torque on first stage

[franksrq]

when attaching HP and LP hoses to a first stage is there any specific amount of torgue one should exert? should i crank in down as hard as i can with a wrench, or is there a specific procedure to hooking all this stuff up?

[ianr33]

Finger tight plus a bit. Maybe 1/16th of a turn.

[Capt Hook]

Regs are chrome plated brass, a soft metal; do not crank down on them.

[Texas_Aggie06]

i'm glad i saw this thread. i have an octo on the way, and i was wondering the same thing. i knew not to crank down, but i didn't know if it was torque specific.

[ReefHound]

There may be a specific torque but I've never had a problem with the "finger tight plus a tad" method. In fact, finger tight alone is enough to seal and I've done that in the garage at times, but better to snug it down so you don't have to worry about it slowly working loose.

[CompuDude]

Yup. Don't want to deform the metal, or squash your o-rings to the point that they can't do their job.

[franksrq]

thanks a lot. i got a new console coming and i think i'm almost cool enough now to put it on myself.
what about grease? should i put some silicone on there? if silicone goes on that o-ring, how often should i take my second stages off and grease those o-rings?

[mm2002]

Not that I'm extremely SCUBA experienced, but I do build cars and install a lot of AC systems, etc. The objective of the grease isn't to seal anything, but it's to lubricate the o-ring, reducing the friction that happens when tightening it down so you don't tear it or anything. Removal and re-lubrication is not needed as a maintenance procedure, just on initial assembly.

[cyclone]

Yep, finger tight plus a little bit of pressure. One technique that I use is, I hold my wrench very close to the nut so when I tightened it only enough pressure is created.

[superkingkong]

Hey, if the manual says the torque is about 100-120lbs. how hard should i turn it?

is there a specific tool to calculate the torque? ... thanks