Free Flowing Reg Procedure

[SolarStorm]

Ok, in my OW class we were taught how to breath from a free flowing reg. Good skill to teach.

But what seemed absent was this:

1. Reg starts to free flow. Had my buddy hold the purge.
2. Grabbed my alt reg, breath off of that.
3. Kink the Reg hose, probably bad for the hose, but wanted to try it. Air doesnt stop, but did slow considerable to small bubbles.

I tried this in a pool session, it isnt something I would want to repeat on my hoses, but it did seem to work. Is there a reason a procedure like this isnt taught? Did I just pork my reg or hose? Everything "looks" good still.

I suppose one could get water back into the hose. But I would rather breath and fix gear instead of potentially looking at the top of a pine box from the inside.

My basic theory is plan and practice for all emergencies and the amount of emergencies you encounter get greatly reduced.

 

[paddler3d]

I hear what you are saying.

When you get more training a more dives is you will learn what to do if you're 2nd begins to free flow and what to do if you 1st freezes.

The easiest things to do to prevent free flow are:

1. Use a good quality regulator that has been properly maintained, it may even need to be de-tuned.
2. If you're diving in cold water use a reg that is 'rated' for the cold water.
3. If you're reg has an adjustable 2nd stage adjust it so it doesn't make it too easy to breath.

There are tricks you can do under water. Hold the second with the mouthpiece down and whack it a few times. If that doesn't work it could be the 1st has frozen and the only way to correct that is to turn it off. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have the right gear, ie. doubles and pony bottles.

I'm pretty sure I'd not kink my hose. I think you just 'porked' your hose.

 

[SolarStorm]

Thanks, I will take my reg in to get the hose checked. It shows no marks, but... checking is probably cheap too.

 

[garyd54220]

I'm pretty sure I'd not kink my hose. I think you just 'porked' your hose.

Unlikely. Here in the Great lakes where cold water and free flows are not uncommon I've seen the hose kink method used on many occasions, usually just until the flow stops as you suggested. But....I have a buddy who used to have a Scubapro that was an habitual freeflow-er no matter what they tried (SP's do not like cold water, exceptions being the MK16 and 17). He would just kink it off and continue the dive, releasing the kink a bit when he wanted a breath. Not that I would recommend this as a permanent solution, just saying it never hurt the hose any.

Gary

 

[halocline]

Your hose is fine. (that's what she said...)It's designed to take 250PSI, believe me it can take getting kinked a little. What you tried, slowing the flow by kinking the hose, seems reasonable to me. Don't forget, though, that it's probably not very controllable, so it's still probably best to just "sip" off the mouthiece. That way you won't get air blasting down your throat in the event that the freeflow gets worse.

Most freeflows these days are 2nd stage issues, not 1st stage, with the exception of freeze-flows. However, if the freeflow is in fact caused by the 1st stage, either HP seat failure or freezing open, the hose-kinking will not do anything except force more air through the other LP connections. This could result in simultaneous freeflow from your octo and uncontrolled inflation of your BC.

If I were to ever encounter a sudden uncontrolled free-flow, one of the first things I would do is disconnect the LP inflator. It's not a bad idea to practice that, just like you practiced trying to stem the flow by kinking the hose.

 

[TSandM]

One of the most common causes of freeflow is a first stage failure (due to freezing or other cause) which delivers too high an intermediate pressure to the second stage. If this is what is happening, then if you kink the hose to the freeflowing regulator, the other may well begin to freeflow (or the pressure may blow out through your BC inflator, which is worse). A freeflow empties a tank FAST, so you don't have a lot of time to fiddle around with strategies underwater.

For me, getting on my buddy's gas supply is the first step, and initiating an ascent is the second. We can argue about whether to turn off the tank, but if you are confident in your ability to execute an air-sharing ascent with your buddy, turning off the tank accomplishes several useful things: It may allow the first stage to thaw, allowing the regulator to be used again (useful, for example, if you arrive at the surface to rough conditions). It prevents the tank from emptying and perhaps getting water in it, and at the very least requiring a new visual inspection. And it reduces the sound and visual chaos of the freeflow event, which decreases everybody's anxiety level.

 

[Notso_Ken]

1. Reg starts to free flow. Had my buddy hold the purge.
2. Grabbed my alt reg, breath off of that.
3. Kink the Reg hose, probably bad for the hose, but wanted to try it. Air doesnt stop, but did slow considerable to small bubbles.

I don't understand what you were doing with 1. Was that to simulate a free flow?

2. Why would you breathe off your octo when you have plenty of air coming our your primary? Now you got air going out both (unless it's the 1st stage flowing, then you've got air out both anyways). Breathe off the free flow and minimize air loss.

I don't like the kinking hose idea, they are not made to be readily flexible like that. I can't see it not being bad for it.

Despite all else you might do and try, remember that once you get a free flow, it's time to turn the dive and safely exit the water. Analyze what happened from the safety of shore or boat deck.


Ken

 

[SolarStorm]

My thoughts for the kink were to control the loss of air. And yes, simulating a 2nd stage free flow

I just thought it funny that we were only taught to breath from a free flow, then I thought, Hey? how about this other yellow thingy hear, it could probably be used as a spare for me as well as the OOA diver. I just wanted to see if there was a reason why it wasnt covered.

I just like plan for the emergencies so that I dont panic if one ensues. (Its worked for me as a pilot a couple of times.)

 

[SteveAD]

My thoughts for the kink were to control the loss of air. And yes, simulating a 2nd stage free flow

I just thought it funny that we were only taught to breath from a free flow, then I thought, Hey? how about this other yellow thingy hear, it could probably be used as a spare for me as well as the OOA diver. I just wanted to see if there was a reason why it wasnt covered.

I just like plan for the emergencies so that I dont panic if one ensues. (Its worked for me as a pilot a couple of times.)

Breathing off the freeflowing reg is taking advantage of air that is already flowing. If the freeflow is caused by an IP spike in the first stage (which is likely) then breathing from the octo may very well cause the octo to freeflow as well, accelerating your air loss.

 

[TBURKE]

I've only had one major free flow problem. I'm not counting a poorly adjusted regulator that creeps.
I stuck my tongue in the mouth piece to keep my cheeks from puffing out like a squirrel and headed back to the anchor line. When the tank was empty, I switched to my pony. I prefer a completely redundant air supply.