Free flow disaster! Help!

[Aquabot]

It's unfortunate that things did not go well, but you and your instructor certainly managed the situation well. If we can get you warm and comfortable, you are going to be a model diver!

Diving is a gear intensive sport. The good times we have and our safety is dependent upon our gear and our training. You seem to have the training in control, but your gear needs some closer inspection.

Yes, you need to get a dry suit that fits and does not leak if you are going to be diving in cold water. Zippers and seals are the usual culprits. You have to make sure your seals are the right size for you, which can be very difficult with a rental suit. And your zipper has to be in good working order and properly closed. Sounds like you got that sorted out on the second dive.

It wasn't mentioned if your regulator was a rental or your own. If you own that regulator, you will want to have it looked at. The first stage might fail in one of two ways- if it is not a cold water, environmentally sealed regulator, condensation in the air can freeze and the regulator will fail open. This over pressures the second stage and causes a free flow. The other way the first stage can cause a free flow is if it simply is not maintained. Over time, the first stage may detune and settle at a higher intermediate pressure, causing the second stage to free flow.

Less likely is that the second stage is set with a very light cracking pressure and simply free flows. But this kind of free flow is fairly easy to stop unless the regulator is very badly out of tune. Alternately, if you were using a tech regulator with all knobs, but if you own one of those, you would have read the manual

Bottom line is this- If you are going diving in cold water, your regulator set needs to be a cold water regulator set, and it needs to be properly maintained.

Chloe, you are absolutely correct. You will learn to sort this stuff out underwater on your own. And you also seem to understand how very important it is that buddies stay close together.

Get that gear checked and come out to California to dive in the kelp with us!

I love watching those videos if folks diving in kelp, it's straight out amazing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[driftwood]

Chloe,

I would say you passed the biggest test in becoming a scuba diver, not just a person certified to dive.

As things were going to Hell in a hand basket, you didn't panic.

If things don't work out at home, it's only two days for the referral. I would tell my instructor all about the cold and free flows.

 

[BluewaterSail]

Good for you on handling the cold and the free flows without shooting to the surface or quitting! There is surely a diver within you, who is being held back by unfortunate circumstances. Your experiences would have done in a lesser soul!

Good idea to finish the cert dives in warm water once you get to the Caribbean. Without a functioning drysuit, it's dangerous to continue in your local cold waters. You can deal with the specific training for cold water after you return home from your trip.

 

[Aquabot]

Good for you on handling the cold and the free flows without shooting to the surface or quitting! There is surely a diver within you, who is being held back by unfortunate circumstances. Your experiences would have done in a lesser soul!

Good idea to finish the cert dives in warm water once you get to the Caribbean. Without a functioning drysuit, it's dangerous to continue in your local cold waters. You can deal with the specific training for cold water after you return home from your trip.

On the brighter side these very same circumstance can make the individual a better diver having experienced it. Anyways I think it's safe too say we are all rooting for you here and wish you luck !!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Quero]

Hey Chloe, thanks for posting your experience. I'm really glad that the feedback you're getting here is helping you get past your frustration and confusion. First of all, kudos to you for keeping calm to the extent that you did while you were having your problems. Next, free-flow is not uncommon in cold water diving, so it's good that you develop some strategies for dealing with it. For one thing, did you think of going to your own alternate when your primary started free-flowing? Here is what I consider to be a very clear and helpful document about free-flows:

British Diving Safety Group: Guidance on Free Flow Regulators in Cold Water

As for the dry suit, I dive in warm water 99.9% of the time, so while I have drysuit training, I don't own a drysuit and rent when I'm going to be diving in cold water. Once one of my rentals leaked in the zipper over my tummy and my entire undergarment was so soaked that it dripped, needed to be wrung out, and took 6 hours in the clothes drier to be usuable again. I was frozen, so I know what you mean. If you aren't warm before a dive, you will definitely not warm up during the dive. This happens even in tropical locations in water that is 30°C, so imagine how much more pronounced if you are in a cool climate with cold water to cope with. If you get overly chilled during a dive, do more than just change into dry clothing. Get into a car and turn on the heat; and make sure to get your head/hair dry as well. Hypothermia is a real and dangerous condition. By getting back in the water already chilled, you were starting out at a disadvantage, even without the regulator free-flow problem. It's probably just as well that you did have the free-flow early in the dive so that you weren't tempted to just push through your shivering to get the dive over and done with.

