Volume of christolube for atomic reg
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Wookie
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Lemme see if I can find it. I'll look for it today.
Filling with a syringe requires 10cc of Tribolube/Christolube. Implying that a two ounce tube (60 cc) only fills two regs suggests that there is either a short fill of the tubes or lots of waste.
I buy Tribolube by the pound and fill my syringes manually. The newer tool by Scuba Instruments is superior to the Scubatools threaded delrin item, but I suspect that both leave tiny voids as they inject from the piston head end. The lube is just too viscous to flow evenly around all the spring nooks.
The convenience and ease of use of the Scuba Instruments syringe is HUGE. Malibu Diving in SoCal uses it and swears by it.
Me, I'm still a little suspicious, and I fill the piston/bullet/spring combo manually, and add tracks of lube to the inside of the body before piston insertion. My waste is approximately 2 cc, suggesting the total actual volume is around 8cc. It can be messy until you've done it a dozen times, but it's far less of a frustration than trying to force Christolube from a tube under pressure through that Delrin head and having the tube split. Ask me how I know.
If @Wookie can't find his, you can have mine. But better still, get the Scuba Instruments syringe: Scuba Testing Equipment and Tools - Atomic
Or even better, albeit slower, get a 10cc syringe and a blunt needle, and do it manually. You only have to do it once every three years anyway.
I buy Tribolube by the pound and fill my syringes manually. The newer tool by Scuba Instruments is superior to the Scubatools threaded delrin item, but I suspect that both leave tiny voids as they inject from the piston head end. The lube is just too viscous to flow evenly around all the spring nooks.
The convenience and ease of use of the Scuba Instruments syringe is HUGE. Malibu Diving in SoCal uses it and swears by it.
Me, I'm still a little suspicious, and I fill the piston/bullet/spring combo manually, and add tracks of lube to the inside of the body before piston insertion. My waste is approximately 2 cc, suggesting the total actual volume is around 8cc. It can be messy until you've done it a dozen times, but it's far less of a frustration than trying to force Christolube from a tube under pressure through that Delrin head and having the tube split. Ask me how I know.
If @Wookie can't find his, you can have mine. But better still, get the Scuba Instruments syringe: Scuba Testing Equipment and Tools - Atomic
Or even better, albeit slower, get a 10cc syringe and a blunt needle, and do it manually. You only have to do it once every three years anyway.
The syringe option definitely seems like a better, albeit far less efficient, way to go, but that's coming from someone who has never done it. Perhaps I'll give that route a try and if I just can't make it work, explore one of the two tools. It's not like I'm in any huge hurry.
I just switched over to sealed diaphragms...
People make bad decisions all the time
sometimes for the right reasons, I find Atomic seconds work really on a Mk17.
Geo7
Contributor
I suspect someone servicing their own regs and able to take as much time as needed with the syringe, can ultimately do a better job. I have the packing tool, but am interested in trying the syrringe option next time.
This definetely seems like a lost art, and a how-to with some pictures (or a video?) would be much appreciated.
Same here btw, even though I added some diaphragm Apeks for pure convenience, Atomic regs always find their way into my gear...
@superstar made a "how to" vid of packing a MK10. It's pretty much the same way I do it, except I have less waste. The surplus grease goes into a zip lock bag for later use. Then I fill the boot up before installing.
Geo7
Contributor
That's great, thanks! I think I'll keep one partially filled syrringe with Tribolube for packing the balance chamber, and I'll just put the wasted/extruding lube back into the syrringe. Any contamination won't matter for packing the chamber.
This thread could resurrect "the lost art" of packing flow-through pistons: Any more tips that weren't covered in the videos?
This thread could resurrect "the lost art" of packing flow-through pistons: Any more tips that weren't covered in the videos?
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