Small Amounts of Seawater in 2nd Stage

[Traijin]

This is a simple question,

I recently purchased a new Maximus Reg set and took it diving in Hawaii. I have rented many reg sets before, but had not noticed the following issue:

I began to notice a bit of seawater in my mouth after a while. I took note of the issue and cleared the second stage (ie swallowed the small bit of water) and checked the mouthpiece for fit. All seems well, this is an underarm routed 2nd stage and it doesn't pull too hard on my mouth. The sea water persisted to build up over time.

Is it a possibility that the mouth piece retainer (A Nylon Tie) is not applied properly and allows a small amount of sea water to seem in? Is this a somewhat common issue?

If so, I have a good LDS and he will take care of it. I just prefer to know about the issues before taking the gear in, similar to knowing the car problems before taking the car to the shop.

Thanks

 

[tbone1004]

it may be something as simple as that, you may try just twisting the mouthpiece a little bit to get the tie to reseat itself. Other problem is either the inhalation or exhalation diaphragms may not be seated correctly due to getting jostled or something getting inside it. I don't have a lot of experience with these, but if you can look inside them you may see something in there.

Don't swallow the sea water... Just push it back into the regulator and exhale and it'll go out, or should...

 

[Bubbletrubble]

it may be something as simple as that, you may try just twisting the mouthpiece a little bit to get the tie to reseat itself. Other problem is either the inhalation or exhalation diaphragms may not be seated correctly due to getting jostled or something getting inside it. I don't have a lot of experience with these, but if you can look inside them you may see something in there.

Don't swallow the sea water... Just push it back into the regulator and exhale and it'll go out, or should...

+1 on everything saxplayer1004 said.

If you purchased the reg new and the problem isn't a properly secured mouthpiece, I'd recommend taking it back to the place you bought it from. Explain the situation. A competent reg tech should be able to fix the issue relatively quickly. If he can't, then the dive shop should give you a new second stage.

For what it's worth, you should include a mouthpiece check in your pre-dive regulator inspection routine. Zipties and mouthpieces are so cheap. Be sure to keep an extra mouthpiece and several zipties in your save-a-dive kit.

 

[knowone]

Poke your tongue in the hole, purge, exhale and then breathe slowly head down until you get rid of water.

The mouthpiece distorts in the mouth.

Distort it out of the mouth and look for a small tear or tiny holes.

See. Snorkels are good for breathing air filtered through bubbling water
until you learn how to slowly, breath air filtered through bubbling water
until you learn how to clear them properly, and the same applies to regs.

 

[BoltSnap]

Try this: Turn air off, purge unit completely and try to inhale from SS. If you get air, then is there is a leak somewhere. It can be the exhaust value (warped) , crack in the SS body somewhere, diaphragm with hole, loose diaphragm, mouth piece is leaking through a hole or loose tie-warp.

-Do this on the Surface on dry land-

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Traijin,

As mentioned, the first place to look on a brand new reg is the mouthpiece-to-2nd stage connection (is the zip tie tight, is there a crack or tear in the mouth piece, etc.). Also consider that you may have unconsciously let a tiny bit of water in around the mouthpiece (between your lips and the mouthpiece).

But: Have you tried "vacuum testing" the 2nd stage yet? To check for possible leaks and their source?

To do this, 1st make sure the dustcover is on securely (or better, that the reg is on a tank, but air turned off), then inhale through the 2nd stage. Do you hear / feel any air leaks? You should not get any air through the regs when performing this test. You should hear and feel the diaphragm suck in ---- then nothing, absolutely no air passing.

If you do have any air leaking, you can often isolate the location by creatively blocking possible leak "spots" with the palm of your hand(s). For example, if you suspect that the leak is coming from the exhaust valve, cover both openings in the exhaust tee and see if this eliminates or reduces the leak. If it does, you've identified the leak... if not, continue on.

Best wishes.

 

[peterbj7]

In my experience, it's most likely to be a problem with the mouthpiece. If it's not that, I'd examine the exhaust valve poppet very carefully, both to check it's not warped and that no foreign matter has got between it and its seat. I've had exhaust valve troubles quite often with regs in my dive center, usually (with a regularly used regulator) foreign matter. If the reg hasn't been used for a long time I'd suspect warping. Either way, check it with the vacuum test Leadturn described.

 

[tbone1004]

you should vacuum check your regs before they go on the tank... Every time...

 

[Lee Taylor]

My money says your leak is between the mouthpiece and the regulator. You really have to CRANK DOWN on those nylon ties. A good set of channel locks or pliers will usually do it. A little tug doesn't work. They need to be tight as BLUE BLAZES. They have a bit of a fault in the design in that there are flats on the top and the bottom of the regulator (the part that goes into the mouthpiece). This is where the air passes through. If the unit were round it would seal much more readily.

I managed to unintentionally make an un-noticable slit in one of my mouth pieces when cutting a zip tie with a sharp knife. It was invisible until I bent the mouthpiece. This is yet another way to get a leak in that area.

10 to 1 its the zip tie

 

[peterbj7]

..... unless it's a Scubapro reg with its original mouthpiece. They don't use zip ties.