When do you change an O-ring (if the yoke's on you)?

[ClayJar]

For those of you (still?) diving yoked, when do you change that dastardly O-ring?

I've made several checkout dive trips with my LDS, and on such trips, I dive with their tanks (and gas) since I don't get any discount for hauling mine (and my car is far from large). As part of my standard procedures, I inspect all yoke O-rings before even mounting my regulators, in addition to doing hiss- and bubble-checks.

Obviously, I'll replace an O-ring that blows violently. I'll also replace an O-ring that's hissing. A tiny bubblette stream may not make me call a dive, but I swap the O-ring as soon as I'm off the tank. I'll even go one further, however, and proactively replace an O-ring that merely looks bad to me.

O-rings are cheap (free, if it's not your kit ), but do many people proactively inspect and replace yoked O-rings, or is it more like some of the guys I've heard on the boat who don't replace an O-ring until it blows completely?

 

[Walter]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. DIN uses o-rings as well, but they are in the regulator, not the valve. They tend to fall out easily.

 

[TrojanCatMan]

If it looks bad, explodes, or isnt functioning right. I hardly ever change my O-ring. In fact I have had to change the O-ring on my tanks neck/valve more than the one on the regulator/valve.

 

[ClayJar]

DIN uses o-rings as well, but they are in the regulator, not the valve. They tend to fall out easily.

I'd hope we'd all know DIN uses O-rings, but I know *I* don't have a collection of blown DIN O-rings on my keychain.

 

[Walter]

That's because they don't blow, they fall out never to be seen again...........

 

[Luis H]

I'd hope we'd all know DIN uses O-rings, but I know *I* don't have a collection of blown DIN O-rings on my keychain.

I don't get all these blown O-rings. I have been using yokes and DIN connections both for over 35 years and personally, I have had the same number of blown O-rings on both (Quantity = 0).

I have seen it happen on regulator with a damaged yoke (an old Dacor Olympic 800 with a solid massive yoke, slightly bent) that belonged to a buddy of mine. I have seen it in a few other occasions (like the kid at Weeki Wachee), but the only two explanations I can come up with are bad interface surface or not been careful. Both situations should be easily resolved (unless you had a non replaceable yoke like the Olympic 800).

The malfunctions I have seen with a DIN connection are not as dramatic as a blown O-ring, but they are often more of a problem. The engaging threads tend to wear and can cause trouble (sometimes after the dive, disconnecting the regulator). The O-rings on DIN connections can also leak just as easily if they are not in good shape or the mating parts are not clean, etc.

Back in the 70’s we used to teach (in the basic Scuba class) how to properly inspect the connecting O-ring and how to properly install and check the yoke connection.

Just about month ago I met two certified Scuba divers that were having trouble with the yoke connection. Upon inspection I notice no O-ring. They didn’t know that there was even a need for an O-ring and that they must have lost it since the last fill. Perhaps, this explains all these issues with yoke O-rings.

 

[ClayJar]

Most of the O-rings I've replaced have looked *really* old (even to the point of coming out in dry-rotted pieces). Only once have I had to replace an O-ring on one of my personal tanks. Quite a few times, I've had to replace the O-ring on a rental tank, but I could be the only person even looking at those O-rings -- I know that a small stream of bubbles coming from the O-ring is considered irrelevant by most of the people on the boat.

 

[HowardE]

My fill station checks the o-ring every time they fill my wife's yoke tanks. If it's missing, or cracked... they replace it. (no charge )

 

[dannobee]

I dive with both DIN and yokes, and like others said, DIN is not without problems-the o-rings fall out and get lost in the sand somewhere. I dove with an old timer who had a hissing yoke o-ring and I offered him one out of my save-a-dive kit. He turned it down but took his o-ring out, then turned it around (so that the worn out side was now facing the valve and the "good" side was facing the reg) and proudly proclaimed "it's good for another ten years!"

Personally, I've seen the black ones leak every once in awhile, but I've never seen the white/cream colored ones leak, FWIW. I have yet to see one blow without some other outside influence, like the tank falling over and the yoke/reg hitting the deck.

 

[TSandM]

I had one of the purple ones go when I hooked up the analyzer at the shop to check my gas. Took the yoke off and looked at the O-ring, and it was grossly deformed. Luckily, it did it out of the water.

I've also lost a DIN o-ring already. It's clear that a box of them needs to be with me whenever I'm diving the doubles.