Clean your first stage and BC thoroughly
October 5th, 2007 Filed Under Tips
Reading the book Diver Down and talking with a local dive shop owner reminded me of how important it is to thoroughly clean your first stage and the inside of the BC after a dive. The reason is that salt water leaves salt crystals behind when it dries, and those crystals cause problems when they jam up stuff.
Most first stages have a little hole in them that lets water enter in order to use the water pressure to as part of the function of how the unit works. Crystals deposited in there can interfere with the functioning of the unit. As recommended in both Diver Down and by the LDS owner, a quick dunk in fresh water is not sufficient to get all the crusties out. A first stage needs some soaking and vigorous swishing around to leave it clean. Yet another reason to own your own gear rather than rent…you know all that rental gear just gets a quick dunk when cleaned by the people renting it.
As for BC, the LDS owner said one time he saw a BC that got punctured by a salt crystal stalactitie that formed inside the air bladder and punched through as a result of not being rinsed out.
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