Regulator Shut-off

[Northeastwrecks]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...

Also, I was trained in the servicing of these regs by a guy named Jim Fox who likely knows more about them than anyone in the world.

Except, of course, for Genesis.

Besides, Mike, you forget that Niceville, Florida, where Genesis lives, is a hot bed of ice diving. Many times I've seen people trekking out onto the frozen surface of the Gulf of Mexico to cut their holes and take the plunge.

Alone, in the semi-darkness as the dawn breaks on the ice, there is ONE INDIVIDUAL, with his repair kits in his hands, offering to rid the World of free flows by detuning the regs so that they are out of manufacturer's spec. He is not trained, but he KNOWS, he can JUST FEEL IT, that he is RIGHT and TRUE.

Oh, I was wrong. Its not ice. Its just that Genesis thinks he can walk on water.

 

[Genesis]

Perhaps you can tell me why having a regulator that is tuned so that it can be tripped into freeflow with the brush of a piece of gear across the purge is a good thing, especially if it happens at 300'?

 

[Northeastwrecks]

Genesis once bubbled...
Perhaps you can tell me why having a regulator that is tuned so that it can be tripped into freeflow with the brush of a piece of gear across the purge is a good thing, especially if it happens at 300'?

Sure I can, right after you tell me your qualifications (other than a big mouth and the distinction of having at least one webpage devoted to your antics in other venues) to service regulators. Your OW card, perhaps. Or some book you picked up on Ebay? Or maybe its just that dive shops are awed by your pleasant personality and give you free advice?

What Mike is saying is that he tunes regulators to the manufacturer's specifications. I buy from manufacturers that I trust. Part of that trust is that their gear works when set to their specs.

Finally, my regs (all four of them on some dives) are each tuned to manufacturers' spec. None of them will free flow if brushed.

Besides, I don't dive the type of rig where my equipment dangles and hits my regulator. I suspect that you do.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Genesis once bubbled...
Perhaps you can tell me why having a regulator that is tuned so that it can be tripped into freeflow with the brush of a piece of gear across the purge is a good thing, especially if it happens at 300'?

Just flip the lever. That's why it's there.

 

[Genesis]

Clearly, you don't get the point I'm making here....

 

[MikeFerrara]

Genesis once bubbled...
Clearly, you don't get the point I'm making here....

Your correct I don't get the point. These regs are used with great success. Yes...they must be used correctly though. If they are left dangling with the venturi in the dive position you can experience a free flow. The answer...don't do that. It isn't complicated to put the lever in the right position at the right time. All Zeagles and Apeks have this feature as do some Cressi and others. If you detune the reg you simply negate the feature and you will have lousy no a super lousy breathing reg. The alternative is to use a reg that doesn't have the feature. I attribute your position to a lack of experience with the equipment. I have done hundreds of dives in 40 deg water at depths where the air is very dense and regs are likely to freeze. these regs function perfectly in such an environment when tuned to manufacturers specs.

Your theories just don't pan out in practice when they are used correctly.

 

[Genesis]

Obviously, you haven't read what was written.

You can lead a horse to water.....

 

[MikeFerrara]

Genesis once bubbled...
Obviously, you haven't read what was written.

You can lead a horse to water.....

Go get the training so we have a common frame of reference and we can start over.

You are not yet ready to lead anyone anywhere when it comes to diving or dive equipment.

 

[Genesis]

Show me a degree in physiology (that is, as an MD) and explain to me how positive-pressure breathing (other than during attempted performance of rescue breathing!) is a GOOD thing.

Its NOT Mike.

That's a FACT. No, it (probably, except in the extremes) won't hurt you, but it does you no good either. There is no physiological benefit to positive pressure breathing on a regulator, no diving benefit, and a significant risk associated with being set up that way, in that if you manage to initiate a purge either through current or any other cause the amount of gas that can be dumped before you can stop it could be substantial - especially with a high performance first that has a very high flow rate.

Never mind that your stock answer "just twist the switch" - belies the matter. WHY twist the switch in the first place? Why not set it where it does not have positive feedback - where the influence of the venturi is NEUTRAL, thereby leaving you with (as close to neutral as you can get) neither positive or negative pressure breathing? Do your favorite regs simply suck in terms of total work of breathing without the "boost"? If so, I'd argue that the fix is to use a better reg!

Add to the above that I personally DETEST the feeling that positive-pressure breathing gives me. I find the feeling of air being blown down my throat VERY uncomfortable, and would consider a regulator that did that as a matter of "manufacturer's design" unacceptable on its face.

By the way, the CE standards in Europe contain a specific test for this characteristic that you claim is desirable (and I claim is not) - and a limit on it beyond which the CE standards are NOT met.

(Not that it matters, but Rodale's Scubalab agrees with me on the matter of positive pressure breathing and the undesirability of it, along with the stability problems that come with it.)

 

[Zaphod]

The device is an Apeks Freeflow Control Device (FCD). Aqualung doesn't alllow it to be distributed in the U.S., so you'll need to get it from somebody across the pond. It's a relatively simple device and not a classic valve. Instead, imagine a threaded tube with a block in it so no air can get through. On both sides of the block are arrays of holes. Then, imagine a plastic sleeve with two o-rings on either side that slides around this tube. When slid to one side, air passes through the holes in the tube on the side of the 1st, into the very small chamber formed between the outside of the tube and the plastic sleeve, then back through the holes on the other side of the block. Simply sliding the sleeve to the other side, blocks the flow.

If excessive IP begins to build, the barrel o-rings on the sleeve tend to leak, but the pressure at which this occurs is not calibrated or adjustable. Apeks recommends having another second attached without the FCD.

It is prone to being bumped into the off position, and doesn't appear to affect the second's performance any (as measured on a flow bench). It's also about 2 inches long, so it's a little awkward.