Rinsing the gear

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Sbiriguda

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Location
Italy
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This is one the very first skills one should learn, I will not even say during OW course, but during the first lesson of it. Still, I see differences in how people do this, even people who are skilled or quite skilled.

My rules... There are priorities, so I will number the pieces of the gear in order of importance, not necessarily in the order they must be rinsed. The rules do not apply to the current time of Covid 19 that makes things completely different:

1) regs: they must be closed with their cap on and rinsed with fresh water
NO opening the cap and letting water in
NO using air to clean the first stage

2) computer, BCD: rinsed with fresh water
NO rinsing inside big containers where many people rinse their gear (it spreads bacteria)

3) DSMB: emptied from salt water and rinsed with fresh water

4) wet suit and boots: washed with fresh water
NO rinsing together with other people's gear; better leave them as they are and wash them at home (if possible)

5) Go pro, knife, other gear
Rinsed with fresh water. For some pieces of gear say knife perhaps it's not even necessary
 
Dont rinse a first stage unpressurized.
Or seal it with your finger.
The dust cap does not prevent water from entering the first stage.

Especially in cold water diving, this might be a big mistake
 
Dont rinse a first stage unpressurized.
Or seal it with your finger.
The dust cap does not prevent water from entering the first stage.

Especially in cold water diving, this might be a big mistake

I'm not sure I agree. We were taught in our reg class to let soak with the cap on... hr in warm water (tub maybe) then change water and another hr (every day after diving).

After a trip let hang with the dust cap off for about a week to let everything really dry out, then put away.

I'd be open to proof of what happens if a little water seeps in? I know what happens when I don't rinse / soak well... I was pretty surprised what was inside my very lightly used (but not soaked after) reg.

I don't do anything after fresh water dives... just hang without the cap for a few days.
 
If the next dive is soon and cold water/cold air.
The stage is much more likely to freeflow.

And of course there is the possibility of rusting.
But thats maybe not an issue if you dry it a week long. Idk.
 
If the next dive is soon and cold water/cold air.
The stage is much more likely to freeflow.

And of course there is the possibility of rusting.
But thats maybe not an issue if you dry it a week long. Idk.

This is exactly what I mean... These rinsing operations should be among the very basic skills to learn but it seems there are still different versions of the same story... In my case I keep the cap on, like I said. I am curious about your technique, keeping the first stage closed with a finger to exert a pressure. Honestly I have never seen this before
 
This is one the very first skills one should learn, I will not even say during OW course, but during the first lesson of it. Still, I see differences in how people do this, even people who are skilled or quite skilled.

My rules... There are priorities, so I will number the pieces of the gear in order of importance, not necessarily in the order they must be rinsed. The rules do not apply to the current time of Covid 19 that makes things completely different:

1) regs: they must be closed with their cap on and rinsed with fresh water
NO opening the cap and letting water in
NO using air to clean the first stage

2) computer, BCD: rinsed with fresh water
NO rinsing inside big containers where many people rinse their gear (it spreads bacteria)

3) DSMB: emptied from salt water and rinsed with fresh water

4) wet suit and boots: washed with fresh water
NO rinsing together with other people's gear; better leave them as they are and wash them at home (if possible)

5) Go pro, knife, other gear
Rinsed with fresh water. For some pieces of gear say knife perhaps it's not even necessary
Looks like I'm going to die.

Not unusual for my dive kit to not see fresh water for 3 month, fresh is for cooking and drinking only. The only part that sometimes needs attention is the BCD inflator (stripped and cleaned, then good to go).
 
If the next dive is soon and cold water/cold air.
The stage is much more likely to freeflow.

And of course there is the possibility of rusting.
But thats maybe not an issue if you dry it a week long. Idk.

Rust? What is there to rust? If you have rust, you have MUCH bigger problems than a "little" bit of water.

I understand what you're saying, and in theory yes, maybe a very slight chance.. but the reality is that with a dust cap on sitting in a tub of water there may be very small "seep" of water that gets into the 1st stage. The tub isn't 20' deep, we're talking a few inches, so no real pressure on the cap. I'd be REALLY surprised if even a little got by.

I accidentally left mine in a bucket (so 10" deep maybe) for 48 hours with the dust cap on just a few weeks ago. Went diving the next day (so ~ 18 hrs out of water) in 42f water and had zero issues with 2 1st stages on a set of doubles. After pulling them out of the bucket that I forgot they were in the night before I inspected under the dust cap carefully.... couldn't see any water anywhere.

I've posted before, my OW class / AOW class didn't go over the importance of soaking regs (maybe that's because there's a specialty for that:D:D:D). It was gone over pretty well in my reg rebuild class. Soak, then soak some more with the cap on. The small / miniscule amount of freshwater (if any) that gets past the cap is less detrimental than the salt that builds up over time. This is just my experience.

Looks like I'm going to die.

:rofl3:
 
Steramine is your friend. Once every few months I give my regs and mask a good soak in steramine to kill any nasties that might have built up. I also slosh it inside my wing's baldder. If I were one that actually had long periods between diving trips, I would do a steramine soak before every storage period.

Steramine is cheap, safe, and a bottle will last you for years.
 
I rinse all my gear in fresh water...dry it outside then use it to dive again....never a failure in 40 years...kISS....
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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