Water stream in regulator

[jesse23]

Sometimes when at depth, my reg will let a small stream of water in along with my air. Sometimes changing positions or attitude will eliminate. Usually happens when I dive vertically down with head pointing to the bottom. Anyone know a root cause of this? It does not happen all the time.

 

[Slonda828]

Some regulators will breathe wet when you are diving face down for long periods of time. Also, it could be a bunch of other things like:

-Your diaphragm in your second stage could have a tiny pin hole in it.

-You mouthpiece could have a tiny pin hole in it.

-You exhaust valve could be pinched, allowing a little bit of water in your second stage.

I would check those things, or if you do not feel confident then I would pay someone at a dive shop to do it (they've had like....8 hours of training).

 

[Couv]

Good info from Solanda828

You can also see this thread to help you diagnose your problem:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4320058-post14.html

and this thread for a recent discussion on the same issue:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/285430-wet-reg.html


Good luck and please don't forget to update this thread with your findings.

Couv

 

[DevonDiver]

...... if you do not feel confident then I would pay someone at a dive shop to do it (they've had like....8 hours of training).

Wow...8 hours....almost as long as you've spent underwater...

499 forum posts and sub-100 dives. More diving, less internet....then poke fun at industry professionals

 

[redacted]

Wow...8 hours....almost as long as you've spent underwater...

499 forum posts and sub-100 dives. More diving, less internet....then poke fun at industry professionals

Isn't it amazing how stories like this get started. Perhaps some of the pros, like yourself, can tell us about all the training you had before you worked on your first regulator as a "certified technician". And also tell us about the additional training you needed over time to maintain your certification.

And just what does the ratio of post count and dive count have to do with anything?

 

[DevonDiver]

I don't work on regs. 16 years diving..and I prefer to send regs to someone who knows more than me. The people I know who specialize in this work do a very good job with it. I don't know the extent/duration for the various manufacturers service tech courses.... but I do know that the 1000's of hours of post-course experience count for a lot.

As for ratios of post to dive count.... well, I guess some people just enjoy talking more than doing. I wish I could post here more often...but sadly I am in the water every day.

This is a diving forum...so I think diving experience counts for something when people opt to present their opinions. It counts even more when people wish to poke unfounded criticism or make snide remarks that they are unqualified to support.

As the poster concerned is a 'Divemaster' with sub-100 dives, I suggest that 'Mr Fast-Track' has far less experience than he gives himself credit for. Somehow, I cannot see him making remarks like that to a service technician's face at his LDS.....

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Generally speaking companies require a potential tech to be shop attached prior to attending a servcie tech course to get certified to work on that companies regs. What that means is that the prospectiv tech works with an existing tech under an internship or apprentice type arrangement and learns an awful lot before they ever show up for the "8 hour" class. The expectation then exists that the person will continue to work under the mentorship of a more experienced tech as they gain expereince.

Now...the 8 hour requirement varies. Scubapro ahs a 2 day course for newbies and that is on top of coursework completed before they arrive at the class, so the time involed is closer to 24 hours on top of any pre-course experience and training.

Some companies may offer a cert after 3-4 hours of training but those courses are targeted primarily at techs who are already experienced and certified by some other brand and are more of a transition course, not a fresh from scratch course.


-----

As for the OP's issue. It is common for any exhaust valve to leak a small amountof water as air opens the valve to bubble out. in a normal swimming positionthis water comes to rest in the low spot of the reg - usually on the exhaust valve itself where it gets blown out on the next inhalation. If however you are descending vertically, the exhaust valve is literally above the aspirator and the opening in the mouthpiece. Any water entering past the outflow of exhaled air leavng through the open exhaust can potentially fall in the aspirator/mouthpiece area and if it does, it will be carried along with the air during the next inhalation.

So the reg is probably working normally. Different regs vary in the degree to whic they breathe wet in this circumstance, but if you don't like it breathing wet, don't descend by swimming straight down.

If the reg were breeathing wet all the time, I would suspect a leaking o-ring, a pin hole in the diaphragm or a cracked case or a defective exhaust valve. But the situaion in whihc it leaks eliminates those as "most likely" candidates.

 

[maged_mmh]

nobody told us that we must have 1000000000000+ dives before posting on SB?

 

[DevonDiver]

I never said not to post.... just that people should refrain from such snide remarks when their experience does not support their cynicism.

Trying to appear 'cool' by making such comments does nothing to bolster the posters credibility here....and someone with less than 100 dives is hardly in a postion to start leveling criticism at the dive industry in general.

Just for perspective...in peak season...I can easily exceed 100 dives per month....and yet i wouldn't ever feel in a position where I should be slinging mud at service technicians...or any other dive professionals in general. To do so reeks of bravado and concealed ineptitude.

 

[maged_mmh]

I feel that slonda never meant to imply incompetence of service techs by any means; he just wanted to point out that it is easy to inspect one's own regulator and do the necessary routine checks - maybe with a twist of humor.