Yuck - how to get rid of that "new regulator" smell

[Flot]

Guys just got a new reg and would like to take it on vacation in a couple weeks, but yuck, breathing off it I get the overwhelming smell/taste of new rubber. If all goes well I will be able to do one or two local dives before I head off with it - which I'm not exactly looking forward to right now. haha.

Anything that can be done to help the smell go away faster? Should I leave it out to bake in the sun, or..?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Guys just got a new reg and would like to take it on vacation in a couple weeks, but yuck, breathing off it I get the overwhelming smell/taste of new rubber. If all goes well I will be able to do one or two local dives before I head off with it - which I'm not exactly looking forward to right now. haha.

Anything that can be done to help the smell go away faster? Should I leave it out to bake in the sun, or..?

Rubber?

What type of mouthpiece do you have?

If it is a rubber composite, go to your LDS and have it changed to silicone. That should eliminate any rubber oder/taste

 

[ClayJar]

Dive it? Hook it up to a tank (so it's pressurized) and let it soak overnight? I've even heard of people using (straight or diluted) Listerine to soak a reg.

Have you been in the water with it yet? My regs seemed to smell new in the shop, but by the time I was breathing itin the depths of my parents' pool (like I'd go home first! Ha!), I didn't notice a thing. If you haven't actually been diving with it, why not try that first? (Unless you have a tank handy and want to give it an overnight bath, that is.)

 

[Flot]

This is the 2nd new reg I've bought lately (I made one dive with the first and didn't like it) and it smells/tastes the same as the first.

I assume the rubber taste/smell is coming from the hose as much as the reg, but I could be wrong. And no the thing just showed up in the mail so haven't been able to dive it yet, hopefully tomorrow... was just wondering if there was some trick to avoid having another 60 minute dive tasting like I was licking pencil erasers.

I've got it pressurized now and will let some air out from time to time, I think it's like new car smell, just everything curing. (somewhere I once read that "new car smell" exceeded all government standards for indoor air pollution, haha)

 

[JahJahwarrior]

the best solution that I have found it to only buy used regs Though, I just replaced a mouthpiece and it doesn't taste like "new rubber."

 

[WarrenZ]

My only advice is dive it and see if the taste will go away or switch out the mouthpeice. I have never had a first stage taste "new" but I do have an octo that the mouthpeice does taste bad.

Go figure. No one who is out of air will complain as long as there is air in my tank.

 

[trigfunctions]

I got a snorkel recently that had such a strong rubber/chemical taste and smell that it was unusable. Breathing through it was nasty. I soaked it overnight in water with strawberry suave shampoo (the same stuff I use for my wetsuits) and that took the smell out.

 

[onfloat]

Send it to me and I'll send it back after it's well used.:biggrin:

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Just make it a used reg...Maybe soaking it in salt water for a few hours.