Oceanic Regs

[RobbieS]

Thanks again for the advice Chris. Seems to make sense to me. I doubt I'll be going below 30 to soon.

And I'm going to have to ask - what is a H-valve?

[chrisch]

An H (or Y) valve is a pillar valve that give two outlets from a single tank. You can turn either on or off independently. They are pretty much standard in a lot of Europe.
If you have a little skill and dexterity you can turn off the valve underwater, so if you have a freeflow you can turn off that regulator, while leaving the other regulator functioning. Also each 2nd stage has its own first stage, so when donating gas there is much less stress on the 1st stage. This means the likelyhood of additional problems is much less.
There's an article about them here: Divernet | DIVER Tests | CYLINDER VALVE Beuchat H-Valve...

The term "H" (or Y) simply refers to the shape.

Its not a full-blown substitute for a bailout because if you don't turn off the freeflow you will lose all the gas. Again its something you need to practice a bit.

Chris

[RobbieS]

Thanks again Chris.

So you'd have two second stages on the single tank. Still seems like it would be worth spending the extra and getting twins when the time is right.

[JamesW]

I have used oceanic regs for years and just move to jetstreams for my twins, but I still use a set of oceanic for my single set up.
never had no problems.
Best of luck with your choice.

[RobbieS]

Originally Posted by JamesW

I have used oceanic regs for years and just move to jetstreams for my twins, but I still use a set of oceanic for my single set up.
never had no problems.
Best of luck with your choice.

Cheers James.

I guess the question is, is an Apeks XTX40 set up £100 better than CDX5/Alpha 8 set up?