Regs problem...

[cortez]

All second stages will hold a small amount of water in them. This water does not usually interfer with breathing and is usually unnoticed by the diver. Based on the angle at which the head is held and the size of the second stage that water could potentially run back into the divers mouth. This seems most likely to occur when the second stage is small (ie. Proton Ice) and the head is horizontal or slightly angled down (ie. real world diving). I'm not positive, but I believe I've heard other Proton Ice users complain of the same issue. It may be worth your while to give Mares a call.

 

[Diver0001]

Amy,

If you suck it vacuum and hold it, how long does it take for the vacuum to go away?

Also, is the front cover tight? Try turning it (like a jar lid) with the open palm of your hand and see if it will tighten at all.

And finally, has this reg been apart since you bought it?

R..

 

[Amy B]

Amy,

If you suck it vacuum and hold it, how long does it take for the vacuum to go away?

Also, is the front cover tight? Try turning it (like a jar lid) with the open palm of your hand and see if it will tighten at all.

And finally, has this reg been apart since you bought it?

R..

Vacuum suck it...???
And no, it hasn't been taken apart yet, they've only been used in a pool twice and three times for open water dives.

 

[Diver0001]

Yeah, the good old vacuum test. Just put it in your mouth like you would when diving and suck all the air out of it. Don't put the reg on a tank and leave the dust cap on the 1st stage in place. Then count seconds and tell us how long it takes for the vacuum to mostly release. It's a test that you can use to see how badly it's really leaking and sometimes you can hear where the leak is.

R..

 

[Amy B]

Ok, I will try that... And I shall blame you if I suffocate trying to breathe through a reg not connect to a tank!! (J/K. I hope...)
Will check back tomorrow and let you know, gotta sign out now...
Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Diverd1]

Hello I may have missed some of the discussion but let me see if I have it right.
Your new regulator seems to be working fine in the pool but you are getting water in the sea. You have done some checks and all seems good.

Is the water you are breathing salty? This would be a leak

If the water is not salty this could be moisture from exhaled breath condensing on the internal parts of your regulator and being breathed back into mouth on inhalation.
Although this is not a problem if you get dry mouth it can be a little annoying. This effect can be increased (get more water) by having the intermediat presure higher than manufacturer recomends. Sherwood produced 2 regulators in the 90's that were identical but had differing intermediate presures the Blizzard(for cold ware diving) was set at 125psi (8.3bar) and the Oasis (for warm water diving) set at 145psi (9.6bar) the Oasis was designed to have the moisture inhaled from inside the regulator to help prevent dry mouth.

 

[Amy B]

The water I'm breathing in is definately salty...
I live in Britain so it's cold water diving for me... And Proton Ice regs are made especially for that! Hoses etc are at the right pressure...

 

[Amy B]

OK, tried the vacuum test on my regs... Mayeb I didn't do it properly, but it didn't let up at all when I sucked all the air out! It just stayed until I had to let go and take another breath. Did I do it wrong, or does that just mean there's no leak anywhere?

 

[Diver0001]

OK, tried the vacuum test on my regs... Mayeb I didn't do it properly, but it didn't let up at all when I sucked all the air out! It just stayed until I had to let go and take another breath. Did I do it wrong, or does that just mean there's no leak anywhere?

That means there's no leak, which leaves you with more of a mystery than a problem.

I don't know off the top of my head what else to suggest. I PM'd an expert to ask him to check in on this discussion.

R..

 

[Sideband]

I've recently bought some news regs, Proton Ice ones. I absolutely love them, the colour is fantastic! And they're really easy to breathe through.
#snip#
My alternate has a larger mouthpiece and I didn't breathe any water in with them. My sister has the same regs as me, and said she gets a little trouble with them too. I was considering changing the mouthpiece but... the colour of the mouthpiece matches the reg (baby blue)... I know it's silly but they look good and I'd like to keep the blue mouthpiece!!

I'm confused about it not happening in the pool. As you dive, does it seem to start leaking at any particular depth? Is it the same at 10' as at 60' or 80' when doing a regular dive or does it get worse as you get deeper?

Joe
who doesn't know crud about regs. but does know how to troubleshoot.