The diving is one of the water sports in which the care of the material is essential to be able to carry out a good dive and also last for many years.< /p>
Care tips
If we carry out good maintenance and are a little careful, we can enjoy for many years diving equipment in perfect condition of use.
We will only have the opportunity to change it when someone gives us a hard time with the latest, probably more advanced, innovations that the market offers us or because we simply feel like changing our image underwater. strong>.
But if you are one of those who prefers to show off a ten-year-old diving suit in perfect condition, as if it were a few gallons of an expert diver, write down our tips for its conservation and some spare parts that we should not forget whenever we are going to dive.
Basic maintenance
We normally dive in salt water and, unfortunately, saltpeter (a highly corrosive element) is the cause of most of the damage that occurs in all the metal parts of our equipment. Therefore, whenever we finish diving it is necessary to wash all the material with fresh water. It is necessary to ensure that it is fresh, since some towns have water for domestic use, which is even worse than that of the sea.
This is the best maintenance, however, some parts require special maintenance. Let's review them:
- The bottle
We will always avoid getting out of the water with 0 atm. pressure. The only thing we achieve is that water gets inside and it rusts. It is also not convenient to store it for long periods of time charged at 200 atm. why make her work? It is better to leave it at a pressure of about 30-50 atm. If we want to empty it, we will open the tap slowly to prevent condensation from forming inside when the pressurized air escapes.
Every three years we must carry out the hydraulic test (contrast) and, every certain period of time, it will be essential to carry out a visual inspection (scratches, bumps, signs of external rust...) which will vary depending on whether we live on the coast or inland.
We agree that it is annoying to break the bank to carry out these checks, but apart from increasing safety for those carrying the bottles, it is also essential for us. Thetaps must turn smoothly: if you have to make titanic efforts to open or close you will end up breaking the shaft, or diving one day with the bottle closed.
The O-rings must be in perfect condition to avoid leaks, and we speak in plural because most current bottles have an adapter to be used with a DIN or universal thread as appropriate. and the adapter has two O-rings, which we usually forget to check.
Disassemble the rubber shorts from time to time, cleaning it from the accumulated saltpeter and also the body of the bottle. Place a net to cover the bottle, you will prevent it from sliding between the strap of the jacket and you will protect it from minor bumps and scrapes in and out of the water.
- The regulator
It is the most important part of our team and our safety depends largely on it. It goes without saying that we have to treat it with great care, avoiding bumps and dirt that could cause it to become unbalanced or cause it to malfunction.
If there is any anomaly, we will take it to a specialized workshop. But to delay the MOT for as long as possible, a good cleaning with fresh water (preferably warm to eliminate saltpeter better) is essential for its maintenance, always avoiding it coming into contact. with the upper chamber or first body of the regulator.
We cannot forget to put the protection cap and we will also avoid bleeding the regulator when we are cleaning it. When disassembling the regulator from the bottle, we will always carefully dry the protection cap.
Once the regulator is assembled, we must open the bottle tap gently to avoid a strong impact of the air with the high chamber. If our tap does not allow it, while we open the air passage we will bleed the regulator.
We should never try to dismantle the high pressure chamber: we will only dare to use the second stage or ambient pressure chamber, to remove stones or sand that may have been introduced (be careful not to drag the regulators during dives from the beach) inside.
If water enters our regulator the problem may be due to the ambient pressure chamber or a poor hermetic fit or breakage of the rubber nozzle. Check that the membrane is not broken, that the expulsion valve does not have any foreign body or that the nozzle is not in poor condition. Dare to change and dismantle only these elements; For the rest it is necessary to have more specific knowledge. Even if your regulator works perfectly, it is advisable to have it checked once a year, although it is closely related to the number of annual dives.
- The jacket
Generally we sweeten the outside of it, how many of you fill the jacket with fresh water and clean the inside? Few, very few for sure.
You will understand that saltpeter makes a dent inside and out and, therefore, we must try to eliminate it completely. Letting it dry in full sun, in addition to doing it faster, will also make it lose its color sooner.
- If we are not using it for some time, it is interesting to store it with some air inside to prevent it from catching on the walls.
- If our jacket inflates "on its own" continuously, it most likely needs to be cleaned of sand or salt residue from the inflator mechanism or grease the shaft with the oil used for sewing machines.
- If, on the other hand, it loses air, we will have to dismantle the valves and check their O-rings. If it doesn't work, we will look for a puncture by submerging it inflated in water.
On rare occasions you can make a hole, if this is your case and the hole is small, use a glue called "Aquasure". If the hole is large, put a patch on it and secure the edges with this miraculous glue.
- The suit
Maintaining the suit is very simple, just wash it in fresh water and dry it in the shade (because of what has been said about the color and because it degenerates the quality of the neoprene), we just have to be especially careful with the zippers:To avoid future problems, we will put wax on them (miracle, I don't need to resort to Conan to take off my suit!). In case of breaks or cuts, there are neoprene glues on the market to repair them, which are very easy to use.
The suit must be kept completely dry to avoid fungus. from the beach) inside.
If water enters our regulator the problem may be due to the ambient pressure chamber or a poor hermetic fit or breakage of the rubber nozzle. Check that the membrane is not broken, that the expulsion valve does not have any foreign body or that the nozzle is not in poor condition. Dare to change and dismantle only these elements; For the rest it is necessary to have more specific knowledge. Even if your regulator works perfectly, it is advisable to have it checked once a year, although it is closely related to the number of annual dives.
- The jacket
Generally we sweeten the outside of it, how many of you fill the jacket with fresh water and clean the inside? Few, very few for sure.
You will understand that saltpeter makes a dent inside and out and, therefore, we must try to eliminate it completely. Letting it dry in full sun, in addition to doing it faster, will also make it lose its color sooner.
- If we are not using it for some time, it is interesting to store it with some air inside to prevent it from catching on the walls.
- If our jacket inflates "on its own" continuously, it most likely needs to be cleaned of sand or salt residue from the inflator mechanism or grease the shaft with the oil used for sewing machines.
- If, on the other hand, it loses air, we will have to dismantle the valves and check their O-rings. If it doesn't work, we will look for a puncture by submerging it inflated in water.
On rare occasions you can make a hole, if this is your case and the hole is small, use a glue called "Aquasure". If the hole is large, put a patch on it and secure the edges with this miraculous glue.
- The suit
Maintaining the suit is very simple, just wash it in fresh water and dry it in the shade (because of what has been said about the color and because it degenerates the quality of the neoprene), we just have to be especially careful with the zippers:To avoid future problems, we will put wax on them (miracle, I don't need to resort to Conan to take off my suit!). In case of breaks or cuts, there are neoprene glues on the market to repair them, which are very easy to use.
The suit must be kept completely dry to avoid fungus.
