OMS manifold

[TonyD]

how do these compare with MDE, are they any good?

[Scuttler]

IMHO the only manifolds to go for are

Halcyon
AGIR
Scubapro
V4Tec possibly

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with MDE or OMS but I'm not comfortable with facing O-Ring variants.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with MDE or OMS but I'm not comfortable with facing O-Ring variants.

What, like say the O ring on a DIN reg? Or all the O rings on your hoses where they go into the 1st stage?

FYI Halcyon/Agir/Scubatec/Scubapro are all made in the same Italian factory, just here:
..:: Scubatec ::.. Double Outlet Valve - Twin Manifold

MDE are nicely made. The face seal is not a problem as long as the bands are decent- it's when you stress the manifold that problems occur. The barrel sealed manifolds use thinner brass so they bend better, deforming to take up the misalignment. Not, in my book, a clever thing to do at high pressures or at excessive misalignments.

[vid]

Originally Posted by TonyD

how do these compare with MDE, are they any good?

oms are ok, i've not heard anything really bad about them

mde are well liked in the uk (givn they are a uk manufacturer) and the mde are as tough as the provierbial old boots

personally, i'd go for mde over oms (assuming that you are happy with that style of manifold - as referred to by scuttler above)


vid

[Scuttler]

Originally Posted by Woz

What, like say the O ring on a DIN reg? Or all the O rings on your hoses where they go into the 1st stage?

I was specifically refering to the manifold O-Rings which I believe are more likely to be subjected to higher levels of stress due to mishandling than anywhere else.

And yep, was aware that Halcyon etc were all made by the same Italian company.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

I was specifically refering to the manifold O-Rings which I believe are more likely to be subjected to higher levels of stress due to mishandling than anywhere else.

And yep, was aware that Halcyon etc were all made by the same Italian company.

The O ring most likely to blow is your 1st stage DIN O ring as it is continually unseated and reseated, causing damage over time. The face seals on an MDE manifold are static and very unlikely to blow.

The reason barrel O ring manifolds are favoured by the cave-tech crowd and the DIR lot in particular is they dive with the manifold unlocked and free to rotate. This is so that as they are scootering through a cave and they tw@t the manifold off the ceiling due to pi$$ poor trim and dive skills, the centre will simply rotate rather than snapping the knob off.

However MDE did a test with twin 15s pumped to test pressure, yanking them up and down for a day or so by the manifold. The result? Nowt. Nothing. No loss of pressure. Mind you they were set up properly.

[Scuttler]

Originally Posted by Woz

However MDE did a test with twin 15s pumped to test pressure, yanking them up and down for a day or so by the manifold. The result? Nowt. Nothing. No loss of pressure. Mind you they were set up properly.

Brave people! But nonetheless a good test of confidence!

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

Brave people! But nonetheless a good test of confidence!

Not that brave- they filled it with water, not gas. That would be silly.

[Scuttler]

Originally Posted by Woz

Not that brave- they filled it with water, not gas. That would be silly.

Aww....bunch of wusses

[pieater]

Originally Posted by Woz

The reason barrel O ring manifolds are favoured by the cave-tech crowd and the DIR lot in particular is they dive with the manifold unlocked and free to rotate. This is so that as they are scootering through a cave and they tw@t the manifold off the ceiling due to pi$$ poor trim and dive skills, the centre will simply rotate rather than snapping the knob off.

[playground stylee]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

[/playground stylee]

While we're playing the great "diving brand rip off" game - have a look were all the guages are made...