Vintage Double Hose

- My Argonaut Kraken had a problem this past weekend. When I turned on the air, it started leaking. Thinking that something was sticking in the diaphragm area, I took it into the water, got it wet, and tried turning on and breathing into it. This did not solve the problem and the leaking turned into a stronger flow... Not an out and out free-flow but stronger.
- I once had a situation with my Phoenix where the DBE mushroom and diaphragm got stuck together and I had a similar problem. Don't know if that's what is going on here but,...
- I have never taken my Argonaut apart before and thought I might ask a little advice on this problem before I dig into it.

The diaphragm and exhaust valve can't stick together on a Kraken as they are too far apart. Check your IP and if it's in range I'd expect it is your 2nd stage seat. May be time for service.

Thanks Bryan. I haven't got around to working on it yet but I'll check that first.

It Was Corrosion...

- Last night, I opened up the cans on my Argonaut and was shocked to see a fair amount of corrosion. It was causing the 2nd stage lever to be sticky and that was why it was behaving the way it was. It didn't take much to clean it up... A soft toothbrush and some soap and water. I rinsed it with the mechanism facing down so as not to drown the internals. Sprayed a little food grade silicone lube on the lever mechanism and it is now moving freely with the regulator breathing perfectly again. This is enough for now so I can dive it the rest of the season. But, I'm going to take the whole thing apart for a good cleaning later this Fall.
- I blame myself for the corrosion. I think I caused it to let salt water into the mechanism. When I bought the new hose set with DSV, I did a horrible job of installing it. I don't know why I didn't notice but, the little tabs that slip under the opposite side of the hose clamps were crunched instead of slid underneath. I remember some wet breathing sometimes but on at least one occasion it was because I had the DSV in a partially open position while breathing... And I assumed that's what caused the wet breathing.
- This is the "Sea Hunt" serial numbered regulator I got in the Argonaut crowd funding program. Its a collector and means a lot to me. So, I feel terrible about letting it get corroded. But, I've used it a lot in fresh water as well as salt water. A week of diving in Cozumel last year.
- And more recently, I used this regulator for 3 dives a day for a week down in the salt water of St. Kitts and Saba this spring. I rinsed everything when I got home but I didn't take the cans apart to inspect the inside much less rinse the inside. I know better now.

Nothing in there that can't be made good as new again. Send me an E-mail when you tear it down after diving this year and I'll make it happen.

Thanks for the update. Something to really watch out for. I've folded those tabs over once as well on my PRAM but I was lucky enough to catch it when I did my post new hose install inspection. With my old eyes I easily miss stuff like that.

To prevent internal corrosion, I always rinse the cans out with warm water. As part of my cleaning of a reg after dive (or days of diving) I remove the hoses, flush them well with warm water, sling them to remove as much water as possible then leave them off until the next dive. This prevents nasty things from growing in them. While I have the hoses off, I fill the cans with warm water, slosh it around, dump it and repeat. After the cans have set a while, I drain any remaining water. This removes any salt or funky water that may have gotten in and pretty much stops any corrosion.

Bryan wrote:Nothing in there that can't be made good as new again. Send me an E-mail when you tear it down after diving this year and I'll make it happen.

- Thanks Bryan. I appreciate that.

Herman wrote:To prevent internal corrosion, I always rinse the cans out with warm water. As part of my cleaning of a reg after dive (or days of diving) I remove the hoses, flush them well with warm water, sling them to remove as much water as possible then leave them off until the next dive. This prevents nasty things from growing in them. While I have the hoses off, I fill the cans with warm water, slosh it around, dump it and repeat. After the cans have set a while, I drain any remaining water. This removes any salt or funky water that may have gotten in and pretty much stops any corrosion.

- Thanks for the advice Herman.

I agree with Herman, and might add that there is nothing inside the cans of a double hose that isn't actually continually exposed to the water on every dive with a single hose reg such as a Conshelf, etc. Knowing that makes me think a good fresh water rinse shouldn't adversely affect a double hose reg if you don't somehow push the demand lever and let water into the air passages. Leave the hoses off for complete drying of body and hoses.

After Repairs... - Bryan wasn't kidding when he said he could make it like brand new again. I sent the #Sea Hunt Kraken in for repairs after our Summer dive season was over and wow... I'm glad I did. Compare the above picture with the earlier one showing all the corrosion. But it wasn't all just for looks. The next picture shows all of the inside parts he replaced. This thing really is like brand new inside!

SurfLung wrote:After Repairs...

Repair01.JPG

- Bryan wasn't kidding when he said he could make it like brand new again. I sent the #Sea Hunt Kraken in for repairs after our Summer dive season was over and wow... I'm glad I did. Compare the above picture with the earlier one showing all the corrosion. But it wasn't all just for looks. The next picture shows all of the inside parts he replaced. This thing really is like brand new inside!

Repair02.JPG

It was my pleasure.... Go Kraken!

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

Looks beautiful again.

I usually rinse my regulators out with freshwater after a day in the saltwater and certainly after a week of saltwater diving.

The cans come apart with my Swiss Army knife, a design feature intended by Luis as I recall. The hoses come off with ease thanks to the thumb screws for a quick rinse. This only takes a few minutes. I do not normally tear my regs down fully unless I think saltwater may have gotten into the innards as on my last trip. A full tear down was immediate upon my return to stave off damage.

It also helps to dry a reg out upon completing a dive. Before removing the reg initiate a free flow for a few seconds. But you cannot leave salt in there for long periods of time.

These things are pretty darn durable.

James

Looks like new. I have never had a problem like that, cause I never get to dive in salty water. Maybe someday when these darn kids grow up I can spend all winter in the salt. And not the kind on the roads