As far as I can find, despite all of the discussion and some published extreme condition testing, there has never been a real survey of experiences with cold water regulator free flows (at least publicly available). I have never had one personally, but I thought I would finally go ahead and ask for experiences of those who have had or directly observed free flows in cold water due to freezing. (Cold water generally defined as under 50F\10C.) If you are willing to share, here are the questions:
- What was the water temperature, air temperature, and depth at which the free flow occurred?
- What was the make, model, and style of the 1st and 2nd stage of the regulator? (If not wanting to share brand information, then what type or style – e.g., balanced or unbalanced piston, diaphragm, environmentally sealed or not, compact or normal 1st or 2nd stage, plastic or metal 2nd stage, adjustable, venturi adjustment, etc.)
- Other relevant information – venturi set to dive or pre-dive, purge button depressed during dive, do you know whether free flow started in 1st or 2nd stage, etc.?
- Anything else you want to share regarding conditions or preparation, reg servicing\adjustment, or techniques for cold water dive that could have led to incident?