Upside down regulator - how wet?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I've been in this orientation and inverted like a headstand, and haven't noticed any extra wetness or that it was harder to breathe. My reg is a Tusa RS/130.
 
All of my regs breathe fairly wet upside-down. As a photographer, I spend a fair amount of time upside-down. I have Mares, Scubapro and Apeks regs.
 
My HOG Classic second stages breathe a bit wet upside down as well as in some currents. Rumor has it that the newer model has an improved exhaust valve.
 
I've been in this orientation and inverted like a headstand, and haven't noticed any extra wetness or that it was harder to breathe. My reg is a Tusa RS/130.

If you are upside down, meaning vertical but with your head pointing towards the bottom and feet towards the surface, the relative depth of the mouthpiece and the diaphragm has not changed from vertical head-up, so there shouldn't be any appreciable difference in cracking effort.

---------- Post added April 11th, 2015 at 10:07 PM ----------

I have not seen that except for some unusual exhaust valves that weren’t standard mushroom valves — few of which are made anymore. Anytime the exhaust valve leaked it was easily fixed by cleaning and replacing the mushroom.

Just because the exhaust valve holds vacuum doesn't mean water can't leak in while exhaling. When air escapes the exhaust valve, some water is likely to get in as the air (with surface tension) pushes the valve off the regulator case.

I don't doubt that some mouthpieces leak, but that you can usually tell through a vacuum test, and unlike the exhaust valve, there's no reason for the seal to break with each breath.
 
The best regs for upside down are the reg with side exhaust because the exhaust valve is not lower than mouthpiece right side up or upside down.

Supposedly the plastic bar that pushes against the exhaust valve's oreientation matters but I have never noticed a difference.

My mask leaks when I am upside down though, and that is always more of a problem. (I have to wear a mask that is not ideal for my face so I can hand it off to Japanese divers in pinch, so my mask really does not fit me well. Apparently facial hair guy's maks leak more upside down too.
 
Mt Apeks breathes slightly wet when on my back. I do tend to hold the mouthpiece loosely, though.
 

Back
Top Bottom