Service Your Own Regs

[fppf]

For you folks who service your own regs, do you use an ultrasonic cleaner? That seems to be one pricey item for a home service bench.

If not what do you do to clean the parts?

Ultrasonic cleaner is a cost of doing it right, and is standard service procedures for most manufactures. If you do a lot of salt water diving you will find out really quick how simple rinsing regs does almost nothing to get the salt water out of the threaded areas and in crevices. Which then corrode a good amount. You will also find out how deep sand can creep into stuff, its amazing.

It is very difficult, if not impossible to clean deep threads and crevices without an ultrasonic. That said you can pick up pretty decent units for less then $100 now. You may need to adjust cleaning times based on the size and power of the cleaner.

 

[herman]

For you folks who service your own regs, do you use an ultrasonic cleaner? That seems to be one pricey item for a home service bench.

If not what do you do to clean the parts?

I'm with awap on this. You can get away without using one but they are not that expensive. I have one of the larger ones from Harbor Freight. Not the highest quality but plenty good enough for what I do. I use the larger one they sell because I do a lot of old double hose regs which have large cans so I need the extra room but the smaller one does nicely for modern regs. Here is the smaller one. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
You may can get one sold for cleaning jewelry at a good deal as well.

 

[halocline]

It is very difficult, if not impossible to clean deep threads and crevices without an ultrasonic. That said you can pick up pretty decent units for less then $100 now. You may need to adjust cleaning times based on the size and power of the cleaner.

This is not true. The ultrasonic cleaners are time savers, but you can use the same cleaning solutions and some extra time to accomplish the same thing. People have been cleaning jewelry, watches, all kinds of small mechanical things for decades before ultrasonic cleaners were commonly used.

The first rebuild on a used reg that's been neglected takes me a long time, as I'm very thorough with cleaning, but subsequent servicing is much quicker.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

For you folks who service your own regs, do you use an ultrasonic cleaner? That seems to be one pricey item for a home service bench.

If not what do you do to clean the parts?

I do not own an ultrasonic cleaner (yet).

For cleaning of non-corroded parts (the vast majority of my regs), I use warm water with a little biodegradable detergent (Simple Green or similar products) and a soft toothbrush.

For light corrosion (some ebay regs I've bought) I use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water, at bath-water temperature, and soak the offending parts for about 3-5 minutes, use the soft toothbrush, and repeat as needed. Then I soak in a neutralizing bath (water with baking soda), then soak in a rinse bath. I'm may be a little compulsive, but really like to do a long fresh water soak to get off any vinegar or detergent residue before drying and reassembly.

Non-metal parts I soak & wash with warm mild dishsoap and a soft tooth brush.

The above procedure generally leaves a properly maintained reg looking shiney-new insided and out when done..... but an ultrasonic cleaner is on my wishlist

Best wishes.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I do exactly the same as LeadTurn_SD. I don't own an ultrasonic cleaner either. When I open up my regs, they look practically brand new inside. My environmentally-sealed diaphragm first stage goes well over 2 years in-between overhauls and I end up servicing my second stages at the same time. I own a $2 jug of household vinegar that will last me a long, long, long time if I continue to service my reg set at the current rate. I live in a small apartment right now. Since I can use my choice of reg cleaning solution for various other things in the kitchen (marinades, salad dressings), I'm going to stick with the vinegar for now.

 

[Luis H]

I actually own an ultrasonic cleaner that I have had for a few years and used it a few times, but I don't use it much anymore. I guess I did with out it for over 30 years and did not find a big advantage.

It does clean the parts faster. If I was working in a dive shop again I would be using it, but I don’t service that many crudy regulators that often anymore so it is not a big advantage. I feel that cleaning the cleaner defeats its time saving advantage.

I also just use some vinegar for any corrosion and some detergent with a tooth brush. I may also use some tooth paste for the first time I clean a regulator that needs some serious cleaning.

 

[WVMike]

I'm may be a little compulsive, but really like to do a long fresh water soak to get off any vinegar or detergent residue before drying and reassembly.

Best wishes.

I would think that being a little compulsive when working on regs is a good thing. Thanks for the tips.

 

[WVMike]

I'm with awap on this. You can get away without using one but they are not that expensive. I have one of the larger ones from Harbor Freight. Not the highest quality but plenty good enough for what I do. I use the larger one they sell because I do a lot of old double hose regs which have large cans so I need the extra room but the smaller one does nicely for modern regs. Here is the smaller one. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
You may can get one sold for cleaning jewelry at a good deal as well.

Thanks for the link, that is very affordable. The ones I was looking at where in the $400.00 range.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I paid 110 for mine on ebay. It will hold 3 first stages easily as well as a manifold bar and valves but not all at the same time. It is similar to the cheaper one from HB but has a 2 quart capacity,heat,and digital timer to 60 minutes. Although I don't know why you'd need to leave anything in for that long. Heat is another nice feature to have but not required.

 

[bottomrunner]

nothing that a soaking in a mild vinegar solution tooth brush and a ball of cotton twine cant cure