tank valve compatibility around the world

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alex_can_dive

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Location
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Is it correct to assume that all tank valves can be turned into DIN-compat by removing the inserts in the middle? Have you ever seen any tank that cannot accept a DIN reg? (If you have, please share your country/region, if possible)


Thanks.

Edit: I'm asking because I've got a DIN reg and I'm wondering if I should bring a set of hex keys or the DIN-to-yoke adapter when travelling. I'd much prefer the former since the yoke setup is bulky
 
Is it correct to assume that all tank valves can be turned into DIN-compat by removing the inserts in the middle? Have you ever seen any tank that cannot accept a DIN reg? (If you have, please share your country/region, if possible)


Thanks.
Countries where yoke is common may use valves which are purely yoke, not the European style which uses a DIN valve plus an insert.

Thus as @formernuke says, you should bring a DIN to Yoke adapter -- a pinch of prevention's worth a pound of cure.
 
Is it correct to assume that all tank valves can be turned into DIN-compat by removing the inserts in the middle? Have you ever seen any tank that cannot accept a DIN reg? (If you have, please share your country/region, if possible)


Thanks.

Edit: I'm asking because I've got a DIN reg and I'm wondering if I should bring a set of hex keys or the DIN-to-yoke adapter when travelling. I'd much prefer the former since the yoke setup is bulky

very uncommon actually for shops to have convertible valves, and if they do, they are often frozen from lack of use. I would bring the yoke adapter with you especially in the Caribbean.

edit: many of us actually keep a yoke regulator around for such trips or will convert a regulator back to yoke. I certainly am not that picky about DIN for open water diving and while I have several dozen DIN regulators, when I travel for vacation, everything is yoke.
 
Edit: I'm asking because I've got a DIN reg and I'm wondering if I should bring a set of hex keys or the DIN-to-yoke adapter when travelling. I'd much prefer the former since the yoke setup is bulky
Bring both. The DIN to Yoke adapter stays in my regulator bag, and the hex keys stay in my save a dive kit. If using rental tanks, it doesn’t hurt to call ahead and ask. They may be able to accommodate you with a convertible tank.
 
I agree with @tbone1004 --in the US and much of the Caribbean. When I was a fairly new diver and started reading about the merits of DIN, I became a DIN disciple and bought DIN regs. After several trips to the Caribbean and FL Keys I got tired of finding the dive ops' rental tanks had either had yoke-only valves or, if convertible, that internal corrosion had frozen the plug in place. The dive ops with those convertible valves generally offered help when they saw me struggling to remove the plugs, but I got the feeling it was an annoyance to them. Often, they had to check a couple of different tanks for me until they found one they could remove the plug from. When I started venturing to Asia, I found the same sort of yoke bias. Sure, some resorts that are frequented by more Europeans than Americans offer more DIN valve tanks.

Eventually, I replaced the DIN couplings on my regs with yoke. I'm in the market for new regs now, and I'm going to buy Deep6 with yoke. Never mind that for cave diving all my other regs are DIN. For vacation destinations, I'm taking yoke regs.

P.S. I never liked the DIN-to-yoke adapter, as the space it took up made the reg sit too close to the back of my head. It has been pointed out in similar discussions that they only add maybe a half inch, but whatever the number, it's enough to make a difference to me.

P.P.S. It is possible to swap DIN for yoke couplings on a reg in preparation for a trip. It takes a few minutes, the right tools, and you might also want to use a torque wrench to torque the coupling to the manufacturer's spec. Admittedly a minor task, but enough for me that my vacation-diving regs remain yoke.
 
The only place I've ever rented tanks (in my rather limited travels) with convertible valves was in Tulum... and the plugs were all out and misplaced as cenote/cave divers use DIN. I actually had to use the insert plug I keep in my save a dive kit to make the valve usable for my yoke first stage (had to use my own allen key as well!).

I've since changed my first over to DIN for local use but always carry a convertor just in case I end up borrowing a tank and a plug if I loan out one of my own tanks. I will likely swap it back to the yoke mount when travelling depending on where I'm going to make life easier and to eliminate a failure point.

Addition and clarification: I purposely bought regulator sets for myself and the kids that could be switched back and forth, We can dive DIN here at home on our own tanks but upon confirmation with the operator before a trip we can switch them back to yoke if need be. For my Apeks I had to buy a conversion kit but the kids' Cressi sets (ordered DIN) came set up for yoke but with a DIN convertor kit included that took a few minutes to switch in for the yoke.
 
Just why is yoke so popular when it's such an inferior and flawed design compared with DIN?
 
Just why is yoke so popular when it's such an inferior and flawed design compared with DIN?
Because this is 'merica and if there is a better way to do things, we'll dig in with our way and force the rest of the world to follow suit.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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