Regulator breathed wet in current

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llyamah

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Location
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Hi all. I just want to sense check a problem that I experienced with my regs.

I recently had my Scubapro (MK25, A700) regs serviced by a reputable LDS near me.

I did 10 (or so) dives with them without problem. Then, on one dive, I experienced a problem while I was hooked on in strong current at around 25 meters...

My regulator started to breath wet. At first it was only slight but it quickly got to the point where it was 100% wet.

I ended up on my guide's AAS. How I ended up on my guides Octo wasn't good at all, and I'd rather not dwell on it in this thread as I think I know what went wrong (I will be making a separate post about this as it involves how my own AAS was positioned) but one reason why I ended up in this state is that I was frightened the problem could be with my 1st stage - I had no confidence at that point in my Octo - how did I know it too wouldn't breath wet?

Anyhow, on our safety stop I switched back to my primary second stage and it was breathing fine. I subsequently did more dives with the reg and all was fine.

Back on the boat, I was told by the dive instructor that the likely culprit was the current pushing its way into the exhaust valves and all I had to do was face the current head on or put my hands over the second stage to block the current getting into the exhaust valves. We turned off the tank and tried taking a breath through the regulator and couldn't (so I'm guessing that meams the diaphragm is fine). The mouthpiece (secured by cable tie) had pulled away ever so slightly from the second stage but there was still a seal, I think. The instructors told me that the mouthpiece wasn't the problem.

Does the above analysis of the problem sound correct - ie this was likely just the current pushing its way into the exhaust valves?
 
Yep, in heavy current it's always better to face into it. Turning your head sideways will result in the exhaust valve getting flapped by it. Some regs are less prone to this than others, but if the current is strong enough you will have issues.
 
thirded I guess with the DI and Jim. Second stages do weird things when in weird conditions, you learn how to deal with them with experience and more importantly how to avoid those situations.
 
Is it correct that all 2nd stages have a 2nd diaphragm on the exhaust port? So a strong current can push it open backwards?
 
Pretty much. All have to have some kind of diaphragm to allow the exhaled air to go out. As I said before, some may have a design that is more resistant to this but if turned sideways in a heavy current, there is a chance the diaphragm may get lifted and allow water in. The diaphragm has to be flexible enough to allow air to vent. This means it's flexible enough so that if water hits it at a certain angle with enough force it will lift it. Using a diaphragm stiff enough to not do this would mean it would take a great deal of effort to exhale.
 
Back on the boat, I was told by the dive instructor that the likely culprit was the current pushing its way into the exhaust valves and all I had to do was face the current head on or put my hands over the second stage to block the current getting into the exhaust valves.

Most definitely...
where I dive happens all the time, sometimes you'll get a mouthful of water before you inhale, some regulators are worse than others depending on the baffle on the exhaust,

Fast currents can be fun times,
in more ways than one, but it's a rush,
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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