A quality ice diving regulator can cost upward of $1000, depending quality, brand, and features. Once you’ve chosen your primary and secondary ice diving regulators, it’s vital that you keep them well maintained – not just for your own safety, but to keep them working well for as many ice diving seasons as possible. Here are some important tips for maintaining the regulators you use for ice diving.
Keep Your Regulators in Top Form: Maintenance Tips to Remember
Using and maintaining ice diving regulators isn’t difficult. Make the following activities part of your routine.
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Remember to clean your regulator before and after each and every dive.
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Keep your regulator warm and dry when it is not in use.
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Be sure to dry off the dust cap before you attach your regulator.
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Open your cylinder valve slightly prior to mounting the regulator. Do not forget to blow any moisture out of the orifice. Moisture might not cause problems under normal diving circumstances; because it can freeze, it is almost guaranteed to cause a problem that leads to an emergency or simply causes you to abort your dive.
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When blowing moisture away from the unit, be sure that you hold the first stage above the second stage.
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Wait as long as possible to breathe through your regulator in freezing weather. Test it quickly, then avoid breathing through it again until after you are submerged.
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When testing your regulator in cold weather, wait to exhale until after you’ve removed it from your mouth. This will prevent you from causing the second stage to freeze.
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When you remove your regulator after your dive, do so carefully to ensure that ice and water do not inadvertently enter the filter.
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When rinsing your regulator after ice diving, protect it by simply rinsing without pressing the purge button.
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Be absolutely sure that you remove any excess water from the second stage before you hang it up to dry. If at all possible, hang your regulators up in a warm, dry place after diving, whether you plan to dive again soon or not.
Remember that it’s vital to carry a backup regulator you can use in the event your primary regulator freezes or goes into free flow. If you have an emergency with your primary regulator, you will need to turn off the valve that leads to it in order to get the free flow to stop. In addition, you will need to abort your dive, as you will no longer have access to a second regulator.
Anticipating potential problems that could occur while you’re beneath the ice and addressing them ahead of time can prevent regulator failure, the panic that is likely to ensue when a problem occurs, and the potential for a fatal ice diving accident. Remember to have your regulators serviced regularly and above all, take no chances. Taking some extra time to keep your ice diving regulator in good condition keeps you safe and helps you protect your investment in top-quality equipment.