Finally, you mention choking on lake water. If you are still experiencing tightness in your chest, go get looked at by a doctor to make sure you didn't inhale enough water to irritate your lungs or even to cause an infection.

 

[TSandM]

Chloe, read the journal of my open water class (link in my sig line). I flooded, got hypothermic, choked . . . and it is to this day a puzzlement to me why I ever got back in Puget Sound, someplace I didn't want to dive to begin with.

Figure out why you got soaked. Either the suit leaked, or the seals don't fit. Whatever it is, do not go back in cold water in that suit until the problem is resolved. It IS possible to dive a dry suit that doesn't leak at all, and you'd be surprised how warm you can stay. On the other hand, even in superb undergarments, it's hard to stay comfortable if you are really wet.

Also talk to the shop that issued you the gear about the freeflow. Sometimes regulators have problems. First stages can get out of adjustment, or second stages can get grit in them.

Being really tired when you have been that cold is pretty normal. Even to this day, if I get badly chilled on a dive, I'm going to be a tired puppy that evening.

Good luck to you, and don't give up on cold water. Come back and let us know how it goes.

 

[Badge353]

You did fine. You didn't panic and head for the surface. I will tell you my OW dive two story on mask removal and clear. I was in cold water flooded my mall and removed it. The cold water immediately tried a gap reflex. I inhaled a small amount of water. Not able to get a full breath and not cough I fought through it and was able to catch my breath and cleared the mask completing the task.

I still felt a little dejected and talked to the instructor after. His words were you did fine, you fought through the problem without panicking and bolting for the surface. Sounds like you did the same thing and handled it well for only a second dive.

 

[farsidefan1]

Now you understand why I'm so proud to be a "warm water wuss" Congratulations on handling your challenges. While diving the Caribbean you will (I hope) dive a TON. You could easily return with a couple hundred dives and be totally relaxed underwater. Then adding the drysuit should be a piece of cake (but understand that I write this as a tropical diver. I haven't worn a 7 mill since my certification dives in a D*%%* lake. Nonetheless with lots of dives comes experience to STOP THINK ACT because in that time you will see lot's of stuff that you will need to react to. Oh, and I second reading Lynne's history. It encourages everyone who reads it that with practice and diligence we can all become competent (Lynne, I seriously mean that as a compliment, you are my hero). Her handle is TsandM.

 

[chloe_blackman]

Okay so today I went back to the lake to retry my second open water dive (and it was snowing!). My instructors gave me a neck bio-seal to try and solve the leakage problem and also hooked me up with a different set of regs. Although the seal didn't stop the leaks altogether I found when I took off my drysuit it was only my limbs which were soaked through rather than my torso so this helped significantly reduce the problem if not altogether get rid of it. However, when I first descended into the water and knelt on a platform my regulator instantly went into free flow AGAIN so I grabbed my alternate and cleared it by exhaling sharply so was fine if not a little shaken. My instructor sorted the free flow and we carried on with the dive. I did a couple of skills on a platform and immediately afterwards my reg went back into free flow. Again I dealt with it okay but it still spooked me so we ascended and I got out the water to warm up for a bit. My instructor said he could hear that I was breathing heavily and that this was the cause of the problem and not the regulator so I have decided to complete my open water dives in Mexico and build up experience in warmer waters for the three months I am there, hopefully improving my breathing technique, until I contemplate such a cold dive again. Ultimately I feel if I force myself to finish the open water dives in an environment in which I am so uncomfortable it may put me off diving for good which is the last thing I want to happen. Going to build up to it steadily Thank you again for all the replies, made me feel like I'm just making a sensible decision rather than 'chickening out'.

 

[mantajohn]

ChLoe

as a fellow uk cold water diver, can I echo those people who have complemented you on how well you have coped with this. I'm guessing you we're at stoney or vobster.

i quailed at stoney one April. My course included a free flow that took me feet first to the surface. You had great presence of mind to stay so calm and controlled with all the free flows.

it is beyond sane to dive in uk inland lakes in a leaky dry suit in February. As others have said, you will never get warm again once the leaks start.

a uk referral followed by Mexico diving, then a dry suit course when you are back in uk sounds a great way forward. Enjoy. Ŷou are going to be a good diver.

john

Ps well fitting dry suits do not leak. Spend time getting a good fit-and regs that are well serviced.