1st stage questions

[knobber]

OK, I've gathered enough info from this board to decide Scubapro ($200-250 range)is most likely the 1st stage I'm going to get. But I have a couple more questions.

1) for those of you that bought your own reg, did you immediately buy an octopus with it?

2) should I trust myself to hook all the hoses up to the first stage, or let an LDS do it

3) is there anything potentially wrong (other than glares from the scuba equipment police) about mixing octo and regulator brands together?

Thanks a million!

 

[HammerNoMore]

knobber once bubbled...
1) for those of you that bought your own reg, did you immediately buy an octopus with it?

Yes, they are cheap and the alternative would be what? Diving without one?

2) should I trust myself to hook all the hoses up to the first stage, or let an LDS do it.

It's as easy as screwing in a lightbulb. Just make sure you thread them properly as brass is soft. You want just a hair past hand tight and throw some chrysto lube on the o-rings. I hand tighten all of the connections then take a wrench and add just a tiny turn on the first stage side, leaving the end that attaches to the second stages at hand tight.

3) is there anything potentially wrong (other than glares from the scuba equipment police) about mixing octo and regulator brands together?

Yep. The big thing you want to pay attention to is intermediate pressure (IP). Some brands will have similar IP's. On others they could be way off. As long as they are close, then they will work with the regulator but may require some fine adjustment. If you are hooking them apart yourself and are not comfortable/familiar with adjusting regulators, it would be best to stay with the same brand.

James

 

[JohnCollins]

You do need to have it properly adjusted, but if you have a good regulator technician at your shop, there's no reason not to mix brands. I would have a good technician give you an opinion on what's compatible. I agree with James, I wouldn't do it myself.

I'm planning on putting a dive rite 1215 octo on my Scubapro MK16 with an S550 primary, if they're compatible, that is!

 

[redacted]

Is you either have to find a shop that will service both or use 2 shops to get service. And if the problem is a freeflowing octo, you may be running back and forth trying to find out whether the first or octo is the source.

Can you really save more than about $20.00 by mixing? I recommend you stay with one brand if possible.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The compatability of an octo rests with the octo's compatability with the first stage intermediate pressure. This is an issue regardless of whether you mix brands. SP for example allows IP's between 125 and 140 which is as broad as the range of IP's between most different brands.

The adjustment of an octo to accomodate a higher or lower IP is quite simple and normally just requires a bit of adjustment of seating depth of the orifice in the octo. In many cases though this is not required as the octo is set up in with a noncritical mid range adjustment already. In any case the tech you buy it from should eb abel to install it for you and make any required adjustment at no cost. 'Course, if you by on-line, you will probably have to pay for this service at the LDS.

The recommendation to leave the LP hose fitting attached finger tight to the second stage has some benefit for a tech diver who may find himself with a faulty second stage on a deco bottle and where it is very handy to be able to switch second stages. But it has little value to rec divers in general and absolutely no value to a rec diver with a single tank.

Swapping a second stage in water requires being able to turn off the tank valve. This is not an option for a single tank diver, and what exactly would you switch it with? For a rec diver, it can also create a saftey hazard as over time the LP fitting can unscrew itself from the second stage resulting in a leak or in severe cases with the second stage coming off resulting in a catastrophic loss of air. I don't know many rec divers who actually check this item before every dive. For a rec diving situation, it's a far better idea to use a wrench and tighted it slightly past hand tight, so it will stay put until the next annual service.

When lubing O-rings, put the lube on your fingers and rub the O-ring between them. Very little lube is required and too much lube just gets it into the reg in places it really does not belong and just attracts and hold dirt, which causes more wear on the o-ring. Less is usually more when it comes to o-ring lubrication.