Is my reg. free flowing?

Hey,
So I just went scuba diving today...and it was horrible. The visibility was 1 ft. The water was 55 F and I was in a 3 mm shortie (my fault I know); I did have gloves and boots and a hood on the way (I'll be getting a 7mm full soon). The waves were bashing me around like a popcorn kernel. And on top of all that, my reg was horrible and I kept switching between my main reg, and my Air2. All this to ask, whenever my reg was turned upside down in the water it would just free flow, is that normal. I know because its cold water its more likely to free flow. Also, on my reg on the side of it isnt a knob, but two little holes that look like you could stick something in it and twist it to adjust something, does anyone know what that is? The reg is a Dacor XP. Thanks for any help.

Both of my regs tend to free flow when left upside down in the water. Its not a good thing, but I think its fairly common.

Your regulator will provide gas when there is less pressure on diver's side of the diaphragm than on the other side. That is what happens when you inhale, it is also what happens when you partially immerse your regulator mouthpiece up. That's normal. It may also be normal as a new diver to be enthusiastic and go diving with what most would consider inadequate exposure protection. Only you can decide when you have had enough of that!

When tuned to my liking, all of my second stage regs will flow air when inverted. As Mr Carcharodon said, that's normal.

I'd recommend not trying to fix the issue by using "two little holes that look like you could stick something in it and twist it to adjust something." If you want to adjust the cracking pressure on your second stage, take it to a competent reg tech. Alternatively, you could learn how regs work and adjust it yourself.

Ok, thanks. I also noticed though that it was slightly harder to breathe underwater than what I expected. I took deep breaths and tried to control my breathing. Is there a way to adjust the reg to breathe a bit easier? And what is that knob thing on the side of the reg used to adjust, and by turning it which way adjusts it? Thanks again for your help.

Ok, it adjust cracking pressure. I'll look into that and try to learn more about how regs work and how to service/adjust them.

Also about exposure, I got cold wearing what I had, but mainly it was my head that was FREEZING. I have a 7mm hood in the mail as we speak. My gloves and boots are 5mm. And then my 3mm shortie...which although I'm going to be buying a 7mm full, my body didnt really get cold at all, even being a 3mm. I'm use to the cold and love cold things, so I do pretty well in it...just mainly my head, and that is going to be remedied very soon.