Unpopular opinion: most divers don't clean their regs as often as they should

I was swapping out hoses on a Kirby Morgan 37 last week and found rust forming inside the first stage of a guy's reg who'd been diving every day for 6 months. He told me he only rinses the outside with fresh water after a dive, but you gotta pull that first stage apart and soak it in warm soapy water at least once a month if you're working in brackish or salt water like we do around Galveston. I learned this the hard way after a diaphragm failed mid-dive on a bridge job back in 2021 - has anyone else had a reg fail from neglect or am I just paranoid?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendyk561mo ago

Jumped on a friend's reg once when we were diving the old rigs off Grand Isle and the second stage started free flowing like crazy. Turns out he never cleaned the orifice or the seat, just rinsed the outside and called it good. Pulled it apart and there was enough salt crust in there to season a steak. @christopherwilson is right, rust in a first stage is a ticking time bomb, especially if you're breathing compressed air through it at depth. If you're in salt or brackish water like we are, a monthly soak in warm soapy water and a good scrub on the moving parts saves you from a nasty surprise on the bottom.

christopherwilson1mo ago

Rust inside a first stage is bad news, that guy is asking for a free ascent.

sanchez.pat1mo ago

and the worst part is you might not even notice the corrosion until it's too late. i had a buddy who bought a used mk25 off ebay and the inside of the first stage looked like a barnacle farm. he dove it twice and on the third dive the second stage just locked up at 60 feet. free flow shot his tank down to like 500 psi in a minute. had to do an emergency ascent with his buddy. luckily no deco stop but still scary stuff. if you see any orange or brown powder inside the regulator body or the spring area, that thing needs a full teardown and rebuild before it goes near water again. a little rust can flake off and get into the diaphragm or the seat and cause all kinds of weird behavior at depth.