regulator question

[M.D.]

Hey everyone,
I'm very new to diving, in fact my first OW check dive is on Thursday. I recently bought a BC and reg kit and was practicing in my pool today. I geared up and jumped in, but I failed to put enough air in my BC and sank down a few feet. At this point my reg started releasing air like crazy and I lost about 500 psi before I surfaced. Is that what free-flow is? I don't recall going over that in class, and I haven't had a chance to talk to the LDS owner to ask him. The gear is all brand new, and everything seemed to be hooked up alright. I'm not exactly sure why that happened. The regulator in question is a Genesis Atlas. There's a pre-dive/dive switch on it and it was in the dive position. Thoughts/suggestions? Thanks.

Mike

 

[H2Andy]

yup, that's exactly what a free flow is

usually, you can cure it by turning the reg "face down" so that the valve faces
down. if that doesn't do it, tapping the mouthpiece towards the middle can do it.
finally, you can "slap" the back of the reg with your hand, or hold the reg in one
hand and "whack it" (gently) into your other hand

hopefully one of those will take care of the problem

 

[Gary D.]

Is that what free-flow is? I don't recall going over that in class

Mike

Double check you notes, other students and book. If you didn't get that information in class I'd be wondering what else you missed out on. Any instructior worth a grain of sand should have covered that very basic information.

Gary D.

 

[M.D.]

Thanks guys,
Yeah, seems like we should have gone over that in class, what if that happened to me at a significant depth? Thinking about it now, my safe second was clipped into my BC with the mouthpiece facing up, so that's probably why it was free-flowing when I dropped in.

 

[spectrum]

Thanks guys,
Yeah, seems like we should have gone over that in class, what if that happened to me at a significant depth? Thinking about it now, my safe second was clipped into my BC with the mouthpiece facing up, so that's probably why it was free-flowing when I dropped in.

I was mentioned in passing during our lecture but not directly reinforced in the pool. After a while everyone got reminded as their regulator sputtered on the surface when we just let it drop on the water.

It's a by product of the delicate setting that lets you breathe effortlessly. Just a few inches of water column pressure differential will initiate flow. Your alternate second stage is less prone to this because it adjusted to breathe with a little more resistance, so it should only flow on request unless you pop it just the right way. Try breathing from both second stages, you should be able to feel the difference.

Pete

 

[Marek K]

Thanks guys,
Yeah, seems like we should have gone over that in class, what if that happened to me at a significant depth? Thinking about it now, my safe second was clipped into my BC with the mouthpiece facing up, so that's probably why it was free-flowing when I dropped in.

Hi M.D.--

Yeah, assuming you had your primary in your mouth when you jumped in, that's exactly what happened... A good second stage will tend to free-flow right at the surface when not in your mouth, particularly when the mouthpiece is up and the demand valve gets opened for some reason -- because of the pressure difference between the mouthpiece opening, and the diaphragm which is an inch or two deeper.

Your valve probably opened when the purge button got depressed by hitting the water -- that would have initiated the free-flow, which then kept, well, free-flowing as long as the mouthpiece was facing up.

Like H2Andy said (or meant to say ), the simplest way to stop a free-flow is to simply turn the free-flowing second stage so the mouthpiece is down. Works just about every time, at least with a free-flow at the surface.

In order to lose 500 psi, I think it must have taken you quite a while before you got your BC inflated and were calmed down enough to note and stop the free-flow. It takes me several minutes to go down that much, even when I'm purging on purpose (like when I need to do a 500-psi weight check at the end of a dive).

Free-flows seldom happen at depth -- at least free-flows caused by the pressure difference keeping the second-stage valve open, like happened to you. That's why you (should have -- PADI?) learned to breath from a free-flowing regulator. And that would be the time to signal to your buddy that both of you need to surface immediately, and that you may be about to need some share-air assistance.

--Marek

 

[jcm996]

Free flows will commonly happen at depth if you dive in cold water. Unless you have an environmental kit.

But the other thing is if you are not using the regulator, put the switch in the pre-dive setting. You can still actually use it, but it makes it real hard to draw off of. Just remember to switch it to dive when you are going to use it.

 

[M.D.]

Yeah, assuming you had your primary in your mouth when you jumped in, that's exactly what happened...

Yes, my primary was in my mouth.

Like H2Andy said (or meant to say ), the simplest way to stop a free-flow is to simply turn the free-flowing second stage so the mouthpiece is down. Works just about every time, at least with a free-flow at the surface.

Alright, I do remember that from class actually. We never really went over it though, I just figured out that was how to stop it when surfaced. What might be the proper way of securing my safe second to my BC? Considering the way the hoses contour, it doesn't seem as if I would clip in nicely facing it down.

In order to lose 500 psi, I think it must have taken you quite a while before you got your BC inflated and were calmed down enough to note and stop the free-flow. It takes me several minutes to go down that much, even when I'm purging on purpose (like when I need to do a 500-psi weight check at the end of a dive).

Yeah, it did take me quite a bit to surface and figure out what was going on. I rushed too much getting in and didn't calmly think about how to fix the situation.

That's why you (should have -- PADI?) learned to breath from a free-flowing regulator. And that would be the time to signal to your buddy that both of you need to surface immediately, and that you may be about to need some share-air assistance.

I went through ACUC (American Canadian Underwater Council--I'm not very sure how many people are certified through them, but they've been around quite a while). We did not practice breathing off a free-flow, but we did go over the different buddy breathing techniques.

Thanks Marek, and everyone who responded. I love this site, everyone is so helpful. Not to mention the diving community in general.

- Mike

 

[ScubaThor]

In order to lose 500 psi, I think it must have taken you quite a while before you got your BC inflated and were calmed down enough to note and stop the free-flow. It takes me several minutes to go down that much, even when I'm purging on purpose (like when I need to do a 500-psi weight check at the end of a dive).



--Marek

If I remember correctly, you'll lose 500 psi free-flowing in about 30 seconds....

 

[ScubaBabe22]

If I remember correctly, you'll lose 500 psi free-flowing in about 30 seconds....

Thats what my instructor said...and practice breathing from a free-flow!