What is a wet regulator?

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Paco

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At the risk of appearing ignorant, I just had to finally ask the question. What makes a reg wet? I've read a bit about regulator performance and have read that some are wet or are wet when inverted. Does that mean that water gets into the reg? How can that be? Perhaps it's that simple? Can anyone clarify this?

Thanks.
 
Paco once bubbled...
At the risk of appearing ignorant, I just had to finally ask the question. What makes a reg wet? I've read a bit about regulator performance and have read that some are wet or are wet when inverted. Does that mean that water gets into the reg? How can that be? Perhaps it's that simple? Can anyone clarify this?

Thanks.

Its that simple.
 
does it get in through the purge valve?
 
The diaphragm is a one-way valve intended to allow exhaled gas to be exhausted into the water while preventing the water from entering the regulator - and your mouth. A "wet" regulator is one that allows water to pass the diaphragm into your mouth. Typically this will only happen when the diaphragm is fouled by a piece of crud or when the diaphragm is placed in a unusual operating position, such as upside down.

Many regulators will allow a small amount of water to enter the breathing chamber with each breath, however your orientation means that the water stays in the chamber and is expelled on the next exhalation.

Only rarely do recreational divers have a problem with a regulator breathing wet, but it can happen. It's not usually a flood of water, more like an obnoxious drip, but it can be aggravating as all get out. If you want to experiment, next dive try carefully rolling over on your back while breathing and see if you don't end up with a little water in your mouth. Be careful, you don't want to choke, but there's a pretty good chance you can make it happen to some extent.

Steven
 
Thanks for taking the time to educate me, Steven. It all makes perfect sense to me now.

Paco
 
It is probably that the exhaust diaphram is allowing some water in as it reseals after an exhale. In some positions, gravity may also be working to hold the exhaust valve open too long. In normal body positions, the exhaust diaphram is at the bottom of the reg and small amounts of water that may have leaked in collect around the diaphram and are out of the way of the airway. Thus they are not inhaled and are expelled each time you exhale. When you get things upside down, The water is not expelled and shortly builds up to the point where it is picked up in the flowing gas as you breath.

In that some regulators seem to have no problem with wet breathing, I see this as a design flaw in those that do have the problem. While it is a flaw that most divers can live with, why should you have to?
 
hi there,

in the case of a failed reg - as in the the lever inside a diaphragm reg is spoilt......will it automatically result in a free-flow reg??

how can we tell if we are on land prior to the dive??

thanks!!!:)
 
Pardon me for being picky but the terminologly is driving me crazy. The purge valve has nothing to do with wet breathing it isn't really even a valve its just a button that operates the same demand valve that you are breathing through.

the diaprhagm and the exhaust valve are two entirely differnt things unless you are using some messed up joker like the Air One or Poseidon which combine the two with less that happy results. The diaphragm is sealed all around the edges and should not leak unless things are seriously screwed up the exhaust valve is round too but technically its a mushroom valve not a diaprhrmgm. OK you could call say that the exhaust valve is also a diaphram because its round and rubber but then so is a basketball and by the common difinition it isn't an anyway why confuse things unecessarily. Otherwise you are correct the exhaust valve is the most common cause of a reg being wet and the side breathers with combined diaprhagm exhaust valves the worst of all. As far as wet breathing being a design flaw trade off might be a better description wet breathing regs often have other virtues the designer feels makes it acceptable.


various people once bubbled...


does it get in through the purge valve?

The diaphragm is a one-way valve intended to allow exhaled gas to be exhausted into the water while preventing the water from entering the regulator - and your mouth.
 
DNAXdiver once bubbled...
the diaprhagm and the exhaust valve are two entirely differnt things unless you are using some messed up joker like the Air One or Poseidon which combine the two with less that happy results.

Hi there
Two things
What is wrong the Poseidon Regs? The Jet Streams are one of, if not the best deep regs on the market, and I will take them above most others.

Secondly, can you please use a spell checker before posting on here, I have never seen so many spelling mistakes in one post
 

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