Regulator storage strategy

[NudeDiver]

Unfortunately, I go diving a lot less than I would like. My gear is stored for months and months at a time. One of the things I do, mostly to save space but also because it just seems like a good idea - or at least one that can't hurt anything - is to break down my regulator. I remove all the hoses from the first stage and put the little screw in port covers back on. I also remove the yolk adaptor and screw in the DIN cover. This makes the first stage pretty small and easy to store in a hard box - and lets me more easily store the hoses and 2nd stage too. When it comes time to dive, I put it all back together before leaving the house.

Is there anything bad about living life this way?

I've also read that 2nd stages in storage are subject to ozone damage on the rubber and rubber-like surfaces and that storing such things in a Pelican case or something similar is useful. Anything to this?

Thanks!
nd

 

[redacted]

The disassembly is unnecessary. I can't imagine much good that could come of it, however, it is not likely to do any harm either. Store your regs in a climate controlled environment away from ozone sources (which damage many rubber components) with as little tension on the hoses as you can. Loosely coiled should be no problem.

 

[halocline]

I do the same thing with most of my regs, take the seconds off the firsts. I just do it for convenience. I put the first stages in a drawer and the seconds in a closet where the hoses can lie flat and relatively straight. Ideally you'd also cap the ends of the hoses attached to the 2nd stages. I doubt that any of this has any real effect on the regs, except in the case if you stored the reg with some stress on the hose connections.

 

[tfsails]

We had a regulator come through my shop that apparently been stored in the customer's garage. It had a live black widow spider living in the second stage. Fortunately my sidekick who was working on it didn't breathe on it before he opened it up. It was a really bad day for that spider...

 

[Tigerman]

We had a regulator come through my shop that apparently been stored in the customer's garage. It had a live black widow spider living in the second stage. Fortunately my sidekick who was working on it didn't breathe on it before he opened it up. It was a really bad day for that spider...

...and thats a good thing!
Those spiders could make your day pretty bad too, couldnt it?

 

[tfsails]

I've often wondered what the Workman's Comp people would have said...