Shore Diving and Sand in my REGs

[Poseidon8118]

Wow, I thought everyone took apart their regs to clean them! Most of the time I dive from shore and in some of the worst debris filled waters, so for me it’s second nature…lucky me! You can take PADI’s Equipment Specialist class if you would like to learn on how to really take care of your gear and you’ll be one step closer to Master Diver.

I would just be careful when pulling off the diaphragm because they tend to be thin. Also make sure your fingernails are clipped before starting. Like everyone said “pressurize the system when cleaning” so if you accidentally hit the lever water won’t enter. Keeping the system pressurized aids in cleaning as well, in that you can blow out the debris and dry out the reg at the same time.

I see you’re an electrical engineer so this should be an easy task. You’ll be surprised to see how mechanically simple your regulator really is.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Last Saturday I had to do major repair work on a reg that came in for annual service. It was annoying in part because this particular customers regs come in every year for annual service looking like they have not been seen in a decade.

This year was typical he had managed to get sand and salt crystals in the second stage past the orifice and into the LP hose. The sand then essentially pitted the orifice while the salt did a number on the LP hose fitting. New orifice + new LP hose + lots of time for cleaning a very dirty first stage = very expensive service.

My advice is that at a minimum you need to thoroughly rinse the second stage with the reg pressurized to ensure nothing gets upstream and to assist in blowing anything out if it already has.

Better yet, if you have the mechanical aptitude, removing the purge cover and diaphragm allows for a much more effective cleaning as you would be amazed how much sand and silt can stay in even a regularly rinsed second stage. Also on occassion it makes sense to unscrew the LP hose and inspect/rinse any sand or salt from the upstream side of the orifice.

A couple of cautionary statements. If you remove the diaphragm you need to be aware of how to replace the diaphragm and purge cover correctly and you need to know how to vacuum test the second stage to ensure nothing is leaking. And if you unscrew the LP hose, you need to be sure that you do not mess with the orifice adjustment which is remotely possible with some LP hose fitting designs (mostly Dacor hoses)

 

[redacted]

I went on a Shore dive last night.....lots of surge and sand particles in the water. Got home, rinsed my regs and found half the beach in my regs. At one point the purge valve even got stuck due to the sand in the Regulator.

Question: In situations like these, is a rinse sufficient, or should I have the regs serviced??? Diving Apeks btw........

Even "just an average diver" would be better off with the ability to disassemble and assemble his reg. I'm more familiar with Scubapro but the basic design is similiar with any barrel poppet reg. The "purge valve sticking" could just be some sand around the purge button which should rinse out easiest with the cover removed. You might even wnat to disassemble the purge button. But if the symptom was freeflow, and you are assuming the purge button stuck, the problem could be a bit more serious. If the sand has worked its way into the barrel and is binding the poppet, then a bit more disassembly may be called for. The barrel only has a couple relatively small openings, so not much crap should get in. But when it does get in, it does not come out too easily. If you fell up to it, send me an e-mail address that can handle a 2 mb .pdf file and I'll send you some helpfull documentation. Otherwise, if the problem persists after you have done what you can, you may just want to support your LDS.

 

[Dive-aholic]

...You can take PADI’s Equipment Specialist class if you would like to learn on how to really take care of your gear and you’ll be one step closer to Master Diver...

Most of these classes aren't worth the time or money. Mine wasn't, and based on posts I've read on SB, not many others were. You're better off getting with another diver that knows how to clean regs and asking advice, or have an after dive rinsing get together.

 

[Poseidon8118]

Most of these classes aren't worth the time or money. Mine wasn't, and based on posts I've read on SB, not many others were. You're better off getting with another diver that knows how to clean regs and asking advice, or have an after dive rinsing get together.

That’s a shame! My instructor was the dive shop owner and technician for the store as well. He took the class to the next level I guess since everyone had a watered down version of the class. Seek a new instructor…if you don’t like one…complain…if you can. If you in a remote area there’s not much you can do.

 

[Dive-aholic]

No point in my complaining. It wouldn't have done any good. I've learned a lot since just by being observant and asking lots of questions when I take my equipment in. I usually hang around and watch.

 

[Poseidon8118]

No point in my complaining. It wouldn't have done any good. I've learned a lot since just by being observant and asking lots of questions when I take my equipment in. I usually hang around and watch.

I done that as well. I have been going to my dive shop for almost 20 years now and they have become good friends. Sometimes I don't see them for awhile but when I come back I'm always welcome. When I go to the other shop in the area I just don't receive the same treatment. We often kid about how poorly some of the divers are trained at this other shop. Guess you can call them a "cattle shop".