DSix36
Well-Known Member
First off, let me say that nobody died and no animals were harmed in this adventure.
I was diving my trusty rEvo in a serious zero vis swim and was on my side (maybe a bit more on my back) when I realized that I had sank into the heavy clay silt on the bottom. I am not going into the details of the dive. I am only saying this much to let you understand the next paragraph better.
I never rinse my gear after a fresh water cave dive, but this time it was mandatory. I had clay packed into every little nook and cranny of my unit. It was difficult to tell what the damn thing was. I had let it soak overnight but the clay would not be easily removed. Every bit of it required scrubbing to get it removed. When I thought it was decently cleaned, I removed it from the water and let it drip dry a bit prior to putting on the bench for the usual tasks after a dive. A few days later I decided to get it ready for the installation of my HUD. When it was complete and I did a negative test, I was rather shocked to find that it held a very crappy test and failed instantly. This is a new thing for my rEvo and I was shocked. After much research and probing, I decided that it was leaking inside the case and further tear down was needed. The inside of the case looked like a mud pit and I decided that I would just gut the entire thing and sterilize the environment. Many hours later and several new o-rings later, my rEvo is once again trusty and holding a good negative.
I doubt that too many people will ever experience this kind of shet with their rEvo, but it is something to be aware of due to the design of the case and counterlungs. It is easy to get clay packed in the case, but not so easy to get it removed. Perhaps a better rinsing, done sooner would have prevented this problem; perhaps not.
I was diving my trusty rEvo in a serious zero vis swim and was on my side (maybe a bit more on my back) when I realized that I had sank into the heavy clay silt on the bottom. I am not going into the details of the dive. I am only saying this much to let you understand the next paragraph better.
I never rinse my gear after a fresh water cave dive, but this time it was mandatory. I had clay packed into every little nook and cranny of my unit. It was difficult to tell what the damn thing was. I had let it soak overnight but the clay would not be easily removed. Every bit of it required scrubbing to get it removed. When I thought it was decently cleaned, I removed it from the water and let it drip dry a bit prior to putting on the bench for the usual tasks after a dive. A few days later I decided to get it ready for the installation of my HUD. When it was complete and I did a negative test, I was rather shocked to find that it held a very crappy test and failed instantly. This is a new thing for my rEvo and I was shocked. After much research and probing, I decided that it was leaking inside the case and further tear down was needed. The inside of the case looked like a mud pit and I decided that I would just gut the entire thing and sterilize the environment. Many hours later and several new o-rings later, my rEvo is once again trusty and holding a good negative.
I doubt that too many people will ever experience this kind of shet with their rEvo, but it is something to be aware of due to the design of the case and counterlungs. It is easy to get clay packed in the case, but not so easy to get it removed. Perhaps a better rinsing, done sooner would have prevented this problem; perhaps not.
