Tecline vs Atomic vs other Regulator Brands

[thaddaeusdietechnik]

Hey everyone,

I am getting more and more into tech diving and now I am looking for my own pair of regulators for tech diving (I already own a Scubapro and Mares for recreational diving). I am based in EU (Germany)

During my intro to cave course I used some Tecline Regulators which I really enjoyed to dive and due to hearing they are similar to the apeks regs and mostly cheaper I am now leaning towards those. What puts me a little off is the service interval which is noted with a 1 year cyclus and the fact that you can not purchase the service kit except you are a official service retailer and mechanican.
I would love to get into servicing in the future, I already requested if it is possible to do a course which they do offer but they said they only offer it to offical service retailers. So there would not be a change to service it by yourself even if you would want to take a service course.

Besides that, I am doing a deco proceduress course right now and got an offer for some used Atomic Regulators M1 and B2 both for 660€. I know the Atomic Regs are usually quite expensive if you buy new (about 700€ new i think for one first and second stage).

Other brands I considered where Apeks or something like Diverite. Maybe you can point me in some direction with some experiences you made.

 

[BoltSnap]

Atomic!

 

[kdlv]

From my research, Tecline are essentially pretty nice Apeks clones. I have several friends that dive them, tried them, fantastic...
While you may be able to source Apeks service kits, the official Tecline kits remain well guarded only to official resellers.
It has been quite a challenge for me so far to become affiliated. I don't know if they use kits identical to Apeks or there are subtle modifications.

From my humble experience, the 1yr service is general guidance similar to the car industry oil change interval. I would be following more the 100 dive guideline or for as long as the 1st stage holds stable IP. 2nd stages are easy and you could easily disassemble, clean them and reuse the same replaceable components if you are into DIY. That would require some tools, special lubricants and measuring instruments to allow for a proper adjustment.

Atomic... no experience with them, even though the titanium 1st stages have been summoning me for a while now

 

[merc97]

Question .Which TECHLINE model is compared to the Apeks XTX50 /

 

[Scared Silly]

I am US based. I dive recreationally/technically and service my Atomic regs. For fun I rebuild and sell Atomic regs. By fun meaning it pays for the parts and beer (I like good beer) but not my time.

Servicing AA regs is not hard. Getting service kits and parts in the US is not too hard as some can be found on line from dealers. Also the specialized tools required can be bought from scubatools.com.

I mostly taught myself the serving with the help of techs at several local shops as well as the books Reg Savvy (from scubatools.com) and Reg Maintenance (Vance Harlow - out of print).

Regarding when to service - when the regs are showing signs of usage (e.g corrosion) and not staying with specs (IP and cracking effort).

As you are in Germany I would research how the AA network is for support.

 

[Wibble]

Second hand Apeks regulators frequently appear online, although never when you want them.

Apeks service kits are also easily available with cheaper clone kits too.

Look out for new bargains too, often in sales.

I’ve several Apeks Tec3, DST and DS4 first stage regs with a variety of XTX and ATX second stages which I’ve collected over the years. Also a couple of scubapro Mk25s for sidemount.

Tec3s are great for bailout and stage regs. Similarly the DSTs work well for stages and recreational singles. DS4s are good for recreational regs. Tec3s are great for twinsets but I’ve not dived those in many years preferring CCR for most boat and overhead diving.

 

[Pressurehead]

(I already own a Scubapro and Mares for recreational diving

I have to ask, what Scubapro and Mares regulators do you already own that you think are not up to the task?

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Have no complaints and have enjoyed using the Diverites on more technical dives, can buy their service kits easily enough as well

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Germany should have strong right to repair laws - so if someone sells you Tecline regs, you should be able to get a service kit too. That’s why you can buy official Apeks service kits in Germany (and you cannot in the UK, booooo Apeks).

Scubapro or Apeks seem to be most popular. You can get Apeks for a good price new for example at SF-1 Scuba Freaks and they will put a kit together for you (SPG, hose lengths etc) for free. I use DS4 for pretty much everything because it’s bullet proof (DST for twinset) and cheapest good reg.

Tecline should be fine but I can’t remember if they have been making regs long enough - XDeep had a recall when they entered the reg market, so you should ask around to see if anyone has any trouble. Other Tecline kit is really good - if I was starting again I would definitely think about standardising to Tecline.

Service intervals are more a wishful thinking of dive shops. The only regs that get a yearly service are my CCR first stages. Stage regs see service when they look too crusty and OC regs - very 2-3 years ish? If it breathes dry and there is no IP creep, it’s good to go. If there are bubbles - replace an o-ring, that’s typical swivel around SPG. If a hose is grubby - replace a hose.

Scubaboard has a US bias - getting anything from the US is a pain, I would buy what people dive locally.

 

[BoltSnap]

The only regs that get a yearly service are my CCR first stages.

Why so?