Regulators - confused again

[Andrew]

I'm looking round at regulators at the moment and have a few questions that you nice people could probably help me with.

I take it that with this being the breathing bit it's best to get the best one you can afford, and lower the spec of something else to be able to get a better reg, does this make sense?

what's the difference between DIN and A-clamp?( i take it it's just the fitting for the valve) and is there a current standard and which is the better system.

When it comes to getting them serviced is it a standard cost regardless of brand or are some makes more expensive than others and do they all have to be serviced at the same interval.

finally could i have some suggestions for a good beginner reg, i will have around £1500 to spend on my first kit(excluding fins,mask and snorkel) what percentage(roughly) should i spend on my reg and octopus?

Sorry for all the questions but i know that you all secretly like answering them

thanks in advance

Andy

[Davey Willo]

Have a butchers at this Andy..

DIN versus A-Clamp

[Driftwood]

I'm looking round at regulators at the moment and have a few questions that you nice people could probably help me with.

You'll propably regret asking ;)


I take it that with this being the breathing bit it's best to get the best one you can afford, and lower the spec of something else to be able to get a better reg, does this make sense?

Well, it's a case of how much you life is worth as you are talking about life support equipemnt. Granted you could then scrimp and buy say a cheap drysuit which could leave you cold, leak and have seals rip and flood the suit - but you can get out of that.

One thing you do need to consider with regs is panic. It's called a regulator for a good reason - it allows a specific amount of air to flow (some more than others) which is stressed, you can beat supply by demand and really end up in a pickle (or pot)

Looking at the Go-Dive website you can get an ATX200 +ATX50 occy and suunto double console for £399 - fair deal I'd say as I'd pay more than that for my life and these regs are well up to it (Mind I have a personal dislike for my ATX200).

But if you do wish to scrimp you could do no worse than getting an Alpa7 CDX (Oceanic), the same console and a basic occy for say (150+60+50=) £260 and in the future use the Alpha7 on a pony, put the console on the main rig, buy a £30 guage for the pony and ditch the shit occy...

Your choice, your life.


what's the difference between DIN and A-clamp?( i take it it's just the fitting for the valve) and is there a current standard and which is the better system.

Oh hum, can o' worms..... Yes, the only difference is the method of attachment to the tank. A-clamp can only take up to 232bar (technically) whereas DIN can be 232 or 300bar. DIN is considered a more secure system due to the reg screwing into the tank, holding the o-ring captive and being impossible to dislodge accidentaly. Saying that, I'm had an a-clamp at 295bar (oops said the shop owner, I forgot I was filling that tank), hit it off the under side of a bridge (yes, it was the Caves on Loch Long - YD Scottish Faction fave) and only once seen an o-ring extrude. I'd go for DIN - you can alwats put an a-clamp adaptor on it thought it will make the reg bulky


When it comes to getting them serviced is it a standard cost regardless of brand or are some makes more expensive than others and do they all have to be serviced at the same interval.

Been hearing that Posiedon are the most expensive and difficult to service (70-ish a time?) and the cheapest I know of is Oceanic which is free of parts costs if you use the Alliance Agreement


finally could i have some suggestions for a good beginner reg, i will have around £1500 to spend on my first kit(excluding fins,mask and snorkel) what percentage(roughly) should i spend on my reg and octopus?

With that budget you could probably get top-of-the-line everything ('cept drysuit) if you bought all in one go at Go-Dive (or similar)

Example (from Go-Dive)

Package G
BUDDY Ranger TD/AP200
Apex ATX50 regulator
ATX40 Octopus
Suunto twin console
12ltr Faber steel cylinder

SRP £1059
NOW £679
Save £380

Leaves you £800 for a drysuit, mask, fins, snork or anything else you want!

(Edited by Driftwood at 8:25 pm on Jan. 22, 2003)

[Dominic]

"what's the difference between DIN and A-clamp?( i take it it's just the fitting for the valve) and is there a current standard and which is the better system."

DIN is more compact and more secure. Most reckon it as far superior to A-clamp. I'm a convert.

"When it comes to getting them serviced is it a standard cost regardless of brand or are some makes more expensive than others and do they all have to be serviced at the same interval."

