Rinsing the gear

[Shasta_man]

Not all of these rules would apply or be the same if you were on a liveaboard. Some also seem geared toward a done with diving for some days rather than diving repetitively or daily. Many liveaboards have a big rinse tank with some solution in it that people can rinse things off in. Not the tank that has the cameras in it! Your mention of bacteria prompts mentioning that it's good to be concerned about it but you were just swimming in a vast soup of water, debris, fish excreta, etc, etc. The more serious rinsing you mention is what happens at trip end before packing up to leave.

 

[SloppyJoe]

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.

Thanks for this bit of info. I had no clue until now and now I know.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Thanks for this bit of info. I had no clue until now and now I know.

And knowing is half the battle.

 

[TMHeimer]

Not all of these rules would apply or be the same if you were on a liveaboard. Some also seem geared toward a done with diving for some days rather than diving repetitively or daily. Many liveaboards have a big rinse tank with some solution in it that people can rinse things off in. Not the tank that has the cameras in it! Your mention of bacteria prompts mentioning that it's good to be concerned about it but you were just swimming in a vast soup of water, debris, fish excreta, etc, etc. The more serious rinsing you mention is what happens at trip end before packing up to leave.

Absolutely. I have made only one "dive trip" to the tropics. The DM said no need to rinse stuff (except maybe reg.) as it wouldn't dry out and you're diving the next day.

 

[Aviyes]

Absolutely. I have made only one "dive trip" to the tropics. The DM said no need to rinse stuff (except maybe reg.) as it wouldn't dry out and you're diving the next day. I r

Weird. Diving in the Caribbean my gear was always dry by the next morning.

 

[Edward3c]

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).

Some context. This was on a marine expedition in the tropics, 40 miles offshore - done 5 to date. Diving nearly every day. The bit of kit that needed attention was the integrated inflator/octo, with the exception of Scubapro‘s AIR2.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

The bit of kit that needed attention was the integrated inflator/octo, with the exception of Scubapro‘s AIR2.

What does this mean mate

 

[Edward3c]

What does this mean mate

A part from the Scuberpro AIR2 all the others developed leaks and needed to be stripped down and cleaned every week, or removed completely. The most susceptible to failure was the AP Valves Autoair.

 

[halocline]

The persistent, often repeated fallacy that the dust cap does not keep out water on a first stage rears it's ugly head once more. It's simply wrong, as long as the dust cap is in good shape. Keeping water out is EXACTLY what it is designed to do. Man do people overthink this.

However, for the ultra paranoid among us, there is a very simple test to determine if your dust cap is sealing. Simply install it and try sucking some air out of the 2nd stage. No air? Everything is fine. Air? There's a leak somewhere. It could be in the 2nd stage you are sucking on, or it's possible if the reg has a seat saver function on the other 2nd stage, air could come in there and travel through the hose into the IP chamber and back out the hose attached to the stage in your mouth. Or, the final possibility is that the dust cap is leaking. In my 20 years of working on regulators I have never once found a leak from a decent quality dust cap that is not damaged. (like one of the older style missing an o-ring, or a crack)

If you're still reading (sorry for the long post) and want to further track down the source of the vacuum leak, the first thing is to try the other 2nd stage. No air? It must have been the seat saver or a leaky 2nd stage. Air? Try putting the reg on a tank, keep the valve turned off. (I think we can all agree that the tank provides a good seal, can't we?) Try again, both 2nd stages. No more air? Your dust cap needs replacing. Still getting air? You definitely have a 2nd stage leak. Sometimes there is a seat saver is the primary, meaning you can draw air through the alternate, but also a leaky exhaust valve or mouthpiece in the primary.

 

[DogDiver]

I never rinse my gear. Because all my dives are in fresh water north Florida springs cave diving. The water in the caves is the same water that comes out of my water faucet at home.