How to set up my new regulator as an octo?

[bencaha]

Hello there!

I just got a pair of used, well serviced Scubapro Mk25evo/s620ti that saw around 100 dives on a banger deal. They're my first regs, always rented before (now the only thing I still don't have is a BCD). So I want to set up one of the second stages as an octo. What would be a save setting to minimize chances of a free flow but also make it save to breathe? It has a venturi adjustment and resistance setting I can adjust. I am used to standard OW setups with a ~100cm octo hose and a ~55-75cm primary hose, usually keep the octo in D-ring/bungee/whatever the BCD has on my right shoulder strap for ease of access.

Cheers.

 

[arkstorm]

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking where to keep the venturi switch and breathing resistance knob on the alternate second stage...

The short answer is that the second stage is perfectly breathable even at depth with the venturi switch set to surface mode and the resistance knob all the way closed (greatest resistance) which is how I would set an alternate second stage to prevent accidental free flows.

If you (or your buddy) need to use the alternate second stage in an OOA emergency, you will have no difficulty breathing from it while switching the venturi to dive mode and setting the breathing resistance to a comfortable level.

 

[bencaha]

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking where to keep the venturi switch and breathing resistance knob on the alternate second stage...

The short answer is that the second stage is perfectly breathable even at depth with the venturi switch set to surface mode and the resistance knob all the way closed (greatest resistance) which is how I would set an alternate second stage to prevent accidental free flows.

If you (or your buddy) need to use the alternate second stage in an OOA emergency, you will have no difficulty breathing from it while switching the venturi to dive mode and setting the breathing resistance to a comfortable level.

Ahhh thanks, so it is safe anyways. I'll just keep both all the way closed then. Thank you! I never used a reg with adjustments possible before so now I know!

 

[Eric802]

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking where to keep the venturi switch and breathing resistance knob on the alternate second stage...

The short answer is that the second stage is perfectly breathable even at depth with the venturi switch set to surface mode and the resistance knob all the way closed (greatest resistance) which is how I would set an alternate second stage to prevent accidental free flows.

If you (or your buddy) need to use the alternate second stage in an OOA emergency, you will have no difficulty breathing from it while switching the venturi to dive mode and setting the breathing resistance to a comfortable level.

I had my octo set up that way and when a buddy had to breathe off it during a drill, he later commented that it was noticeably more difficult to breathe from. Since then I just set the venturi and close down the resistance just enough to reliably prevent free-flows, which isn't much. You never know if your buddy, in a true emergency, will know how to or have the mental presence to make fiddly adjustments under pressure.

My .02

 

[TrimixToo]

Check the IP of both regs before moving the 2nd stage. If the IPs are not equal on both 1st stages, as they ought to be, the one you move might require adjustment. Small differences (2-3 PSI) probably won't matter since the 2nds are adjustable. (BTW, some IP creep is often seen even if the person servicing them last set them up perfectly.)

 

[runsongas]

leave the venturi off and maybe just adjust the knob a bit stiffer on the backup