Scubapro Air 2 Problem?

[D1v1n]

:11: On 2 occasions after being serviced, the AIR II had a slight air leak from the mouth piece. On the second instance it would also freeflow. Both times they fixed it in minutes, by adjusting the air2, but it was a pain having to go back to the LDS. I believe the "sensitive" part is due making it less restrictive to breath on, that is what I was told. This year our local dive club did a clinic at a pool, and luckily I had just had the gear serviced a week prior, so the offending air2 was caught in time. Otherwise I have had a great experience.

I get back home and take the thing into the shop. They hook it up and no problem. They refuse to open the Air 2.
Comments please......should I ditch my Air 2? Has anyone else had Air2 problems.?Any other advice? The thing has occasionally bubbled on other dives but this is the first significant issue. What is really funny, is that I got on my dive buddies case about his mail order gear that hasn't been serviced!

 

[Dan Gibson]

I think this is a more common problem than one might think. I have seen many people working in dive shops immediately look at the second before ever hooking up an IP gauge.

The funniest thing I ever saw was an instructor taking apart his octo becuse it was free flowing on him just before a class. It was making a nasty popping sound. I knew what was wrong but let him try and work it out since you could not tell this guy anything. Once he put it back together, it continued. I told him to wait while I got my IP gauge out. The thing immediately read over 300 psi. Talk about a quick shutdown. I loaned him my regs for the day and he finished the class. When we got back to the shop he opened the first and the HP o-ring had disintegrated.

A large number of second stage problem are actually first stage problems and a tech should not even attempt to diagnose a second stage problem without first checking the first stage.

 

[mmarchadesch]

Hi scubaboard. It has been a while, 6 years! I know this is an old thread (14 year old) and there may be others that are recent, but this is what came up when I did a search on Air2 problems.

I just got hold of an Air2 3/4 gen. The wife wanted to streamline her hoses as she saw a lady diving with an Air2 recently. So I got her a barely used one, which from the looks of it, may not have seen water. Still smelled new hehe.

Hooked it up to her SQ Diva and AL Micra. Leak! Immered it in a tub of water, and it was short of a freeflow, hmm. So, I naturally thought, how do I detune this Air2. No hits on google. Then Air2 problems, voila! This thread came up. It’s a good thing I did a search before taking down the thing. The recommendation of checking IP hit me. I hooked the IP gauge up and it was closer to 150 than 140. So I decreased IP to just below 140 (factory setting 140psi +/- 5psi) and so, NO MORE LEAK!

Scubaboard saves the day! Thank you, as always.

 

[fmerkel]

A common problem with these is that they are attached to a BC. Normally a reg gets rinsed. It's not too hard to do a decent job unless you are seriously sloppy.
It's challenging to rinse a BC REALLY WELL-meaning there is often some residual saltwater in it.
Rinsing your BC (or not....too common), and rinse it inadequately, then hang it up and the saltwater drains down the hose and pools on top of the Air2 > enhanced corrosion. Saltwater sits there for weeks to months. Not good.

If you just gotta have one of these, be obsessive about rinsing the BC, AND storing it with the hose UP, to drain away the water.(That should make you reconsider how really great they are.)

That said, IMO, these are not a wonderful piece of kit.

 

[happy-diver]

yeah so unscrew the bc hose and hook airII up to your regs sitting in a tub of warm water charged on a tank

and when the regs are finished bathing and they're out drying themselves run plenty water through the bc