So what's with the new way of rinsing regs?

[divad]

To remove salt water from those areas that are not sealed, like the yoke retainer and other unprotected threaded connections.

I don't have any yoke retainers, but what's wrong with just putting your thumb over the DIN fitting and rinsing it?

 

[Hoyden]

We have a fleet of 30 regulator sets that do just over 5400 dives per year - the vast majority (just over 5000) in salt water. We soak in fresh water for a couple of minutes and disinfect second stages which requires a second fresh water rinse of the second stages with a hose. We have no problems with this method. We do get an occasional flooded first stage when a diver forgets to put the dust cap on before soaking, but we no longer see salt water corrosion like we used to see when our procedure just included a rinse.

YMMV.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

We have a fleet of 30 regulator sets that do just over 5400 dives per year - the vast majority (just over 5000) in salt water. We soak in fresh water for a couple of minutes and disinfect second stages which requires a second fresh water rinse of the second stages with a hose. We have no problems with this method. We do get an occasional flooded first stage when a diver forgets to put the dust cap on before soaking, but we no longer see salt water corrosion like we used to see when our procedure just included a rinse.

YMMV.

This is the kind of information that people should pay attention to. Maybe it doesn't matter much if you dive 10-20 times a year and get an overhaul every year.. but if you want to take care of the reg...

 

[redacted]

We have a fleet of 30 regulator sets that do just over 5400 dives per year - the vast majority (just over 5000) in salt water. We soak in fresh water for a couple of minutes and disinfect second stages which requires a second fresh water rinse of the second stages with a hose. We have no problems with this method. We do get an occasional flooded first stage when a diver forgets to put the dust cap on before soaking, but we no longer see salt water corrosion like we used to see when our procedure just included a rinse.

YMMV.

If you dive often, the potential for corrosion and salt deposits is reduced because salt crystals do not get a chance to form. I only do the thorough cleaning routine before storage.

 

[halocline]

I soak mine and blow some air from a tank through them afterwards. There are a lot of unprotected threads on most regulators, and salt water seeps in there during ocean dives. Unprotected threads are threads in which the o-ring seal is 'inboard' of the threads, like the SP yoke/DIN retainers. The only way to get this out is through dilution by soaking in clean fresh water. With some time, the salt will get drawn out of those threads by the fresh water. I really notice a difference when servicing between regulators that have been soaked well after salt water dives and those that have not.

I have plenty of confidence in the dust cap on my first stages, and it's easy to test. Just install the dust cap and try to suck some air on one of the 2nd stages. If you can't pull any air, water can't get in either, unless there's a seat saver that would allow water to enter a 2nd stage and travel all the way up a LP hose. If there's any concern about minute seepage, blowing a few blasts of air really does the trick.

I agree that some rinse tanks are fairly nasty and it's worth taking whatever steps you can to find clean water for soaking. The worst looking regulator I ever worked on was a MK20 that was used daily in salt water and never soaked due to a lack of freshwater on the research boat it was being used on. The ambient chamber was really corroded.

 

[keyshunter]

If you dive often, the potential for corrosion and salt deposits is reduced because salt crystals do not get a chance to form. I only do the thorough cleaning routine before storage.

It is the same idea used by local fishing guides who run almost every day, never flush their outboard engines and have few internal salt deposition problems. Yet weekend warriors who do not flush often seem to have problems.

In summer, when we dive a lot, our regs, all with diaphragm firsts, usually get rinsed when it rains or are given a quick splash when we wash the boat. But, in winter, or when we are weathered out and cannot get out nearly as often, we are much more careful about giving a quick soak and rinse when we come in. Seems to have worked well for more than 30 years.