Different brands cost different mounts. Happily, there's no price difference between DIN and A-clamp tho..

"finally could i have some suggestions for a good beginner reg, i will have around £1500 to spend on my first kit"

The latest model isn't necessarily the best - Apeks got it right with the TX40, and the TX50, TX100, ATX40, ATX50, ATX100 and ATX200 have all been very minor variations on the theme.
If you buy a TX50 with TX40 octopus, you'll have a reg which will last you through just about any type of diving you may do.
The only reason I have a TX100 and TX40 is that the TX100 has that nice satin finish - they perform identically.

[Andy Winterburn]

Dom, not exactly but I know what you mean, the TX range is in my opinion better than the ATX due to the exhaust system.
Andy you can't beat Apex, but others will swear by Poseidon, if you look on some of the boards you can get 2nd hand regs at about half price i.e. Poseidon Cyclon £125 just add the price of a service and you get a good reg at a more affordable price
Couldn't agree with Drifty more, don't skimp you need to be able to O2 clean the reg perhaps to 100% which you can't with some Cressie regs Oh and go Din 1st as last or its yet another £25 to change the clamp.

[John Gulliver]

I agree with almost everything that's been said.  Definitely go for a DIN fitting. There are lots of good regs and, frankly, almost any cold water reg made these days will do the job, although we all have our favourites.  As some people on this forum know, I had bad experience of my Poseidon Cyklon 300, although many people think it's a fantastic reg. I also know many divers who wouldn't dive with anything other than Scubapro. Personally, I have an Apeks TX40 as my main reg and as my octopus these days, see no reason to choose the more expensive TX50 or TX100 as my main reg. Assuming you are using air or nitrox, the TX40 will do everything you want it do at any depth you are likely to dive to. I've had mine 6 years and done somewhere between five and six hundred dives with it and it has never let me down.

[Lou]

A-clamp vs DIN....

As someone who did exackerly as suggested above (Alpha 7 CDX first, then Apeks later and Alpha onto pony) I can thoroughly recommend it.  In fact, I still actually prefer the breathe on my Alpha 7.

However the upgrade took me from A-clamp to DIN.  Up to then I hadn't had a problem with A-clamps, but thought it was better to go with the safer DIN version - after all, I could always get an adaptor if needed.

Blow me, if the other week we didn't go and suffer an o-ring extrusion on the A-clamped pony.  It being a bit nippy than day and being slow in getting to it to turn it off we ended up with a Mr Frosty pony cylinder.

6m dive for us on the second dive now we were down to one pony between 2.

Go DIN.

[Hobby]

To repeat people,go for the DIN.If the above reasons are'nt enough to convince you then think of a good reason why you should'nt do.I find things become clearer that way.A-clamps can be damaged/dislodged with little effort,if you have the choice do it properly(bl**dy #### I nearly said right!).Main difference is that the A-clamp was a convienient method of doing it when SCUBA was 1st developed,the DIN fitting was designed to industrial requirements (safety specs etc)as a pressure gas fitting,what development process would you rather trust your life to?
There are many good regs out there,it'd probably be easier to make a list of ones that are bad!Servicing costs can vary from one manufacture to another and indeed from one retailer to another so shop around.If you can use as much kit as you can then decide,Diving & Marine Services in Mcr do a "try it and swap" for eg.Good retailers will(should)also be able to assist you with your choice.
Please keep asking those questions!Hobby.

[Driftwood]

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Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Quote: from Lou on 12:10 pm on Jan. 23, 2003
As someone who did exackerly as suggested above (Alpha 7 CDX first, then Apeks later and Alpha onto pony) I can thoroughly recommend it.  In fact, I still actually prefer the breathe on my Alpha 7.

<span =''>Funny you should say that Lou as I feel the same - the ATX200 seems to catch in the back of my throat and the breathing is far less pleasent - not what I would have expected, preferring the oceanic at 30m to the atx!

[Lou]

Drift,

We realised how much when we swapped to ponies for the ascent last time we were at Stoney - it was amazing!

There is something about the ATX. &nbsp;The breathing resistance is noticeably higher, but like you, Caroline complains that *sometimes* it makes her feel like gagging.

I still like the ATX though, and I trust it, which is the main thing!