Hose leaks

Howdy folks,


When I looked very closely at my submerged tanks, I noticed extremely small leaks. Some hoses leaked around the rubber-to-metal cramped connection. Some hoses showed bubbles on the hose surface. The leaks are small: each bubble is 1/64" if that. When I remove a bubble from the surface, another bubble forms very slowly. If I charge and close the valve, the leak may be 150-200 psi over 10 hours.





I never had any issues with these hoses, but I replaced the anyway. To my surprise, one of the new hoses showed exactly the same behavior - exceptionally small leaks. I suppose it is okay for OC recreational diving, but diving with these hoses overhead makes me nervous.



Have you done any tests like that? If so, what did you find?


Thank you!

Alot of small leaks like that esp in hp hoses resolve when u hit 10-20ft. Im not sayung do what i do but if theyre minor i see if they go away and mostly they do and I do the dive. It has happened alot with brand new hoses as well. It can be a tough call cuz per our training dont start a dive with a failure. But after years of cave diving I learned that so many of them resolve at depth very quickly I?m a little more comfortable with it than I used to be. I would say the majority of the hoses I?m referencing actually will do it one dive then the next 50 dives no bubbles.
Im treading lightly with my answer a little because I dont want it coming across to someone I?m saying ignore a leaky hose.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by rddvet

ignore a leaky hose.

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OMG HE SAID IGNORE A LEAKY HOSE.

Seems I always have issues with HP Spools... I now carry 3 or 4 spares in my kit.

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Originally Posted by twaldo

Seems I always have issues with HP Spools... I now carry 3 or 4 spares in my kit.

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I'm guessing you don't use spg boots. In 37 years of diving I've had one hp spool go bad.

As a technician, I'd guess 90% of the hp spools I replace are for divers who don't use spg boots.

I have a set of deep six spg?s that have bad machining and blow spool orings after 2 or 3 dives.
I have dive rite spg?s that have lasted years without needing replacements.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sludge

I'm guessing you don't use spg boots. In 37 years of diving I've had one hp spool go bad.

As a technician, I'd guess 90% of the hp spools I replace are for divers who don't use spg boots.

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How do the SPG boots protect the spools? General protection against impact? Limiting range of motion?

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Originally Posted by MORGAN

Limiting range of motion?

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Yes, it's the same way hose protectors keep the end of the hose (near the first stage) from bending.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sludge

I'm guessing you don't use spg boots.

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Nope... I HATE THEM... would rather replace spools than fight the boot to remove it.

I am with @twaldo: The first thing that I did on my SPGs was to remove the boots. Fighting them in the field is a pita, I'd rather place the spools. Also, I have had very few spool leaks. Most of the issues, as described here, were related to the crimps. When spools leak, you see bubbles. When crimps are bad you may not see big bubbles at all.. which was a part of my issues.

It helps to keep your SPG out of the mud....

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Originally Posted by fno

It helps to keep your SPG out of the mud....

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FAKE NEWS.... SPG boots do nothing to keep your SPG out of the mud.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fno

It helps to keep your SPG out of the mud....

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Or dont lollipop them cause its a poor choic even if edd swears by it.


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What is "lollipop?" in the above context?

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Originally Posted by mr_v

What is "lollipop?" in the above context?

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Top photo is lollipop'd SPG's, below and to the left is the way Rddvet would have everyone placing their SPG's

https://www.google.com/imgres?q=loll...CTgQM3oECGYQAA

Interesting. I put the SPGs as seen in the bottom left photo, i.e., flat against the tank. That's why I usually use 9" hoses. However, recently I've been using button SPGs with great success - no leaks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by twaldo

Top photo is lollipop'd SPG's, below and to the left is the way Rddvet would have everyone placing their SPG's

https://www.google.com/imgres?q=loll...CTgQM3oECGYQAA

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr_v

Interesting. I put the SPGs as seen in the bottom left photo, i.e., flat against the tank. That's why I usually use 9" hoses. However, recently I've been using button SPGs with great success - no leaks.

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Lollipopped valves are well known to get dug into silt and clay. There have been spots in places like peacock in wide open cave where you can clearly see an spg mark/drug through the bottom. I dove that way for a while after taking edd?s sm class 15 years ago. I quickly changed it because its ?fixing? a problem that doesnt exist which is being able to easily see your spg. A normal spg along the tank is not hard to use.
Im ok with a good cave diver who pays attention to their surroundings having lollipopped valves that never scrape bottom in wide open cave. Sadly we know there are a ton of people that have no business being in the caves due to either poor training/skills or being rusty. Lollipopped spgs are just too easy for a poor quality diver to drag the bottom by being clueless to their surroundings.


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For a devil's advocate position. Placing SPGs down along side the tank does expose them to a lot of flexing and unflexing of the hose to look at the valve, since you have to reach down and pull them up to view your pressure. In the process of bending down to view the spg you can pull the neck seal away from your neck, getting a dose of cold water. With "lollipopping" there are right and wrong ways to do it. The preferable way is to have the 1st high pressure port angled upward, and inward. The SPGs when pressurized will sit tight against your sternum (where they do CPR), and even in trim with metal gauges, they won't drop down,but stay tight against your chest- of course this depends on well mounted sidemount tanks. The advantage here is you can view both gauges at the same time, and once released they snap back in place, without undo flexing of the hose.

That?s how I was taught I don?t do my spgs that way anymore but for a specific reason. I never ran into any trouble


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kelly Jessop

For a devil's advocate position. Placing SPGs down along side the tank does expose them to a lot of flexing and unflexing of the hose to look at the valve, since you have to reach down and pull them up to view your pressure. In the process of bending down to view the spg you can pull the neck seal away from your neck, getting a dose of cold water. With "lollipopping" there are right and wrong ways to do it. The preferable way is to have the 1st high pressure port angled upward, and inward. The SPGs when pressurized will sit tight against your sternum (where they do CPR), and even in trim with metal gauges, they won't drop down,but stay tight against your chest- of course this depends on well mounted sidemount tanks. The advantage here is you can view both gauges at the same time, and once released they snap back in place, without undo flexing of the hose.

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All valid points. Thats why I said I?m ok with a conscientious cave diver having lollipopped valves. The problem is lollipops open up the potential for damage from questionable divers and since they dont really solve a huge problem, I think most people should avoid them.


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