Free Flow Incidents

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Dove the Arabia at 104ft in Tobermory Ontario. I made the mistake as it was never taught to me that putting a load on the reg could cause a freeflow at this depth combined with the temperature of 37F
It could happen anytime but this was the first and hopefully the last time.
1 I was video taping and my buddy was a little to far to reach and when it occurred I had seconds to react and make the right decision.
I had turned the video camera on myself pulled the reg out of my mouth to say hi to my daughter from under the water. When I purged it the extra load applied caused it to freeflow. As I played with it to try to make it stop my air was running out. Nobody had noticed and its possible sharing air could have put extra load on theres so I chose to make an emergency assent. Breathing slowly in and out the entire time to the surface. I was down 7 mins so it wasn't too bad. My air ran dry as I surfaced. I was using 80s.

For those not familiar with this, it does happen often in cold water, be prepared to react. Don't panic it does nothing for you. And remember if you run out of air, breath out very slowly till you surface, remember they taught you this when you were getting certified.
Also the mistake I made, I let my buddy get to far away from me. Lesson well learned.

Hope this can save someones life.
A lot can go through your mind when it happens especially if you never thought about this happening.
Also I was using hollis 221 and 321 I think it is with the enviro pack on it for cold water diving.

So you made an ascent from 106 feet to the surface while holding your breath and breathing out slowly? That appears to be a lot of distance to cover while exhaling no? Or did you find yourself holding breath?

 

[redacted]

I recently repaired an old scubapro Mk5 that was not used for breathing gas but was used UW to provide air power for a tool. The HP seat had failed; little pieces of the old red cave cone seat were breaking off as the piston was going deeper and deeper. There was no OPV in the rig but it looks like IP simply climbed until the piston head o-ring finally extruded and it leaked through the ambient chamber. One interesting sidelight is it was an older style piston with just a slightly larger diameter shaft before the piston head. Newer models have a much larger diameter shaft that I thought was to give it a bit more metal to prevent icing. I learned that larger diameter section actually prevents the piston from imbedding itself into the body when the seat fails.

A new seat and a couple o-rings and it is back in service

 

[halocline]

My buddy offered to turn off my tank, but the instructor waved him off. In retrospect, I think that was a mistake, because the whole situation would have been calmer and easier to manage had those darned noisy bubbles gone away.

And stopping the air flow could allow the 1st stage to thaw and be functional again in a few minutes.

 

[rhwestfall]

My instructor relates a story of reaching back to shut off his valve in a 1st stage FF in really cold water, only to have his hand freeze to the stage (I'm serious)......

Last year in Tobermory during a July trip, of the 5 teams of divers on the boat, all but me and my buddy had free flows (and we also witnessed groups from other boats on the same wreck having them too). Water was in the low 40's. The gear with issues wasn't what one would say is ideal for cold...... and I see that constantly.

Simply stated, the buddy system is paramount for cold water diving..... but proper gear selection, set-up, and use is necessary too.

 

[Subcooled]

my backup reg freeflowed. It was sudden and violent, and with the backup reg bungied under my chin, my head was engulfed in bubbles, I couldn't see, and the noise was horrendous.

Yes, the bubbles are annoying. You can always grab the regulator though, and move it three feet away, and only put it in your mouth when you need to take a breath. Your teeth will thank you.

the instructor waved him off. In retrospect, I think that was a mistake, because the whole situation would have been calmer and easier to manage had those darned noisy bubbles gone away.

Yes. It was a mistake. What a stupid idea to let breathing gas to escape. On the other hand, we do not know the depth and the conditions.

I also think it is rare for single tank divers to make sure they can reach their own tank valves and turn them

True - and that skill alone could reduce gas loss significantly.

 

[rhwestfall]

again, the buddy system is paramount....

 

[TSandM]

We were in 30 feet of water. But you only have about 90 seconds before you've lost 80 cubic feet of gas; I had a 95, but we'd been diving a while. 45 or 60 seconds to no gas is not much time -- you spend some of it looking stupidly at the second stage, and banging on it and pushing the purge valve, before you realize that there is no stopping the process.

 

[shoredivr]

have your gear selected properly, and set up right.

again, the buddy system is paramount....

Yes, I select H valves or sidemount or slung Alu 40 ;-)

 

[DaleC]

I hear a lot about cold water but I have only really had one continuous free flow in all my dives (all in the 40's). I use a SP Mk17, Mk2, Mk5, Conshelf Supreme, Zeagle Zen and two USD doublehoses. I have no idea why or why not.

On Sunday I emerged from a dive and a lady asked me how cold it was. I told her 45 degrees. She then asked: Celcius or Fahrenheit?

 

[mick allein III]

Dale C videos are most helpful. Thank you.


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