Regulator Question

[Bassomatic]

Hello All,

First off...this is my first post so be gentle!

I was out with a friend diving this past weekend and OPTED not to go down to 80 feet due to the free flow of my secondary regulator. If the mouthpiece wasn't facing down entirely it would begin to free flow. If it was bumped slightly it would begin to free flow.

I have about 30 dives under my belt and have never experienced a regulator setup (Aqualung) like this that was so prone to free-flow. The main reg did the same thing as well.

Upon returning to the dive shop rather pissed off, I was told that they both were calibrated correctly. Personally, I felt that even strapped to my BC, this thing was going to free flow if I was swimming parrallel to the sea floor...SO I didn't take the risk.

So was such "free flow" normal? Why haven't I had other regulators be as prone to do this?

 

[fdog]

You did the right thing - an uncontrolled freeflow can drain a tank amazingly quickly.

No, it's not normal. However some second stages are more sensitive than others; higher quality regs have a "detune" knob on them to reduce this tendency to freeflow.

Also, some regs need to be slowly filled with water, otherwise the freeflow immediately when turned mouthpiece-up.

<shrugs> My regs are the best money can buy, and they don't behave like yours did.

I'm surprised the shop didn't tell you these things after you reported the problem.


All the best, James

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

If it was free flowing that easily it was not adjusted right.. maybe they didnt want to admit that.. I would not get down on Aqualung, they have awesome regs but if not adjusted correctly they are going to free flow. That goes with any of them..

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

I find my Zeagle ZX second stages are very sensitive if the Venturi switch is set to the "dive" position. I assume this is done on purpose: leave it up to the diver to decide on the sensitivity vs breathing resistance. So basically whenever a reg isn't in your mouth, you want the switch in "pre-dive" mode. I'd hope a reg without this option is less sensitive or you'd see what you described.

 

[snowflake4727]

Which AL reg was it?
If it has a detuning knob or switch then it needs to be used.
If not it may just need a minor tweaking.

 

[Scoobers]

I own an Aqualung Legend LX regulator and have never had that problem. I rented several different brands of regs before deciding to purchase my Aqualung and I would recommend it to anyone. I would highly recommend buying your own regulators even if you want to rent everything else. Do you really want to have to trust that all the people that rented that reg before you took good care of it? Most people figure its rental gear and don't treat them as well as if they owned it. Most shops probably don't inspect them after every time they rent them.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Bassomatic: Welcome to scubaboard!

You did the right thing.

Many (most?) high-performance 2nd stages will be prone to freeflow when they are out of your mouth. This problem is solved on "classic downstream" 2nd's by slightly de-tuning the reg that will be used as an octopus. On user-adjustable regs there is often a venturi lever / switch that is set to the "Pre-Dive" position to accomplish the de-tuning until the diver needs the reg. If you are certain your octo's venturi switch (does it have one?) was in the pre-dive position and was still prone to freeflow, it needs to be tuned.

Best wishes.

 

[Bassomatic]

Thanks for the replies!

I refrained from demanding a refund due to the fact that I wasn't totally familiar with that reg or octo. I did turn the switch down all the way to "-" but it still free flowed all too freely!

On top of that I wasn't that familiar with the BC as well and that's a lot to get "familiar" with on dive to 80 feet don't you think?

I think the number one solution here is to BUY MY OWN GEAR!!!! Considering my life depends on it and refamiliarizing yourself with gear everytime you dive poses greater risk IMHO.

Lastly, I was out with a friend in his boat and just one other in case something went wrong. We were an hour and a half from shore, my dive computer battery was low....everything just seemed to say....DON'T DIVE!

The two previous days, both official charters I was supposed to be on were cancelled....one due to a small craft advisory, and the other due to not enough people signing up.

SO, I didn't get in any diving....bummer indeed!

 

[robint]

No it wasn't normal, and Aqualung products are some of the best on the market....however, that may not have been the best reg on the market currently. It sounds like an older model, one without adjustments on it.
We love our Legends, but in cold water my octo will freeflow if I don't turn it all the way down. I told the dive shop about this, they said, no way it happens, it is set to factory settings. Then they started hearing it from others who dive here locally - it will free flow in cold water. So I had them adjust mine down a few notches and no more problems. They probably still think I am crazy, but I dive way more than they do in cold water so I know MY reg.

 

[tfsails]

You did the right thing on all counts. Listen to that little voice--it's your instinct and you should always trust your instinct.

As far as the free-flowing octo is concerned, be aware that all second-stage tuning is a balancing act between being easy-to-breathe, not free-flowing, and being able to purge the reg when you push the button. It seemingly never fails-- if we set up a reg to be really easy to breathe, it'll free-flow slightly after the first dive. If we set it up too tight, the customer will complain about it and he may not be able to purge it. Readjustment is quite simple; it can be done at the dive site if the diver knows what he's doing, but it can be seriously bungled, too. Be sure you know what you're doing before you adjust the reg in the field.