help with a reg freezing

[awdemeo]

hey all i have the aqualung titan regulator and it froze open on me the other day in about 42 degree water. I am having the enviromental kit put on but was wondering if anyone had any other ideas to keep this from happening again as i like diving year round

 

[rstofer]

hey all i have the aqualung titan regulator and it froze open on me the other day in about 42 degree water. I am having the enviromental kit put on but was wondering if anyone had any other ideas to keep this from happening again as i like diving year round

From this page: Aqua Lung Regulator Range the AquaLung Titan does not offer cold water resistance. Only specific AL regulators have this feature.

Even fewer regulators pass the EU standards for cold water performance,

I don't know if the environmental kit overcomes this problem or not.

Since I don't want the ACD feature (and would probably convert the reg to DIN, anyway), I would only consider:

1) Titan LX Supreme - AL list price $480 with DIN
2) Kronos Supreme - $375 at Leisure Pro
3) Legend Glacia - $350 at Leisure Pro

Your LDS prices will vary...

Personally, if I were looking for a cold water regulator, it would be an Oceanic Delta 4, the choice of the US Navy, NOAA and the Coast Guard for cold water diving. I would also consider a ScubaPro Mk17/G250V. DiveSports.com has a pretty good price on the Delta 4 with DVT and no swivel at $359. I believe they are an authorized dealer.

Richard

 

[eponym]

The basic Titan's not suitable for low-40s water. Any time you breathe hard off it, or lean on the BC inflate button, you're at risk. The Titan LX Supreme is made for cold water use, according to Aqualung.

But here's what I've posted in other threads on preventing freeze-ups:

When the air is cold, breathing off the reg or using the BC inflator (on the surface) can cool the first stage to the point where it will freeze up once in the water. This is in my experience the most usual cause.

So your gear assembly and testing routine needs to be different in cold weather. Don't take more than a sip of air on the second stages, if you must. Keep the first stage out of the wind--put a heavy sock or a watch cap over it if it's going to sit out on the tank for a spell before you get in. Inflate your BC orally to start. Once you're under the surface the water will transfer enough heat to the first stage (even very cold water has heat) to keep it from freezing, as long as you're not breathing hard or leaning on a BC or drysuit inflate button. Short bursts with long pauses between them is ideal. I've also seen freeze-ups start underwater during reg retrieval drills, because of overuse of the purge valve.

Turning off the air for a couple of minutes is usually enough to allow the first stage to thaw underwater. Of course, breathing hard off your buddy's tank now puts that reg in danger of freeze-up, so sometimes ascending while sipping from the free-flow is the way to go.

There have been some good threads on this over the years. Search on "freeze" and you'll see lots to read.

-Bryan

 

[martzak]

I've used Oceanic CDX-5 coupled with an aqualung LX supreme 2nd stage and the aqualung glacia on several ice dives and numerous deep dives in 37F water without any hick-ups. I also did a big no-no and breathed the glacia on the surface...still, did not have a free flow.
At any rate, this doesn't really help you if you have the aqualung titan reg. but if you were looking at buying other regs, i'm recommending those because I've had positive experience with them. The nice thing about CDX-5 is that scubatoys has it for $144, environmentally-sealed with DIN. Of course, you would have to use something else in place of the Alpha 8 second stage, as this 2nd is not designed for cold water.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[Jimmer]

The Alpha 8 is fine is cold water.

I've used Oceanic CDX-5 coupled with an aqualung LX supreme 2nd stage and the aqualung glacia on several ice dives and numerous deep dives in 37F water without any hick-ups. I also did a big no-no and breathed the glacia on the surface...still, did not have a free flow.
At any rate, this doesn't really help you if you have the aqualung titan reg. but if you were looking at buying other regs, i'm recommending those because I've had positive experience with them. The nice thing about CDX-5 is that scubatoys has it for $144, environmentally-sealed with DIN. Of course, you would have to use something else in place of the Alpha 8 second stage, as this 2nd is not designed for cold water.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[ruready7]

I have a Oceanic Delta 4 with FDX10 first stage and have dove in water down to 42 degrees without any problems. The prices have dropped on them since I got mine last spring.

 

[FunkyDiver]

I have this reg and can vouch for it's cold water ability. Last fall I was diving a quarry and the temp on the bottom (~80') was 39 deg F. My dive buddy was leading the dive and he was damn near racing. I was working pretty hard to keep up, but my reg never hiccupped. It breathed nicely the whole time.

 

[martzak]

The Alpha 8 is fine is cold water.

Well, I stand corrected...even more reason to pick up the CDX-5 from scubatoys.