Regulator or Me?

[parrothead725]

like everybody else has been saying, its most likely the reg. I just bought my own reg last summer and there is an UNBELIEVABLE difference between your own, quality, reg and the ones that you get from a dive shop. they may be decent when brand new, but they're VERY used.

 

[Hank49]

For those of you who know from experience...

I am a newbie recently certified for open water and have only about 10 dives.
I live in the Caribbean and I dive with a shop that has been real good to me so I do not want to complain, but I have had the following problem.

I seem to have difficulty breathing freely through the regulators I have been using, most noticeably on the last dive. Now I do not have a lot of experience and I do know that there is a psychological factor at play. But, apart from this annoyance, I am really quite relaxed underwater. In point of fact, if this is indicative of anything, i compared my air quantity at the end of our last dive with the Master Diver with us and I finished out about the same air level as him. Its just that I had to really drag to get air which is a bummer...

I also noticed on that dive that when i put the regulator in my mouth before jumping from the boat, as I tested it, I sensed the excessive drag right away and the effort i had to make to breathe. Now is this normal to have to drag the air and is just something you have to get used to? How easily is air meant to flow?

I want to see what I can learn about matching regulators and set-ups to individuals as I am returning to the states and intend to buy my first equipment before coming back. What kind of equipment gives the best flow and what kind of maintance would be expected?

At this dive shop I believe we are using quality Sherwoods at the second stage but I wonder how often they get tuned up?

Sounds like you've got a lemon of a reg.
I'm not sure where you're located but Ed Hoy in Burrel Boom does good work on regs. 6208733 or 225 9205. He's fixed my compressor, one reg, fishing reels...all around good guy.
Or bring it down here to Dangriga and I'll tear into it. I get lucky sometimes and if I can't fix it, we'll take it to Ed. Hah. Where are you located?
As far as what to buy, Atomic, ScubaPro are one's I have experience with and only had one not so great experience out of about 7 regs.

 

[ligersandtions]

Yep, agree with many others....rental regs are not necessarily the best maintained regs, and it probably has more to do with that than anything else. I had a similar issue on one of my first dives after I was certified, and promptly decided to buy my own....I'm very happy with that decision, and I'm sure if you decide that's the right thing for you, that you will be happy as well.

 

[Fred R.]

Assuming the tank is turned on all the way, there are two simple tests you can do to check a rental regulator to determine where the problem is.

First, before you put the first stage on the tank, look into the part of the reg that attaches to the tank. You should see a filter made of metal foam, it is called ‘sintered bronze’ and should be a clean metallic silver color. This filter is the reason for the improperly named ‘dust cap’, which is really there to keep water, especially salt water from ever coming in contact with the sintered metal filter. (The filter is there to keep dust, rust and particulate matter from the airstream)
A major part of the abuse that rental regulators suffer is water or salt spray coming in contact with this filter. This causes the sintered metal to start to corrode, turning it greenish and plugging up the holes in the filter, which causes air to have a hard time flowing into the regulator.
If your dive shop is busy, it is a fair bet that the regulators get a lot of use, read ‘abuse’, and it is also probable that no one really has time to attend to the service of an otherwise working regulator. It is a subtle problem and if the dust caps are put in place, the problem is not something that would be easily noticed unless someone in that busy shop takes the time to undue every dust cap and look into them.

The second quick check is to slowly immerse the second stage into water with the bite pieces pointing up. The regulator second stage should start to bleed air and then free flow about the time water starts to pour into the mouth opening. If you were to use a ruler, when the diaphragm is 1.4 inches underwater the regulator should be flowing. If water pours into the mouthpiece without any free flow, the second stage needs a simple adjustment. In regulator without an adjustment knob it is internal so a tech has to do it.
1.4 inches is a fairly standard depth for ‘cracking pressure’ of a second stage. Some use less. If yours is set higher, there is the difficulty. You have to suck the equivalent lift of about one and a half inches of water to start the air flowing to you. If you have to suck harder, you notice.
BTW, many techs try to adjust the regulator to less than 1.4 inches of suction. This is not a really good idea as the exhaust valve requires some suction to seal the second stage. A second stage that is adjusted below 1 inch of pressure will breathe ‘wet’. While a second stage that is adjusted to .8 inches will breath like a dream while dry in the shop, in the water it will make you feel like you are drowning.

 

[gsk3]

Others far more experienced than I have already chimed in, so I'm not sure how much I can add except to say that my one experience with a Caribbean rental reg was similarly painful. If I looked anywhere above horizontal it would breathe extremely wet, and when I looked horizontally or down it would breath dry but with much difficulty breathing. Interestingly, my air consumption was much better on those dives. I wonder if it was having a similar effect to skip breathing?!

Ari

 

[Fl_Key_Guy]

A hard breathing regulator is a significant danger to you and maybe your buddy. Buy your own if you like diving. You don't need to spend a lot to get good breathing- any better quality regulator later than mid 70s is capable and there are plenty of relatively low priced new ones that work well. Breathing should be effortless, even during heavy exertion like against a strong current. Sherwoods breathe pretty well when properly adjusted- especially the older "classic" ones with the hard plastic cover- simple as they are. There is something wrong with your regulator or adjustments.

 

[Inalara]

Well everyone else has given you great advice, but the one thing I would add is, I've always found, that if I talk to a dive shop about a problem with their rental equipment, they have always been happy to change the item, its not a matter of complaining or putting them out, just a "for info" conversation.

At least you are flagging up to them that a reg is in need of service, but you should never feel you have to dive on a piece of equipment that you aren't happy with and a good dive shop won't make you feel bad about it.