Apeks regs

[Foggy]

Ok, I'm thinking of buying a new reg for my main gas, inc Nitrox .... prob as back-up reg. I was looking at the Apeks regs ......... can anyone (in simple terms) explain the differences between the ATX 50, 100 and 200? (Ok smartasses.....apart from the pricetag)

I heard that Apeks also make the Aqualung valves........ are these just rebadged or truely different?

One of the Aqualungs was recently rated in a mag as marginally better than the ATX 200....... any comments?

Any comments wrt to servicing / maintenance costs?


Cheers, Paul

[greekbird]

aqualung own apeks so they are using apex technology now in their regs.
servicing i'm told by my friend at the LDS is easy to do...i think i paid 30 squid last year to get mine serviced...only the 1st stage tho.
i love the breathe on mine (atx200) and so far it has performed brilliantly...dont know much about the others.

[DJL]

Originally Posted by greekbird

...i think i paid 30 squid last year to get mine serviced...only the 1st stage tho.

I thought that Apeks regs were cheap to service - 30 squid for a 1st stage only seems a tad expensive in my book and compares to the cost of ScubaPros - mine are being serviced at the moment and will be about £50 for 1st and a single second stage.

DJL.

[Hoppy]

Can only comment on Aqualung Legend LX Supreme v ATX50. I changed over last year, after some thieving toe-rag forced me to buy new regs.

Aqualung breathes a lot better IMHO. Very subjective thing this though.

One piece of advice I will give is give Sandro at DIRzone a ring, he will crucify anyone in the UK on price for Apex if thats the way you decide.

HTH

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Ok, I'm thinking of buying a new reg for my main gas, inc Nitrox .... prob as back-up reg. I was looking at the Apeks regs ......... can anyone (in simple terms) explain the differences between the ATX 50, 100 and 200? (Ok smartasses.....apart from the pricetag)

I heard that Apeks also make the Aqualung valves........ are these just rebadged or truely different?

One of the Aqualungs was recently rated in a mag as marginally better than the ATX 200....... any comments?

Any comments wrt to servicing / maintenance costs?


Cheers, Paul

No, they are all very good regulators. Just look at the hose routing issues on the 1st stage to see which one you would be most happy with. The ATX 40/50 I prefer for twin sets but the ATX 100/200 is excelent for single tank rigs.

ATB

Mark Chase

[greekbird]

Originally Posted by DJL

I thought that Apeks regs were cheap to service - 30 squid for a 1st stage only seems a tad expensive in my book and compares to the cost of ScubaPros - mine are being serviced at the moment and will be about £50 for 1st and a single second stage.

DJL.

IRC the service kit only is £20 ...so 10 for labour sounds ok.
the other half had his serviced and O2 cleaned and that was 50 :omg

[greekbird]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

No, they are all very good regulators. Just look at the hose routing issues on the 1st stage to see which one you would be most happy with. The ATX 40/50 I prefer for twin sets but the ATX 100/200 is excelent for single tank rigs.

ATB

Mark Chase

is that cause they come out sidewise on the 200? i have drysuit wip, reg and pressure gauge coming from the right post and screw in the 1st stage slightly sidewise so all hoses point down on the outside of the rig...works ok, but am i missing something?

[daz]

Well I'm open to be corrected.

As far as I can tell there is very little difference if any between ATX50/ATX100 and ATX200 aside from some cosmetics and the 1st stage they are normally packaged with.

The 50 is usually packaged with a DST, the 100 with a FST and 200 with a FSR. (The ATX200/FSR first stage has a removable seat apparently)

The popular choices seem to be DS4 first stages with ATX50 and ATX40 as second stages on twinsets. Hose routing works very well.

DST's are a PITA to route according to some and the FSR supplied with the 200 is not ideal (Although I use a pair on my twins and the routing is ok).

A guy who ran a DIR shop in NZ actually recommended the FST first stage as the best for twins although he conceded the DS4 works fine.

Personally I think you can't go far wrong with DS4's and ATX50/ATX40 combination. Cheapish and does the job fine.

Daz

[AirHog]

The only thing I can add to this wealth of advice is try the ATX against the TX if you are going Apeks. I say this as I have TX40/TX50/DSTs all round while my dad has an ATX200 and I prefer the TX exhaust port sizing. He also admits that the bubbles up the front of his mask when he is stationary sometimes annoys.

As for the breathe....my 5 year old TX50 breathes much the same as his new ATX200 IMHO.

Regards

Mark

[sean0801]

I have atx200 primary, atx40 octo and tx40 pony

Can't tell any difference between any of them.

A bloke i met recently who used to work for apeks told me there is no difference of any significance. So i wasted a few quid on the 200's