Regulator free flow... share air?

[WaterFox]

I was out diving recently and my buddy's octo started to free flow and wouldn't stop. We were coming back and only in about 6 feet of water so we just basically stood up and surfaced and ended the dive there.

But what if this happened at say 60 feet instead of 6 feet? I feel almost embarrassed that I'm asking this, but what to do in a situation like this was not covered in my OW class by the instructor. Instructor just said this a free flowing reg, here's how you breathe off it. Obviously you would end the dive at this point and make a safe ascent with your buddy to the surface. But should my buddy continue to breathe off his own reg while his octo is freeflowing, or should he share air with me. If share air is the answer, do you let the reg continue to freeflow or do you turn off the air?

So gets me thinking about another situation and question. What if your primary reg starts to freeflow. Do you breathe from your freeflowing reg like you practiced in OW class, switch to your octo, or share air with your buddy?

If this was in the PADI open water manual, I apologize. If someone could point me to which section I can go back a reread.

 

[Anti-Hero]

Just breath off the free-flowing reg, and make a controlled ascent. Allowing the octo to free-flow and breathing off the primary will just use air faster.

 

[String]

Breathing from a free flowing reg should be taught as part of every entry level course. You breathe off it whilst ascending in a controlled manner. If it runs out during this ascent then switch to buddys AS.

 

[Web Monkey]

Just breath off the free-flowing reg, and make a controlled ascent. Allowing the octo to free-flow and breathing off the primary will just use air faster.

I would add that you should grab your buddy and have him/her ascend with you, since it's possible that you'll run out of air before reaching the surface. Assuming your buddy doesn't freak out, sharing air once you run out is much safer than bolting towards the surface.

If you think your buddy might not be able to handle safely sharing air to the surface, or might not have enough air left to share, now would be a good time to go over gas planning and practice sharing air.

Depending on how much air is in your tank and your regulator's maximum flow rate, you could have any where from a few seconds to a few minutes of air left, so it's good to have your buddy nearby.

Terry

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Kink the hose. If the problem is only in the octo, it should stop or reduce the flow to a point where you can make a normal ascent.

 

[theskull]

The PADI answer would be to breathe the free flowing reg while ascending, because it assumes that your buddy will not be prepared to competently share air with you during your ascent. . . and you SHOULD be prepared for this since it may be true of your buddy.

However, if I were with a trusted buddy rather than an insta-buddy or student, I would much prefer to share his air and turn off my freeflowing reg. That insures that I have plenty of air for a normal ascent plus safety stop.

theskull

 

[Web Monkey]

But what if this happened at say 60 feet instead of 6 feet? I feel almost embarrassed that I'm asking this, but what to do in a situation like this was not covered in my OW class by the instructor.

Great question!

Just as a general point, if you and your buddy stick together and both of you maintain enough reserve air, you can handle pretty much any out-of-air failure the same way: by sharing air and doing a normal ascent to the surface.

Some instructors are so intent on teaching the required skills that they neglect to mention why/when they might be used.

Terry

 

[Garrobo]

Bend the hose of the bad regulator and cinch it with the tie-wrap that you carry for just such emergencies. Then breathe off of your other reg or use your buddy's octo or share air with him/her. Go to surface in a normal manner. Huh?

 

[Arizona]

Were you diving in the CA area? I gather it did not freeze up. Your buddy could have switched to your octo and tried banging the reg that was free flowing to stop if his/her air ran low. Turning it down towards the bottom will help as well if positioned upwards. Did it stop once you surfaced? I would also have it adjusted. This is not an uncommon situation and I recommend you practice breathing from a free flow reg in a pool.

You never should go below 50 bar for just this sort of reason. The extra air is for your buddy.


Thanks for sharing,

Arizona

 

[captndale]

Kink the hose. If the problem is only in the octo, it should stop or reduce the flow to a point where you can make a normal ascent.

A freeflowing second stage will always cause icing and freeflowing of the first stage very quickly. If you are able to kink the hose on one second stage the other second stage will then freeflow to relieve the pressure. If you could kink that hose, one of them would rupture.