Repairs and some other things.
When you bring in a piece of equipment to be checked or repaired
it helps if you can remember the following:
1) If you are repairing an Air II, Air Source, Sherwood Shadow
or equivalent (these are the regulator/inflator combinations on
a BCD), also bring your main regulator. If the problem is a free
flow of air, it is possible the first stage of your regulator
is putting out too much pressure and causing the unit to free
flow. Just because your main 2nd stage is not free flowing does
not mean that the 1st stage is correct. Also the repair shop may
not have the correct hose so checking the unit would be impossible
without the regulator.
2) A free flow is any air coming from a regulator, be it a
bubble every 10 seconds or a constant blast of air. It is flowing
and it is doing so freely. When a repair person asks if it free
flowing, say yes if any air is coming out unwanted.
3) An o-ring leak is not the end of the world. It is best
to get it fixed but if it is one bubble every minute, one does
not have to swim to the surface as fast as possible and walk across
the water to get to land. It takes a huge leak to lose any appreciable
amount of air. Someone who says they have a small leak and their
dive was 25 minutes shorter because of it, was doing something
else wrong. One manufacturer actually builds regulators that do
leak air. This is to keep the 1st stage water free and environmentally
seals the first stage. The amount of air lost is probably one
or two breaths at best. A major air leak from a regulator or other
item should be looked at and fixed immediately.
4) If you are diving and find yourself emptying air from your
BCD a few times per dive and you have not put air in it, the auto
inflator is leaking. This is a simple repair and should be done
as soon as possible. With most BCDs, the inflator along with the
corrugated hose can be removed from the BCD by unscrewing it at
the top. I prefer working on them this way as it is much easier
than with the entire BCD. If you do this make sure you do not
lose any o-rings or a flat rubber ring.
5) A simple maintenance procedure is to dry the dust cap before
placing it back on the first stage air inlet. This can be done
easiest with just a small amount of air from your tank. Some people
actually "dry" the regulator air inlet which in theory
could not have any water and then put a wet dust cap in place
negating whatever they thought they were trying to do in the first
place. Obviously be careful not to blow the water from the dust
cap, or from anywhere else, into the air inlet when drying. I
put the dust cap tight against the tank valve and slowly open
the valve. This allows just a tad of air to dry it and does not
make so much noise that people need a set of Bose noise canceling
headphones!. Although this is not really a repair it will certainly
help save repairs in the future. The reason for the dust cap is
to keep dirt out but more importantly it is to keep water out
so make sure it is in place when washing the regulator. Some plastic
dust caps have an o-ring in them. Without the o-ring it is probably
not water tight so check that the o-ring is there.
6) Annual servicing of dive equipment - this will probably
start arguments (actually it will start arguments) but I am not
a great fan of yearly servicing. I have seen regulators that were
6 years old, looked brand new and had never been serviced and
others that were 6 months old and should have been junked. A lot
of it has to do with how well the user treats the equipment. Here
in the tropics the salt water and sun wreak havoc on everything.
A thorough washing is very important, not so much after every
dive but for sure after the vacation is over. Dry the regulator
completely and store in a cool dry location. And dry that dust
cap after every dive - put it back in place and then rinse the
regulator.
Some people charge as much as $100 for a yearly service and
I have heard of even higher than that. Think about this - if you
don't service your regulator for 2 or 3 years you can buy a new
one! The manufacturers say this yearly overhaul must be done to
maintain the warrantee. Actually a few companies now say every
2 years. Their o-rings etc are no different so if they can go
2 years (and they can) others should be able. A professional might
put as many as 400 dives on a regulator in a year. The average
vacationer might make 40 dives. Should a regulator then be serviced
every 40 dives or every 400 or yearly or every two years?
One of the reasons I am not in favor of this yearly overhaul
is that I have seen far too many regulators that were just serviced
and they do not work. Some were dangerously wrong while others
were just some simple adjustments. One person paid an outrageous
amount of money to have 5 regulators serviced. Of those 5, 4 did
not work correctly. I always ask if regulators were working fine
before servicing and almost everyone tells me "yes they were
working perfectly well".
If you have a very reputable dive shop that has an excellent
record, then overhauling yearly is fine providing you are not
being charged too much. It is also interesting that many things
that should be done in a service are not. The swivel on a high
pressure gauge should be cleaned, new o-rings installed (all of
about $2.00) and lubricated with silicone grease. I rarely see
this done. Also the inflator system on BCD's is rarely checked.
Remember, never use petroleum products or something like WD-40
on any dive equipment.
I know the price of service kits and for me anything more
than about $50 for a complete service is too much. There
are of course cases where certain parts can be expensive if damaged.
