What size tank to get for cleaning regs at home?

[elgoog]

Hi all -

Wife-buddy and I recently got our own regulators. Our diving is almost exclusively in saltwater and my post-dive plan is to clean them by soaking them in fresh water, pressurized, once we get home. We don't own our own tanks and I'm looking at getting one exclusively for this and maybe also for night-before-dive-day leak checks. I was thinking of putting an H valve on this tank so I can do both reg sets at the same time. Would a 6cf tank be sufficient for this or should I go for 13cf? I'd like to get as small a tank as possible since the soaking will happen in a bucket (no bath tub at home).

Thanks in advance,
elgoog

 

[Rainer]

I used my AL6s for exactly this post-dive.

 

[halocline]

Unless you have 2nd stages with a seat saver function that separates the orifice from the seat, there is really no reason to invest in a tank just to soak pressurized. The dust cap will seal the first stage absolutely fine. If you don't believe me, put the cap in place and try sucking some air on the 2nd stage. If you can't get any, there's no leak. If you can, it's still likely there's no leak at the 1st stage, but something in the 2n stage is leaking. If you have regulators like atomics, you can ignore this as they have the seat saver which will allow water to penetrate.

Then again, it is pretty handy to have a tank at home; you can check your regulator pre-trip as you mentioned, and you can fill up tires. I have a 13 cft tank that I use for this. The only problem with such a small tank, like a 6cft, is that it empties quickly and dive shops are likely to charge you for a fill even though the tank is tiny. And you will have to get this tank inspected annually to keep getting fills. with that in mind, I'd look for a used 19cft pony. It's a popular size and you're likely to find a good deal on one. If you can find a smaller tank much cheaper, go for it.

 

[Rainer]

Buy a transfill whip. Unless I was diving argon (rare once I moved to CA), I never took my AL6s to a shop to get filled.

 

[tbone1004]

you can just use a rubbermaid or 5 gallon bucket for soaking regulators. With the dust caps in place if they are of the right type the first stages can get soaked, but the biggest thing is to try to soak them or at least fully rinse them off before they dry. Sealed diaphragms are the preferred first stage btw since all of the salt will be external

 

[halocline]

Buy a transfill whip. Unless I was diving argon (rare once I moved to CA), I never took my AL6s to a shop to get filled.

That would be an excellent suggestion if the OP owned any scuba tanks to fill from, but he does not.

 

[NAM001]

if you are going to rely on the dust caps make sure theya re rubber or hard plastic WITH the spare oring in place.

 

[tridacna]

. And you will have to get this tank inspected annually to keep getting fills..

Get a "Not for SCUBA" sticker and put on tank. All you will need is a hydro every five years.

 

[elgoog]

Thanks to all for the info so far.
Since this is the only tank I'll have for the time being, I'm not too concerned about the annual VIP.
I have Apeks FST and a couple of DSTs and a mix of the 50 and 100 series 2nd stages. I think these are the sealed diaphragm design a couple of you mentioned that can be soaked without being pressurized. I also think I have the right dust caps - I did try to inhale from the 2nd stage with the dust cap on and was not able to, so I should be good to just soak them on their own. I thought having at least one tank at home would be good in general so I figured using it to also clean the regs might make that process relatively safer.

I used my AL6s for exactly this post-dive.

Just curious, how many cleaning cycles do you usually get from 1 6cf fill?

 

[Storker]

IMO, you're overthinking things, at least if your regs have sealed diaphragm 1st stages.

Around here, everyone dives their own gear, in saltwater. The normal cleaning procedure is a good rinse with a hose (outside and through the mouthpiece and vents of the 2nd stages, outside of the 1st stage), with the dust cap screwed on the 1st stage. Maybe a soak afterwards. Regs are serviced at a good shop every 2nd year (as recommended around here). Aside from the occasional 2nd stage free-slow upon surfacing in temps around or below freezing (which is quite undramatic and something you should be prepared for), I haven't seen or heard about any problems.