Taking care of regulator hoses

[Twintank]

How do you take care of your regulator hoses?

I found out that they never really get dry inside during a whole diving season and fear bacteria and other “life” comes up inside the exhaust side after some time of use. Moisture in combination with human salvia may be a good hotbed for all kinds of bacteria.

This is how I try to solve the problem. After every dive I dismount the exhaust hose from the mouth piece and rinse it inside with flowing water. Then I squeeze the hose length wise to press remaining water out. It’s surprising to see how much water comes out then. This procedure is repeated once or twice.
The regulator is stored with open hose ends hanging downwards until the next dive.
Because they never really dry inside, I clean them once a month by using a round shaped bottle brush with a crank at its end.
This works even better when using a slow rotating hand drill to turn the brush. A second person has to help then. This is not dangerous when using a battery operated drill.
After the diving season is over both hoses are dismounted and hung up with open ends at a radiator to make sure they dry inside. This can take a whole week!
During winter I store them in the dark, conserved with some talcum powder. It is very important to clean the hose from talcum powder before using it again! Talcum powder is dangerous for human lungs.

Does anyone know more about this problem?

Dan told me that this is one of the reasons why double hose regulators where not used by the US Navy any more.

How do they keep modern rebreather hoses clean nowadays?


Twintank

[luis]

Re-breathers have a much bigger problem because you are circulating your exhaust. They use disinfectants that are safe to use with the rubber hoses and they tend to disinfect there hoses frequently (like after each diving weekend). I got some of that disinfectant, but haven’t gotten around to using it. I will try looking for it this evening and posting the name. I think it can be expensive.

I make sure not to switch my exhaust and inhale hose…I am mostly hoping that nothing will grow in the intake side.

I do clean my hoses occasionally with a bottle brush.

After each dive day I remove the hose assembly and flush the hoses with plenty of fresh water. Then I try to get as much of the water out and hang them with one end open.

Sometimes I dry them by flowing air through them. I made a set up with a blower to run fresh air through the hoses. This seems to totally dry them.

[YankDownUnder]

Twin tank,

I think you do much more than most of us. The inhalation side of your regulator has clean dry air blowing through it and the exhaust side has water going through it. It is not as big a problem as many people think. I have a large tub that I carry in my car when I dive. All of my gear goes into the tub. When I get home, I fill the tub with fresh water and I use a wet suit cleaning soap. You can use a small amount of dish washing soap, or a cleaner like Simple Green. After verything is washed, it is rinsed with a hose. I fully submerge the regulator and flush the hoses. Everything is dried in the shade before it is stored away. BCD cleaner is also good as it has an anti-bacteria subtance in it. Everything is then put back in the tub and stored away, without a top so any remaning moisture can escape. Because our double hose regulators are usually vintage, it is a good idea to do as you have been doing, but silicone hoses won't be as much of a problem as the originals. I would suggest you put your original hoses away and use the silicone ones. Original good hoses are of great value to the collector and it is best to preserve them. Silicone works best in practical use.

A friend at Drager suggested that I soak my regulators over night, just at I would a rebreather. The soaking removes the salt deposits where rinsing does not reach. Salt harms equipment in two ways, it causes corrosion and is an abrasive as well.

Rebreathers are stored in pieces, and never kept assembled. They have tests which must be conducted before each use. The scrubber cannot be left full because the filler is caustic. The O rings should be lubricated each time they are used because of the filler. I have four rebreathers and each one is stored disassembled, clean, dry and lightly lubricated. I also spray them with a silicone spray.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[nemrod]

I remove the exhaust hose after a dive or dive trip before putting away and wash it and dry it. I might use diluted mouthwash. I have found my new silicone hoses less prone to odiferous manifestations of bacteria or fungi or mold. In fact, I might pull both hoses nd clean and dry. If I am away on a trip I do not find the need to clean between dives, just before storage. I suppose if I lived where I could dive regularly as I once did I might pull the hoses routinely and clean.

I do not believe that pure, medical grade, asbestos free talc is dangerous.

Silicone hoses rock!

Nem

[time2dive]

Every once in a while I will soak my hoses in a 10% bleach solution. Similar to what I use for mouthpieces and CPR masks and manikins.
We have a muffler on our fill station that is the same size as the hoses, so I will blow the hoses out with the compressor air.

Tim

[SeaRat]

This has been covered a few times, but I'll add a couple of thoughts. I don't wash out the hoses enough, probably (about once a year). I use soap and water presently, but there is a disinfectant solution in the 1970 U.S. Navy Diving Manual. I'll post that when I have time. I have not had problems with stuff growing in the hoses, but have checked it out from time to time. It usually happens close to the mouthpiece, and by placing my finger inside the hose, and rubbing hard into the convolutions, you can find out whether it is dirty or not (slimy, black, etc.). If it is, then take that bottle brush to it.

The U.S. Navy became concerned in the late 1969s when some of their UDT people came down with lung infections. In the U.S. Navy School for Underwater Swmmmers, we disassembled the regs after each dive, and submerged the hose/mouthpiece systems in a disinfectant solution for a while (15 minutes, at least), then rinsed them out and reassembled them for the next day's diving.

One thing I do that I haven't heard mentioned is to take the hoses completely off the regulator and mouthpiece, and after washing and rinsing (putting the water into the hoses until it comes out clear), I work to get the water out of the hoses. I go outside, and swing them with my arm around in a circle. The centripital force will remove most of the water from the hose, even the superstretch hoses (as they tend to stretch out), and you can see it on the patio or sidewalk surface. Then let them dry completely before assembling.

John