Whistling Regulator question

[WVMike]

I have a new Scubapro MK25/G250HP. I hooked it up to my tank to check for leaks and all is fine, until I turn off the valve and purge the Regulator. The regulator has a high pitch whistling noise when purging.

What could be the cause of this? This regulator has not been in the water yet.

Thanks for any input.

Mike

 

[bcsean]

When I got my Apeks black pearl, the first dive it whistled a bit. Never noticed it since.

 

[MechDiver]

Lots of regs make noises out of the water, partly because they are made to work when wet, not dry.
Watch the operation once you have it in the water, but chances are everything will be fine.
You have an excellent regulator.

MD

 

[Charlie99]

Lots of regs make noises out of the water, partly because they are made to work when wet, not dry.
Watch the operation once you have it in the water, but chances are everything will be fine.
You have an excellent regulator.

MD

This is true for 2nd stages, but not firsts. The exhaust valves of 2nds are often noisy when dry.

If it's the 1st stage making the whistle, then it will still be there in the water. It will probably show up only at lower tank pressures. Do a search on "harmonic" and you will see lots of threads about this.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A high pitched whistle is probably a first stage issue. You should be able to feel a vibration in one or more of the hoses when the reg is whistling.

A lower pitched honking noise is generally a second stage issue and it is easy to hear where that is coming from.

A first stage whistle in a balanced diaphragm first stage is caused by an inadequately lubricated piston stem o-ring in 99% of the cases. This is more comon lately I think as techs get overly concerned with O2 compatibility and make an extra effort to miminize lubricants even if they are O2 compatible.

In addition, Christolube also looks a lot more prevelent than it is because it is white rather than clear like silicone. So enough Christolube in this area often looks like too much and some gets removed with the result that the piston stem o-ring and bushings sometimes get less lube than they really need. The inadequately lubed o-ring then causes the piston to vibrate or stutter slightly and this resonates through the IP chamber and LP hose.

The popular wisdom I often hear is that the whistle is caused by the mainspring and that removing it and turning it over will solve the problem. Often it does, but only because some lubricant gets redistributed or added in the process of removing the piston stem to flip the mainspring over.

The other 1% of the whistle problems are caused by a harmonic resonance between the piston and some tank valves. This is readily diagnosable as the reg will only whistle with a particular valve and was a lot more common with J valves than it is with a K-valve.

 

[WVMike]

Thanks for the replys,

The whistle is coming from the second stage while it is being purged after the tank valve is closed.

 

[Diver0001]

Thanks for the replys,

The whistle is coming from the second stage while it is being purged after the tank valve is closed.

It's a harmonic. It won't damage your reg and I most certainly wouldn't worry about it if it doesn't happen when the reg is turned on.

R..

 

[WVMike]

I quess the regulator was just screaming to be in the water. I used them today and once wet no more whistle.

mike

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

What would you say a low-pitched, jack hammer sound coming from the first stage of a diaphram regulator would be? The seat opening and closing? Only happens on inhalation.

 

[Diver0001]

What would you say a low-pitched, jack hammer sound coming from the first stage of a diaphram regulator would be? The seat opening and closing? Only happens on inhalation.

Probably. Many high performance regs will do this on the surface. It should disappear under water.

R..