These costs would be up and above the servicing costs. Some regulator
first and second stages are extremely simple so this price could
even be less! Below are pictures of some poorly maintained pieces
of equipment. The first picture shows a new regulator piston and
one that someone allowed salt water in the first stage of regulator
and never cleaned anything. Other parts were so bad that threads
had been eaten away by corrosion. I doubt the regulator ever saw
any fresh water. In a case like this I would say a regulator should
be serviced every month!! You can see how the plating on the piston
on the right has been corroded away allowing even more damage
to occur. Normally a service would include the 2 o-rings and the
little white(ish) seat on top of the piston, plus a few more things.
Because of the damage done by neglect, this servicing was a lot
more expensive. The second picture is the inside of an alternate
air source. Again corrosion has taken its toll. Even after being
cleaned the chrome plating was all but gone allowing corrosion
to start again.
Above is another example of storing a regulator away
without washing.
On the other end of the scale is the picture below.
This regulator is over 28 years old and in excellent condition.
Not a museum piece, this regulator is still in use. The chrome
is near perfect. Although regulators have improved in areas of
breathing, this is still a good functioning regulator for average
recreational diving.
7) One of the most common repairs to a regulator is the first
stage high pressure seat. There are many styles and a few are
interchangeable. If you are traveling, it might be impossible
to find the one you need. If you can, see if your dive shop will
sell you at least one HP seat for your regulator. They may say
no, stating that it must be installed by a recognized dealer or
other reasons. You should be able to find someone at just about
any dive destination who is competent enough to change a high
pressure seat. It could save a lot of money and lost time. These
seats run from a couple of dollars to maybe $20 at the high end.
Think of what the cost of renting a regulator for a week or more
might be. If you can get a seat, wrap it is some tissue paper,
place it in a film can or some protective container and take it
with you.
8) A 2nd stage that never gets cleaned
or receives a brief rinsing and is left wet repeatedly can wind
up looking rather bad inside. The following picture is for mature
audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised.
Most, NOT ALL, 2nd stages are not difficult to remove the
front cover and diaphragm. Some have a side pin or a clip. Most
have nothing. Just unscrew the front cover and carefully see what
comes next. Some have a friction ring. Others have another screw-on
ring with a friction ring under that. The last item should be
the rubber diaphragm which might be blue, black, clear or white
and possibly other colors. Aqualung (US Divers) makes a very small
2nd stage called the Micra that can be a bit of a problem. I have
a special tool to remove and install the cover so you might not
want to tackle that model.
Some really old 2nd stages such as metal Dacors and Scubapros
have a ring that holds the cover and the ring is held by one or
two screws. These are a pain but not impossible. I have had some
newer regulators that I needed a strap wrench to unscrew the cover
only because they had been on for so long. Some manufacturers
make special tools although there is usually a way around this.
Using a kitchen rubber top removing cloth thing pad works wonders
also.
With care, an old toothbrush can be used to scrub out the
inside if necessary. Perhaps the dive shop you use can show you
how to take the cover off explaining any "tricks" such
as keeper pins or friction rings etc. Of course the best thing
to do is clean and dry the 2nd stage well after diving by running
water through it, not just soaking.
One last point - when you do have the cover off, clean the
threads if it is a screw on cover. There can be sand pieces in
there which don't help when putting it back together. Just screw
the top down snugly. Do not over tighten.
After all is said and done, take a gentle breath through it
to make sure you get no air. If you get air, you have not put
the diaphragm back correctly or the exhaust valve got disturbed.
Note - if the 1st stage dust cap is not in place it is possible
to draw in air through the 1st stage.
There are a few 2nd stages that have a system that keeps the
orifice open so the seat lasts longer. It is recommended these
2nd stages do not get soaked since water could enter the hose
and wind up in the first stage.
9) Many divers bring regulators in that leak water or as they
say "I get water when I inhale". There is a quick check
for this which is to inhale lightly when the regulator is off
the tank and the dust cap is in place. It is important that the
dust cap is in place and sealing or air can be inhaled right through
the 1st stage. If you can not get air that it is extremely unusual
that you get water. If you do get air there are 3 basic places
to check.
First, is the mouthpiece tight? Is the mouthpiece zip tie
or whatever one calls them in place and tight? Does the mouthpiece
have a pin hole, a tear, a rip or another hole somewhere - other
than the one you breathe through!
Second, is the exhaust diaphragm curled under itself or a
piece of something stuck in it. On many regulators you can look
in the exhaust T and see the diaphragm. Sometimes using a blunt
object such as a popsicle stick, you can straighten it out. Other
times it is necessary to remove the front cover to better access
the exhaust diaphragm. It is also possible that the exhaust diaphragm
is weak and needs to be replaced.
Third, is the main diaphragm torn , has a hole or maybe out
of place? This can only be done by removing the front cover.
After each step try inhaling again to see if it fixed the
problem. On rare occasions the actual regulator case may be cracked
or another external oring seal is bad. But the above 3 are the
most likely.