Regulator breathing

[RTdiver]

So I had my first pool session last night. I had a blast! But my Reg seemed a bit difficult to breathe through. The instructor adjusted it and it made it a little easier, but it still seemed a bit hard. Do I need to get used to it or will it go away if I purchase my own? I know it was only my first session but I would think that I could adjust after breathing on it for an hour.

 

[MichaelMc]

Most regulators can be make easy to breath, some very easy. For most regulators, much has to do with how well they are adjusted/tuned. Though some may be hard to breath due to the design or construction itself. Do you know what model it was?

Easy to breath can tend toward easy to free flow, so in instruction there may be a tendency to tune the regulators a bit harder to breath and less likely to free flow. With an adjustable regulator, that is a choice that you can make during the dive, but it is still limited to how well it was tuned to begin with.

Congrats on your first pool session!!

 

[RTdiver]

Thanks. I figured I'll just have to get used to it. I think k it was a scuba pro but I'll have to double check.

Most regulators can be make easy to breath, some very easy. For most regulators, much has to do with how well they are adjusted/tuned. Though some may be hard to breath due to the design or construction itself. Do you know what model it was?

Easy to breath can tend toward easy to free flow, so in instruction there may be a tendency to tune the regulators a bit harder to breath and less likely to free flow. With an adjustable regulator, that is a choice that you can make during the dive, but it is still limited to how well it was tuned to begin with.

Congrats on your first pool session!!

 

[MichaelMc]

It should be capable of easy breathing, though how easy may vary a bit through their line. ScubaPro is one of the top brands. I have a mk25/S600 that I do not notice any effort with, unless inverted. Also, you do not need the top end of the line to have easy breathing.

 

[EdC]

The rental regs I used for OW ranged from OK (but still noticable work of breathing), to the one I used on my checkout dives that literally had me panting when I surfaced. When I bought my own regs it was a completely different experience, if you think your going to stick with it get your own.

BTW, if you keep your eyes open decent regs don't have to break the bank.

 

[diversteve]

Rentals are well....rentals. They get dragged, abused, used more often than most, see probably the least amount of a service technicians time than any other customers regs since the shop gets paid to work on customers...Edit

They take a lot of abuse, are often lower end, older models and in some shops likely don't get serviced as often as they should. I know of one shop on Maui where rentals were serviced when someone complained rather than on any mfr's approved schedule.With a lot of rentals and a rotation schedule they probably got 4-5 years between service on many of them.

A Scubapro Mk2 was first introduced in 1962 - I still see them in use in rental fleets today. One reason is that in the case of a complete reg failure it will still flow some air rather than shutting off your air supply. It's an extraordinarily rare occirrence - in 35 years I know pf one failure that might've been the product - all the others were improper servicing.

After you buy your own regs and have them serviced - check them before you take them on a trip somewhere. I know of 3-4 failures this decade where the tech simply made a mistake - and it's not rocket science.

You're just not using the best equipment, pool gear tends to be the most overlooked because if you're drowning - in many you can just stand up.

I dive Atomic regs - with 2nd stage swivels.. Twice I've almost dropped it out of my mouth at depth while focused on something else - it's so "not there'.

After class, decide on a good reg. set you can afford. In the case of the Atomic line their $410 model breathes the same as their $1700 model - the difference is features and materials used. Other reputable brands are similar. I'd be divng Scubapro today if a local dealer hadn't shown me Atomic's line/features. At the time the 2 year service interval was attractive - now many offer it.

I don't suggest putting a lot of money in new regs before you certify - once you use it, it's used and lost 50% of it's value when you walked out the door with it. Craigslist and eBay are littered with good deals from people who thought they were divers for life.

I wouldn't be in a rush to gear up - likely a lot of what your know now is from your shop and they may have ulterior motives, dealer agreements, sales quotas that affect what you're shown. Don't think it's coincidence that your instructor dives gear they sell every time you see him. I have an instructor friend who is a long-hose, hogarthian backplate diver but since his shop is a Scubapro dealer every time b4 class he snags one of their rental setups and uses it in class.

Some legitimately also want to help - one of our shops talked my buddy down from a $500 wetsuit to a $160 one that works as good. Don't believe the mfr's hype always either. And don't believe anything I write w/o validating it first either although I'm about as agnostic as they come, I have no shop/mfr relationships and until recently I volunteered here.

Some mfr's lines set what they call MAP - their dealers have to advertise that price online. At least two of the larger online retailers - one in Dallas and one in NYC have offered me a better price over the phone without asking for it.

Every other mfr. has similar models in their line at all price points. Any new balanced regulator you buy will perform equally well everywhere - balanced means that the reg will breathe the same as the tank pressure deccreases during a dive. I think's hard to actually buy an un-balanced reg now over $200.

 

[Caveeagle]

This is why I hate rental gear. On top of what diversteve said.. a set of rental regs is likely to not be tuned for easiest breathing, because that might produce more accidental free-flows and complaints from a renter who doesn't really understand how they work.

But, I do know some shops that work really hard to have quality rental gear, so.... there is no universal truth in this area.

 

[Compressor]

RTDiver: DiverSteve gave you great advice. I always told my students to buy gear if they are going to rent>10x a year. Sometimes then when they said ok I'll rent, I would then ask them why they are not planning on diving more. While the number 10 dives/year is very stereotypical, I do believe that you should make at least 10-20 dives a year to keep your skill up to par. Have fun and good luck.

 

[Belzelbub]

I haven't used a rental reg in so long, I really can't remember how they breathed, but I would imagine that you may have been using a used and abused regulator that may not be tuned for optimum performance. Unless you are diving with your own gear, you really don't know what you are going to get.

After certification, decide if you plan on sticking with this activity, then buy your own. That's really the only way for you to get a consistent result. As has been said, there is no reason to go with the top of the line Scubapro or Atomic regs as those can be in the $2000 range and don't breathe noticeably different than the mid range models.

It's really tough to get a bad regulator these days. If you stick with at least a midrange BALANCED reg from any of the big names (Scubapro, Atomic, Aqualung, Oceanic, Zeagle, etc.), or even some of the smaller ones (HOG, Edge, etc.) you will get a nice reg that will breathe great for a long time.

There are a couple of features that can help.

Adjustable breathing resistance knob: This will allow the diver to adjust the cracking pressure during the dive. Cracking pressure is the force required to start the flow of air. Some lower end models don't have this knob. In those cases, the cracking pressure is set by a technician.

Venturi Lever: This is commonly seen on regs as a Dive / Pre-Dive switch. In Pre-Dive mode, your regulator is less likely to free-flow. In Dive mode, the venturi is positioned in such a way that the flow of air actually helps to pull more air, so it takes less effort to breathe.

 

[Doby45]

Here is another thing that is often overlooked by instructors and students alike when you are first getting used to breathing underwater. If you are in an upright knees on the bottom (show me some skills) position that most run of the mill instructors will put you in, the reg will breath harder. If you take that exact same reg and lay flat on the bottom of the pool or hover in a neutrally buoyant diving position you will notice an immediate improvement on how the reg breaths. When the reg is above your lungs in the water column it will be harder to breath than if the reg is level with your lungs or even below your lungs.