This came up in another thread and I wanted to make it as clear as possible because I feel it's important and there seemed to be some confusion over what I was saying... mia culpa!
What to do if your reg freeflows and you are wearing "standard" openwater gear (i.e. single 80 cft tank and single first stage with octopus and primary second stages, SPG, LP inflator etc. We will assume, your kit is serviced and you are diving with a competent and responsible buddy who is stable in the water.
When you reg starts to freeflow -- which is usually at the beginning of the dive, and we'll discuss why in a second -- signal your buddy... they should immediately realise what's wrong but use hand signals to tell them. The important thing here is to resist any urge you may have to bolt to the surface... that's your last resort and right now you do not have an emergency... you have a freeflow.
Anyhow, take your buddy's octopus, and shut down your tank... turn off the valve. At this point, your buddy should have contact with you... standard procedure when sharing gas, right. I would recommend she / he also controls your postition in the water column. If there's a wreck nearby or a line or a rock or something to hold onto, she should do so... you do not want to float to the surface right now... you're too busy.
Once the tank is switched off. The immediate problem is over. Get yourself settled. Slow down your breathing and assess the situation. How much gas did you lose? How much gas does you buddy have. Write it down on a slate or in your Wetnotes. This will take less than a minute and will calm you down. Now while holding your naughty first stage mouthdown, TURN YOUR VALVE BACK ON. Chances are good, it will not freeflow. You can now -- if you wish -- abort your dive in a safe and controlled fashion. If there's no creep from your reg, and the environment allows it, you might also go a little shallower and pass a few minutes there... go practice some drills!
OK. Why do most freeflows happen at the start of a dive? Stress on the firststage. Most divers breathe faster at the start of a dive. You are filling your BC and you may be putting gas into a dry suit. That's a lot of stress on a single first stage.
By the way, I support the idea that any dive deeper than 30 meters (100 feet) should be done with redundant gas supply.
Hope this clears things up... and like every other drill, this one is worth practicing.
Lastly, a non-standard disclaimer. What do I know about diving emergencies? Well, I haven't seen as many as some people I can name LOL.
What's written here is based on personal experience -- both teaching and diving -- and describes a "best practice." No such best practice can be guaranteed to be correct for every diver and every situation -- there is no silver bullet folks -- however, I do believe it's the right thing to do 99 times out of 100.
What to do if your reg freeflows and you are wearing "standard" openwater gear (i.e. single 80 cft tank and single first stage with octopus and primary second stages, SPG, LP inflator etc. We will assume, your kit is serviced and you are diving with a competent and responsible buddy who is stable in the water.
When you reg starts to freeflow -- which is usually at the beginning of the dive, and we'll discuss why in a second -- signal your buddy... they should immediately realise what's wrong but use hand signals to tell them. The important thing here is to resist any urge you may have to bolt to the surface... that's your last resort and right now you do not have an emergency... you have a freeflow.
Anyhow, take your buddy's octopus, and shut down your tank... turn off the valve. At this point, your buddy should have contact with you... standard procedure when sharing gas, right. I would recommend she / he also controls your postition in the water column. If there's a wreck nearby or a line or a rock or something to hold onto, she should do so... you do not want to float to the surface right now... you're too busy.
Once the tank is switched off. The immediate problem is over. Get yourself settled. Slow down your breathing and assess the situation. How much gas did you lose? How much gas does you buddy have. Write it down on a slate or in your Wetnotes. This will take less than a minute and will calm you down. Now while holding your naughty first stage mouthdown, TURN YOUR VALVE BACK ON. Chances are good, it will not freeflow. You can now -- if you wish -- abort your dive in a safe and controlled fashion. If there's no creep from your reg, and the environment allows it, you might also go a little shallower and pass a few minutes there... go practice some drills!
OK. Why do most freeflows happen at the start of a dive? Stress on the firststage. Most divers breathe faster at the start of a dive. You are filling your BC and you may be putting gas into a dry suit. That's a lot of stress on a single first stage.
By the way, I support the idea that any dive deeper than 30 meters (100 feet) should be done with redundant gas supply.
Hope this clears things up... and like every other drill, this one is worth practicing.
Lastly, a non-standard disclaimer. What do I know about diving emergencies? Well, I haven't seen as many as some people I can name LOL.
What's written here is based on personal experience -- both teaching and diving -- and describes a "best practice." No such best practice can be guaranteed to be correct for every diver and every situation -- there is no silver bullet folks -- however, I do believe it's the right thing to do 99 times out of 100.
