scrane
Contributor
With enough rationalization and a dip into the slush fund I could get a TFX. But with its over the top pricing and its marketing to "Connoisseurs" I just get annoyed with Atomic's tactics.
The New Atomic TFX
- Thread starter rsingler
- Start date
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Scared Silly
Contributor
A followup and an interesting one at that. I picked my reg from AA this morning. When they inspected the reg they found a hole in the mouth piece that could lead to water intrusion. Great that they caught that but unfortunately they threw it away. As such, now there is no way to go backwards. That is the wetness we experienced could have been the mouth piece and/or valve. In some regards moot now that the parts have replace. Now sure when it will get wet, might have to do a pool dive.
OMyMyOHellYes
Contributor
I'll send you my address in a DM and take care of that for you.
I want to give a public THANK YOU to @rsingler for his continuing support of my efforts to sort out my TFX.
I believe it is now finally sorted out and finally the reg that is supposed to be.
In short, I don't dive single tank very often at all. So, though I got my TFX when they first came out, I have actually dived it very little.
When I first got it, I commented that it breathed just a little bit wet when I would basically stand on my head underwater. No big deal, to me, as all my other regs are less dry.
But, Rob let me know that Atomic had updated the exhaust valve to fix that very problem and facilitated me having a new one to put in.
I installed it in late February, before going on a one-week Caribbean liveaboard. There, it didn't seem much better, but I suspected that that was because I didn't reassemble it exactly perfectly. It was still better than all my other regs, so I left it alone for the duration of the trip. I didn't want to risk making it worse or even undiveable while in the middle of a trip.
I talked to Rob in March, after I got back and we agreed on what I needed to do to really fix it.
And then it just sat, untouched for 6 months.
Now, I am leaving in a few days for another shop trip and so I busted out my notes from Rob and went to work on my TFX on Saturday. Long story short, I ended up needing some more consultation and Rob instantly replied to my messages. I worked on it some more yesterday and then got in the pool with it.
Now, the cracking effort is even lighter than it was from the factory. It breathes like a DREAM. And, it is 99.9% dry. I got in every kind of orientation I could think of. Vertical upside down, looking straight ahead, looking up towards the surface, on my back looking at the surface and looking up at an angle. Every kind of orientation to position the exhaust valve in the worst possible position to make it breathe wet. Inhaling very gently and slowly. Inhaling hard. The WORST I got was a very few, very tiny drops. Way drier than it breathed from the factory with the original exhaust valve. Compared to anything else I've tried, it is PRACTICALLY 100% dry.
I am REALLY looking forward to diving it for 10 days in Fiji starting this coming weekend.
I sure do wish Atomic would make a more affordable version of this 2nd stage. EVERYONE should have one of these.
And one more time, THANK YOU, Rob for all your patience and help.
I believe it is now finally sorted out and finally the reg that is supposed to be.
In short, I don't dive single tank very often at all. So, though I got my TFX when they first came out, I have actually dived it very little.
When I first got it, I commented that it breathed just a little bit wet when I would basically stand on my head underwater. No big deal, to me, as all my other regs are less dry.
But, Rob let me know that Atomic had updated the exhaust valve to fix that very problem and facilitated me having a new one to put in.
I installed it in late February, before going on a one-week Caribbean liveaboard. There, it didn't seem much better, but I suspected that that was because I didn't reassemble it exactly perfectly. It was still better than all my other regs, so I left it alone for the duration of the trip. I didn't want to risk making it worse or even undiveable while in the middle of a trip.
I talked to Rob in March, after I got back and we agreed on what I needed to do to really fix it.
And then it just sat, untouched for 6 months.
Now, I am leaving in a few days for another shop trip and so I busted out my notes from Rob and went to work on my TFX on Saturday. Long story short, I ended up needing some more consultation and Rob instantly replied to my messages. I worked on it some more yesterday and then got in the pool with it.
Now, the cracking effort is even lighter than it was from the factory. It breathes like a DREAM. And, it is 99.9% dry. I got in every kind of orientation I could think of. Vertical upside down, looking straight ahead, looking up towards the surface, on my back looking at the surface and looking up at an angle. Every kind of orientation to position the exhaust valve in the worst possible position to make it breathe wet. Inhaling very gently and slowly. Inhaling hard. The WORST I got was a very few, very tiny drops. Way drier than it breathed from the factory with the original exhaust valve. Compared to anything else I've tried, it is PRACTICALLY 100% dry.
I am REALLY looking forward to diving it for 10 days in Fiji starting this coming weekend.
I sure do wish Atomic would make a more affordable version of this 2nd stage. EVERYONE should have one of these.
And one more time, THANK YOU, Rob for all your patience and help.
Nice to see that a $3,000 reg breathes properly…
Mine has been pretty flawless, I don’t do much on my head in a dry suit but in Curacao I did it a lot just to see, the worst that happened on occasion I would get a hint of salt sensation. I had super tuned it before the trip and the breathing effort was imperceptible but it eventually started a dribble between breaths, readjusted it and still going great. I only have the second stage so for me it’s an $1150 reg (nuts still but still feel it’s worth it.
Geo7
Contributor
I did a 70 min dive through the kelp forest with lots of up down and twists to see everything and my buddy behind me, and this time I did notice subtle saltwater spray. Not much. It reminded my of diving my Poseidon Jetstream in the ocean years ago.
But I have to say I changed to an Apeks mouthpiece. The modern big bore comfobite mouthpiece allowed so much flow that the reg stuttered. This reg needs a normal mouthpiece. After consulting Lex, we wonder if the occasional little stutter pushed the exhaust diaphragm and allowed a drop of water in. I'll re-adjust lever play and cracking effort, and am sure it'll be flawless like the other ones.
In my mind it's a Ferrari and needs to be set up perfectly. It's an expensive reg for sure, but all things considered we spend insane amounts of money on diving anyway (I spent half my money on diving, and wasted the other half)...
But I have to say I changed to an Apeks mouthpiece. The modern big bore comfobite mouthpiece allowed so much flow that the reg stuttered. This reg needs a normal mouthpiece. After consulting Lex, we wonder if the occasional little stutter pushed the exhaust diaphragm and allowed a drop of water in. I'll re-adjust lever play and cracking effort, and am sure it'll be flawless like the other ones.
In my mind it's a Ferrari and needs to be set up perfectly. It's an expensive reg for sure, but all things considered we spend insane amounts of money on diving anyway (I spent half my money on diving, and wasted the other half)...
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