Octo freeflowing on entry and exit - operator error?

[Taxgeek]

Hi! I have one of the basic Sherwood octos, I'm not sure which one (sorry). Whenever I enter or exit the water (boat diver), the darn thing freeflows like crazy until I carefully grab it, invert it, and very gently turn it over, slowly flooding it.

I read this thread:


What I gather from that thread is that the octo will tend to free flow in the surface zone because it is tuned to breathe really easy. I could have it detuned a smidge, assuming it has a detuning feature, but that will tend to make it breathe harder.

Are there any techniques can I use to prevent it from freeflowing (a) when I do my giant stride and (b) when I'm climbing onto the swim step? It's really annoying and a tad embarrassing! As soon as the octo itself gets near the surface, off it goes. I can flood it, and as the boat bobs up and down, if it comes out of the water and goes back in again, it free flows again. Grrrr.

Is this some sort of operator error? I have the octo on an octo holder (bungee style) clipped at my waist level.

Any advice would help me have happier dive trips! Which is a good thing, right???
TIA!
Taxgeek

 

[jonnythan]

Get it detuned a little bit and that should be that.

 

[Diver0001]

Hi! I have one of the basic Sherwood octos, I'm not sure which one (sorry). Whenever I enter or exit the water (boat diver), the darn thing freeflows like crazy until I carefully grab it, invert it, and very gently turn it over, slowly flooding it.

I read this thread:


What I gather from that thread is that the octo will tend to free flow in the surface zone because it is tuned to breathe really easy. I could have it detuned a smidge, assuming it has a detuning feature, but that will tend to make it breathe harder.

Are there any techniques can I use to prevent it from freeflowing (a) when I do my giant stride and (b) when I'm climbing onto the swim step? It's really annoying and a tad embarrassing! As soon as the octo itself gets near the surface, off it goes. I can flood it, and as the boat bobs up and down, if it comes out of the water and goes back in again, it free flows again. Grrrr.

Is this some sort of operator error? I have the octo on an octo holder (bungee style) clipped at my waist level.

Any advice would help me have happier dive trips! Which is a good thing, right???
TIA!
Taxgeek

The orientation of the octopus can make a big difference. If you feed the mouthpiece through the bungee from bottom to top then the mouthpiece will point upwards and make it more prone to free-flowing, especially on entry. If you feed the mouthpiece into the bungee from top to bottom then it will point down and make it less likely to free-flow.

Also, if your octopus has a venturi adjust on it then make sure it's set to the "-" setting or the "pre-dive" setting, whatever it's called.

R..

 

[spectrum]

Johnythan has it right. My wife and I each have the Sherwood Standard Alternate with our Blizzards and it takes a good pop to get them going. In use they are a tad stiffer but we've done extended air share drills in perfect comfort so it's not going to be like sucking eggs through a straw or anythng. Your's must be set to breathe just a bit too easy, a minor adjustement. It shouldn't be nearly as sensitive as you describe. Get it fixed and enjoy all of the bottom time that thing must be blowing away.

If you can orient it so it tends to hang mouthpiece down while getting in and out that can help too but what you describe needs adjustment first.

Pete

 

[Taxgeek]

Thanks all! I had the LDS detune it before diving on Saturday, and they said it had been set very sensitive. It still flowed a little upon exit, but not upon entry. I'll take your suggestion about insertion into the bungee for next time!