Tank\Valve Maintenance

[El Cid]

I've got Steel HP 100's and have noticed over the weekend that the inside of the DIN connection looks a little like the (extremely) early stages of corrosion. What does everyone do to maintain their tanks and valves? I thought of applying a coating of silicone grease but then realized that could compromise the oxygen clean status of the tank. Should I just rinse and scrub the valves or not worry about it? What does everyone else do?

 

[wreckedinri]

Don't want to speak for "everybody else", however, I merely rinse my cylinders and valves with fresh water. To get the "corrosion" - which is probably salt residue - out of the DIN receiver on the cylinder, try filling it with white vinegar for a minute or two. You may have to hold your finger over the little drainage hole if the valve has one. Rinse and repeat until it is clean, then final rinse and blow out by momentarily opening the valve. Others may have a better way, but that works for me.

 

[Captain12Pk]

Don't want to speak for "everybody else", however, I merely rinse my cylinders and valves with fresh water. To get the "corrosion" - which is probably salt residue - out of the DIN receiver on the cylinder, try filling it with white vinegar for a minute or two. You may have to hold your finger over the little drainage hole if the valve has one. Rinse and repeat until it is clean, then final rinse and blow out by momentarily opening the valve. Others may have better a better way, but that works for me.

Ditto above

 

[ppo2_diver]

When I rebuild valves, I put them in the ultra-sonic bath for 5-10 minutes.

 

[rcontrera]

I quit being a fan of vinegar when leaving it on the chrome a little too long caused the chrome to start peeling. Granted, it was a crappy chrome job, but the vinegar soak just accelerated the flaking.

I use some stuff called Salt-X from the marine and fishing industries. There are lots of imitations in the diving industry but none work as well or as safely (one even has a carcinogen in it!).

That stuff reacts with the chloride in the salt and breaks it down so that there can be no salt corrosion. Back when we had a dive shop we used to have a batch of double strength stuff mixed up for soaking regulators before we dismantled. We also had a tub of the stuff mixed up that we would rinse our rental regulators, cameras, BCs and tank valves before returning to the rental stock room.

Oh ... and no ... I haven't sold Salt-X for years so this isn't a sales spiel!

Just my $.02

 

[spectrum]

Don't want to speak for "everybody else", however, I merely rinse my cylinders and valves with fresh water. To get the "corrosion" - which is probably salt residue - out of the DIN receiver on the cylinder, try filling it with white vinegar for a minute or two. You may have to hold your finger over the little drainage hole if the valve has one. Rinse and repeat until it is clean, then final rinse and blow out by momentarily opening the valve. Others may have better a better way, but that works for me.

Yea since the threads of the valve and connector are outside of the sealed envelope they will acumulate salt residue. The same can be said for the threads of the yoke converter bushings. Cleaning these threads with something that will break the reside down is worthwhile. A toothbrush will aid in the task.

I rinse my regualtors connected and under pressure and that will not help this detail, even when I do a complete barrel soak.

Pete

 

[El Cid]

Cool. I'll start by just a warmwater/toothbrush to get rid of the salt since the salt isn't caked on yet, but will do the freshwater dunk at the docks. Problem at home is the gear gets cleaned on the third floor so I'm not carrying those things up that far! Thanks gang.

 

[cummings66]

Just remember to never add any lubricant to the threads, it will capture dust, dirt, grime in general and cause problems. Keep it clean by frequent rinsing if you must, it won't hurt anything. In salt water I would rinse before I depressurise and that would keep the salt out and you'd never have this problem.

 

[Colliam7]

I've got Steel HP 100's and have noticed over the weekend that the inside of the DIN connection looks a little like the (extremely) early stages of corrosion. What does everyone do to maintain their tanks and valves?

In addition to the toothbrush idea, you can also use a brass shotgun bore-cleaning brush (12 gauge) to clean the threads.

 

[El Cid]

Just remember to never add any lubricant to the threads, it will capture dust, dirt, grime in general and cause problems. Keep it clean by frequent rinsing if you must, it won't hurt anything. In salt water I would rinse before I depressurise and that would keep the salt out and you'd never have this problem.

The problem comes when we're on a boat and I swap tanks. If the boat is moving, salt spray sometimes gets to the valves.