Freeflowing is normal?

[Wreck]

During my Red Sea dive trip last month, I had a rental octopus that was bubbling air steadily. I don't know if that qualifies for a free-flow or not, but it wasn't leaking as much air as if someone was taking a breath on it. Since I am rather new, this did not make me feel comfortable because those were spare PSI's that could never be used as a buffer in an emergency situation. The octo reg had no adjustment and was a cheapo model that didn't even have a name on it. I could see inside the thing, and the rod that led from the flexible front wall to the hose valve for purging purposes. I played with it a little to see if I could improve the situation but without any luck. It was leaking enough that I took my primary regulator out of my mouth and was about to switch to the octopus, putting some of that wasting air to good use! My dive buddy happened to be an instructor and motioned for me not to do that. She showed me that turning the reg upside down would slow the leak rate, but it didn't stop it. I thought this was a reasonable alternative and finished the dive holding that silly octopus in that position to slow the flow. After the dive, the dive buddy said that my leak was "normal." I could absolutely not believe my ears. I heard this same thing from the lady at the dive shop's counter. I have never seen another reg leak like this one, nor would I ever expect anyone to call it normal. Can anyone think of a reason for saying this?

Maybe these guys are so used to sub-par gear that it is not something so uncommon(?)

 

[ElectricZombie]

Regs shouldn't have leaks. A free flow is more of a violent rush of air from an easy breathing reg that can be easily remedied by turning the reg down or covering the mouthpiece with your finger. A reg that is functioning perfectly can free flow given the right conditions. A leak is a totally different story and is not acceptable. It's not normal and I don't know why the shop told you it was.

 

[orangeBloke]

A leaking reg is not normal, even a little trickle means that something is not quite right in there and it should be serviced.

Sounds like they're not giving their rental gear the servicing it should be getting and then making excuses about it

 

[scubasean]

Can anyone think of a reason for saying this?

Maybe these guys are so used to sub-par gear that it is not something so uncommon(?)

Yep...You hit it on the head.

If you aren't accustomed to good, well-serviced gear, you may actually think that a leaking reg. is normal.

I, for one, believe otherwise. :banana:

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I have a reg that does that when the shop doesn't adjust it properly after servicing it. The shop just needs to take enough time to get the balance just right, I've seen the procedure and yeah it's time consuming but they shouldn't say "well, that's good enough" and just leave it.
Ber :lilbunny: