survey says (**ding**):"

Just rinse/soak and make sure that there is no salt anywhere before storing away for more than a day or two.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Rinse or soak briefly. The key is to get any salt deposits off the reg before they crystallize. A little bit of fresh water inside the reg won't hurt it as much as salt crystals will. My regs are rarely dry and most of my dives are in fresh water but when I do spend time in salt water they either get a stream of water from a hose on them or they get dunked a few times in a pool or bucket of water.

 

[Nemrod]

There are some dust caps that are rubber or some that have o-rings that do seal, so they could be soaked without being pressurized. But I would rather be safe. I've serviced regs with cracked, broken or leaking dust caps (they are called dust caps, not water caps) that were totally corroded inside.

JFYI, you may already know, install the protective cap and then breath through the regulator, or at least attempt to. There should be no relief of the vacuum you apply, if there is, there is a leak somewhere and quite possibly it is the protective cap (or diaphragm or exhaust valve or mouthpiece).

N

 

[BoltSnap]

No need to rinse between dives at all. I rinse my equipment when I get home (eventually). When I am on a liveaboard, my equipment gets rinsed either at the end of the cruise or when I get home. I rinse and soak my regulator (both stages) without pressure. If I suspect that water got in the first, I'd put the regulator on a tank and run air through it for a while (pressing on the SS purge).

 

[Bigd2722]

I don't rinse between dives. I try to soak within 24 hours of the last dive. I usually don't pressurize while soaking. Sometimes, I will change the water mid soak.

 

[buddhasummer]

I own the same reg. After a days diving I run warm water over the first stage, I take the face plates of the second stages flush them and leave them soaking in warm water for a few hours then rinse everything off with running water and leave hanging up in the shade or indoors to air dry. I also remove the yoke knob every few months or when it gets squeaky and grease threads. When the adjusters get stiff squeaky or squeaky I take 2nd stages apart and clean and lube. I'm one of those anal people Fishpie talks about.