Diving with 50-54F water without cold water regulator

[ABLAB]

Diving Monterey Ca for the 1st time in March. Water temp could be anywhere between 50-54F. Wandering if its safe to dive with my Cressi AC25 Master Cromo which is certified for 50F and above or should I rent a cold water regulator?

Fyi, regulator is stamped en250/2014 a>10c, has internal heat exchanger, and is environmentally sealed. Google searches say it should be fine in 50 and low 50's water temp but then again it's Google.

Hoping someone actually has 1st hand knowledge/experience.

Thanks all.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

50-54 degrees F should be no problem for any regulator. The problems occur when the water temp is around 35 degrees F, as the air can then come down to freezing, and cause some ice buildup as the regulator is operated.

SeaRat

 

[ABLAB]

50-54 degrees F should be no problem for any regulator. The problems occur when the water temp is around 35 degrees F, as the air can then come down to freezing, and cause some ice buildup as the regulator is operated.

SeaRat

Exactly the type of info I'm looking for. Thanks.

 

[broncobowsher]

I'll second that. No issue. 50's isn't that cold.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Folks who dive Monterey/Carmel regularly do not seek out cold water regulators. As discussed above, and as I understand it, icing is the issue. The air and water temp there never get down to freezing.

 

[Badger7]

You know how when you open a tank to drain it full blast, first the valve starts getting really cold, then wet, and then can actually freeze condensation on the surface if you let keep on ripping? Gas expansion results in a temperature drop, and to a lesser degree this happens in your first and second stages during a dive as well. Even if you're working hard and breathing way too fast though, we're talking maybe a 5 degrees drop in temp. If the water is say 37 or colder and you're breathing lots of gas volume, you could potentially get a reg to freeze up and free flow if it doesn't have great thermal properties. But, if the water is 50+, there is no way you're pushing the reg down to 32 degrees, even full free flow, even with a reg that has a lot of plastic and is holding in the cold more than ideal.

 

[ABLAB]

Appreciate the explanation.