Tech diving is a good workout, at least getting ready is

[Campana]

today I O2 cleaned two sets of double 104's. Basically, you have to remove the bands, loosen and remove the manifolds, completely take the manifolds apart, and clean them with Simple Green and very hot water, then rinse repeatedly in clean hot water, then blow dry with clean scuba air from a tank. Then, new Viton O rings, it takes seven for each manifold, with the lightest sheen of O2 safe lube. Then into plastic bags. Then, each tank is filled with Simple Green and the Hottest water you got. I had to put on diving gloves just to touch the tanks. Agitate for a while and then dump the water, then more hot water, agitate, dump, fill, agitate, dump, fill, agitate, dump, then blow the inside dry with clean scuba air. Then the other tank, each time cleaning with the Simple Green and Hot water and rinsing, rinsing, rinsing, and then drying. Then put the whole mess together again and take it to the Scubapark and let em fill the thing with their new clean air compressor. Claned Two sets. I don't know how many times I picked up and dumped each tank about 2/3's full of water, but I'll tell you I blew out the old sweat glands. Then took 4 sets of doubles and a few little 72's to get filled. Robert and I just sat there under the awning, slowly filling my doubles and yakking away. Then back in the truck, home and unload em all into the scubatorium. Check the pressure, each day, to make sure they ain't leaking anywhere, but I can already tell you they're not. I thought one isolation valve was leaking, but it turned out Robert has some kind of strange Din adapter that wasn't functioning.
Anyway, my back hurts, and I'm crusty. Way crusty. But I got some clean a** tanks all fulla air. Altogether, tanked up about 992 cubic feet of air. Thas for the first day of the fla trip that me'n Kelly are taking.

I think tomorrow I'll get all my gear together in a corner of the Scubatorium and take a digital pic of it so yall can see where my money went.

Dave

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by Campana
air air air all fulla air 992 cubic feet of air

AIR???

 

[Campana]

I have to drive 75 miles and wait a week to get nitrox and the air is only to keep moisture at bay. As soon as we get to Fla, they get filled with nitrox.

Soon, I'll be able to make my own nitrox and trimix.. already got O2 and Helium arranged and only need my hoses. I talked to the guy at the scubapark yesterday and I think he'll do the air topoffs. He's got a brand new Bauer compressor which set him back about 25K and he plans on changing his filters regularly and checking his air quarterly.

 

[100days-a-year]

Campana,ther are companies that make racks that hold the tanks and have a spray head about 20" up .You connect a garden hose to the bottom of your water heater and after the simple green you simply place them on the rack and run hot water in'en for a min or so.The water heats the tank enough for the water to evaporate usually so we don't have to blow dry .A home made rack could be made out of any type of material and a PVC spray head used.I did abot 20 tanks in a day this winter including valves & manifolds.I have access to a coupla ultrasonic cleaners for valves,regs etc... they are very costly but simple to use.My best illustration of the fitness aspect is wearing my doubles on my back and carrying stages up and down several flights of stairs during tri-mix classes .Them my instructor looked over and said" can you go up and get my stages while I get everything ready here?"It's a lot tougher than it looks .

 

[Campana]

wish I had one. Maybe I'll make one. I've never been able to just let the hot water evaporate, though. Do you still get the flash rust when you do that? I think I'll definitely get hot water in my shop and build or buy one of those racks.

 

[Wendy]

A good way of checking for leaks after putting gear together whether it be attaching hoses to the first stage or putting your mainfold back together is the bubble check. Now this isn't the bubble check that you would do in the water. Take a spray bottle with some soapy water in it and spray it on all the connection locations and turn the air on. If you have any leaks you will see little bubbles foaming up from the leaking site.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Not only can you get a rack for rinsing but you can get a rack for drying also. Global sells them.

Don't use soap for leak checks if the gas has a high FO2. Use a comercial leak check solution.

 

[jbd]

Mike,

Why should the soap not be used for a high fO2?

 

[100days-a-year]

Campana,never seen any rust .I live in Fla ,winter here may not be cold but it is often dry.Lo humidity and 155 degree water =tanks dry inside in less than 2 minutes.A lot of my maintenance gets done due to windy weather keeping small craft in port .Might as well get all that stuff done when you can't dive.

 

[MikeFerrara]

jbd,

Some soap has ingrediants that are not compatible with o2. This is only a concern with high fo2 gases but Campana said he was o2 cleaning the equipment so I assumed it would be exposed to ahigh fo2.

Mike