Dealing with a free flowing stage 2 reg

[slackercruster]

Some say to pull reg halfway out your mouth. Another person said to stick you tongue into the outlet to block the air.

What's the best method to deal with this problem? (Providing you don't have a backup reg / octopus handy).

 

[redacted]

I take it in my hand and hold it in my mouth as loosely as possible, if I can, and continue to breath as I ascend. If the freeflow is so severe that I can't hold the reg loosely in my mouth, I pull it outward and sidewards until I can hold it reasonably comfortably and continue to breath from the stream of bubbles as I ascend. If the freeflow bubbles are more than you can tolerate, then going to an alternate may help but it just uses gas that much faster. Plus, it could also start your alternate to freeflowing and drastically increase the consumption rate.

Freeflowing reg is a good thing to practice at the end of dives occasionally so you can handle it comfortably. It is a great way to use excess gas quickly.

 

[RonFrank]

How is it possible that you don't have a backup handy? :blinking:

This is a drill they teach in OW, or at least they did in mine.

Use excess gas quickly? Absolutely, so fast that you better be heading to the surface if you practice this drill even from 20'.

 

[Codyjp]

How is it possible that you don't have a backup handy? :blinking:

This is a drill they teach in OW, or at least they did in mine.

Use excess gas quickly? Absolutely, so fast that you better be heading to the surface if you practice this drill even from 20'.

Not your buddies air? Or are we talking about solo diving?

 

[elan]

Some say to pull reg halfway out your mouth. Another person said to stick you tongue into the outlet to block the air.

I do not believe you can hold a pressure of 10 atm with your tongue Just hold it hte way comfortable to you so that the excess air has a path to escape, otherwise it will end up in your lungs and stomach.

Do not bother with the octo/backup reg unless they are connected to a different 1st stage. By that time the 1st stage would probably be frozen as well and the octo would start free flowing once you start breathing from it. Just signal your buddy to come up and start surfacing normally - you would still have some time to do it.

 

[knotical]

I haven't dived without an alternate in decades, and will not. So I'd simply switch to my alternate and block the air hole of the offending second stage with my thumb.

But for argument's sake, if my alternate had magically disappeared and I had a free flow, I'd keep the upper part of the mouthpiece under my upper lip and continue breathing. I'd remove my second occasionally to see if I could fix it by tapping it, purging it, or by shoving my thumb in the air hole. I'd likely abort the dive.

 

[knotical]

Do not bother with the octo/backup reg unless they are connected to a different 1st stage. By that time the 1st stage would probably be frozen as well and the octo would start free flowing once you start breathing from it.

But wouldn't that depend on the cause of the freeflow and/or how long it had been flowing?

 

[redacted]

Shoving your thumb (or tongue) in the hole will simply route more of the freeflowing gas through the exhaust valve. You might get away with partially decreasing the flow through the mouthpiece in this way enough to keep the reg in your mouth, but I would not count on it. Try it in practice and see.

 

[Lee Taylor]

If underwater (or on the surface), hold the regulator with the mouthpiece face down. Shake it violently in an up and down motion. The free flow will stop, unless:

1. The manually adjustable air flow control on the regulator is open too much. (close it some)

2. The pressure setting in the first stage (the part on top of the tank) is set too high. Have it adjusted.

If not underwater, turn the air off.

 

[elan]

But wouldn't that depend on the cause of the freeflow and/or how long it had been flowing?

Definitely it will , as well as on the water temperature end a bunch of other factors, it might be the matter of terms. May be it's just because I do not call that accidental hit of the diaphragm which can be fixed with the thumb a free-flow. And I suppose that the dive/predive switch is also in a reasonable position. But if it cannot be fixed with very simple steps mentioned above I would not probably care about the rest and just surface.