Shearwater transmitter failure

[Glenn Williams]

Does your regulator when disconnected from the tank have a self sealing valve or do you have to place your thumb over the opening when rinsing your regulator after a dive? You said you observed some brownish water. My guess is at some point during cleaning/rinsing your gear some water got inside the hoses and flooded the transmitter causing the failure.

Being that the transmitter is not working and probably out of warranty, have you removed the outer cover to see what the innards look like?

Let us know what you find.

Thanks
Glenn

 

[CWK]

I did not notice any leak, not that I was looking during the trip. I did numerous dives around the 1 hour mark, with the longest being a 1 hr 17 min night dive. I did not notice shorter dive times than my normal, so I did not suspect any loss of gas.

Had I known then that a pressure relief valve that had failed, I would have removed the transmitter. All I knew at that time was that the transmitter failed, so I attacked an analogue SPG and kept on diving.

Since I dive with a pony, loss of a spg on my main system is not a particular worry. It’s more akin to a minor irritation to be attended to after the trip.

 

[guruboy]

You can always hook it back up to a tank and check for a leak.

the discolored water is most likely from any components that got exposed to the water. Not a screw that somehow rusted completely through.

Another possibility is that the housing got cracked somehow.

 

[CWK]

Does your regulator when disconnected from the tank have a self sealing valve or do you have to place your thumb over the opening when rinsing your regulator after a dive? You said you observed some brownish water. My guess is at some point during cleaning/rinsing your gear some water got inside the hoses and flooded the transmitter causing the failure.

Being that the transmitter is not working and probably out of warranty, have you removed the outer cover to see what the innards look like?

Let us know what you find.

Thanks
Glenn

The DIN first stage has a rubber dust cover. It is not my normal practice to let my first stage soak in a tub of wayer. When rinsing my regulator, I would place the dust cap on, exert pressure on it with my thumb and swish it in a rinse tank for 4 or 5 seconds. This happens once at the end of each trip.

I doubt that water can get through from the first stage to the transmitter.

 

[CWK]

You can always hook it back up to a tank and check for a leak.

the discolored water is most likely from any components that got exposed to the water. Not a screw that somehow rusted completely through.

Another possibility is that the housing got cracked somehow.

Can’t now as I just sent it to my LDS. The following pix may be of interest. There appears to be discolouration on the outside of the transmitter where the metal meets the plastic. If it is rust, it may suggest that it rusted from the outside to the inside. If it rusted from the inside to the outside, the rusty bit should be limited to the pressure relief valve. If it is rust, why use metal that can rust in scuba gear?

 

[runsongas]

you can't build electronics out of stainless steel.

 

[Scared Silly]

May not be rust but just the color of the fluid from the interaction of the salt water, battery, and electronics.

What you should have in the hole is a rubber OPV valve. See attached photo. It appears missing which would let salt water in. Thus the transmitter appears to be flooded.

While you may have obtained the transmitter via Sheerwater, they are made by Oceanic.

 

[Mike1967]

While you may have obtained the transmitter via Sheerwater, they are made by Oceanic.

Pelagic Pressure Systems, owned by AquaLung.

 

[tridacna]

I’m guessing that the answer to your original question is no. Have you approached Shearwater directly?

 

[CWK]

May not be rust but just the color of the fluid from the interaction of the salt water, battery, and electronics.

What you should have in the hole is a rubber OPV valve. See attached photo. It appears missing which would let salt water in. Thus the transmitter appears to be flooded.

While you may have obtained the transmitter via Sheerwater, they are made by Oceanic.

I am aware that the transmitter is not manifactured by Shearwater. But since my unit was sold by Shearwater this thread belongs in the Shearwater forum. I am certainly open to the possibility that it may not be rust. I think that the primary cause of failure is probably the OPV. The transmitter is rated for 300 Bar, and although I have a Din first stage, it has never been used on a high pressure tank. From memory, the highest pressure that the transmitter has been subject to would be no more than 220 Bar. To my mind, the OPV should not have failed given that it was well within its rated pressure range.