serpentara
Contributor
I did a deco dive yesterday, and much to my surprise/chagrin when I switched to my deco gas at 20 feet, my first breath was actually a mouth full of water! I checked to make sure the tank valve was all the way open and the reg was purged and I tried again. Same result. I took a breath, and instead got a mouth full of water.
My ~50 min deco dive using air and 80% ended up being a 99 min dive on air alone. Thank god for proper gas planning! Still scared the hell out of me.
When I got home I took the reg apart and discovered that the one way check valve that covers the exhaust port on the second stage had folded under itself. Normally this only lets air out the vents on the bottom of the regulator when you exhale, and stops water from flowing in when you inhale, creating a vacuum, which pulls the large membrane on the back of the reg triggering a release of gas from the first stage. In my case, because this check valve was open all I got was a mouth full of water that entered in through the vent and through the exhaust port. My only theory is that the valve folded up when I did my giant stride in. Since the deco regulator is vent down, water rushed in unrestricted, rolling up the check valve.
My question is, any way to fix or even test this at depth? I am diving an OC setup so I could in theory take a drag at my 20 ft bubble check to see that everything is functioning, but what would a re-breather person do? They shouldn't exactly go off the loop at the bubble check.
Is there any way to fix this at depth? Flow the regulator at an angle somehow?
My ~50 min deco dive using air and 80% ended up being a 99 min dive on air alone. Thank god for proper gas planning! Still scared the hell out of me.
When I got home I took the reg apart and discovered that the one way check valve that covers the exhaust port on the second stage had folded under itself. Normally this only lets air out the vents on the bottom of the regulator when you exhale, and stops water from flowing in when you inhale, creating a vacuum, which pulls the large membrane on the back of the reg triggering a release of gas from the first stage. In my case, because this check valve was open all I got was a mouth full of water that entered in through the vent and through the exhaust port. My only theory is that the valve folded up when I did my giant stride in. Since the deco regulator is vent down, water rushed in unrestricted, rolling up the check valve.
My question is, any way to fix or even test this at depth? I am diving an OC setup so I could in theory take a drag at my 20 ft bubble check to see that everything is functioning, but what would a re-breather person do? They shouldn't exactly go off the loop at the bubble check.
Is there any way to fix this at depth? Flow the regulator at an angle somehow?