Rust on old moisture tabs

[grouchyturtle]

I just inherited a hookah rig with an old Sherwood. Since it was pretty old, sitting around for years, and didn't look to be in the greatest shape I took it in for a service. Shouldn't these moisture tabs have been cleaned or replaced? We don't like the idea of potentially breathing in rust...which was really one of the primary concerns for getting it serviced in the first place.

 

[jacked_72]

I think they should have been cleaned up shiny. They're just brass and they could have been cleaned ultrasonically, with acid or mechanically. It would make me wonder how good of a job they did with the rest of the regulator.

 

[grouchyturtle]

Or I can just remove them now that I see how easy it is. None of my other regs have these things anyway.

 

[j2s]

There shouldn't be rust/corrosion on any piece of diving gear......

 

[Dr. Lecter]

There shouldn't be rust/corrosion on any piece of diving gear......

Good luck with that. I'm crazy about soaking/cleaning my gear but the idea that there's no acceptable level of corrosion, say, hiding in the threads of my DIN regs/valves...is a bit extreme to me. And I doubt any tarnish on brass would come off as you breathed, because that's pretty solidly attached stuff.

That said, some Brasso could probably clean those things up nice and shiny if you keep them. Just be sure to clean/rinse them really well afterwards: I recall Brasso being a pretty good mutagen back in college genetics.

 

[Shcubasteve]

Those tabs are not rusty- brass doesn't rust. Attached is a photo of those tabs outside of the reg. they look fine to me.

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Or I can just remove them now that I see how easy it is. None of my other regs have these things anyway.

They are heat transfer fins.
At lower IPs c120 psi the fins get warmed by exhalation, which radiates to the demand lever and prevents the mechanism from freezing up. At higher IPs c135+ the fins will get colder, resulting in condensation/ wetness.
I don't know where you dive so...ymmv
They look fine to me.


Sent from my iPhone from my momma's basement

 

[jacked_72]

Those tabs are not rusty- brass doesn't rust. Attached is a photo of those tabs outside of the reg. they look fine to me.

Yes, its not rust. Technically, its called verdigris -- a green or greenish-blue poisonous pigment resulting from the action of acetic acid on copper and consisting of one or more basic copper acetates -- and it shouldn't be there after you paid for a service. Whether or not it will hurt you, and I can't imagine breathing a chunk of it, especially since brass has lead in it too, would be good for you. I'd certainly take it back in and let the shop know that you didn't think the service was up to par.

 

[grouchyturtle]

I removed the fins and used the reg for the first time yesterday. It breathed...not so great. I'm just using this reg on a hookah, though, primarily for cleaning the bottom of the boat...and maybe for occasional shallow dives. My main rig is a pair of ATX 200s.

 

[ams511]

I am pretty sure that the regulator is a Sherwood Oasis. The tabs are copper and are supposed to help alleviate dry mouth. If you remove them the second stage will essentially be the same as the Brut or Magnum.

It may not breath well because the tech probably tuned it to an IP of 135 or so and my understanding is hookahs use a lower IP. But even when tuned properly it will not breath as well as an Apeks.