Aqualung Legend with Octo
- Thread starter Din Valve
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
mack50md
Contributor
I have the Aqualung ABS Octo http://www.aqualung.com/products/abs_octopus.html with my Legend. Just seemed easier to match the first and second stage with the octo for compatibility and service reasons. It was relatively inexpensive compared to the 1st and 2nd stages. Can be used in any position and it does the job. I would ask your local LDS about the compatibility issue and service support for any octo you decide to go with. Just my 2 bubbles worth.
rescuediver009
Contributor
I used to be under the impression that the LPO and ABS were unbalanced and balanced versions of the same reg respectively. Upon taking apart an ABS I figured out that it was not balanced either. I don't know why they carry the two regs as they are the same. So if you want to sonform to keeping it balanced, you can get the LX octo from Aqualung, or if you want a cheaper solution, I think that the Apeks AT20 might be a solution keeping in the Aqualung family. If anything I would recommend staying with the same brand as it will make it easier to service if the regs are all the same.
Personally, I don't see too much harm if you want to throw on the LPO. The only problem is that the increased IP as you descend may cause a bit of a trickle on the reg. But this can be dealt with.
Personally, I don't see too much harm if you want to throw on the LPO. The only problem is that the increased IP as you descend may cause a bit of a trickle on the reg. But this can be dealt with.
i was told from a aqualung rep since the reg is overballenced some octos will freeflow at depth with it... Hmm my friends LPO free flowed like crazy with at at around 100 feet... I have seen people use the mares proton octo with no problems with it.. Hmm maybe some companys make matching octo for a reason? dont know if u can tune them to work.. but thats just waht i have seen and heard from smarter people
Skyjunky
Contributor
I have the Legend Lx and the Octpus Lx. Works great.
Boogie711
Guest
The LPO scares me, to be honest. That's a piece of life support, but it's plastic, cheap, and looks like something you can buy at Wal-Mart. To me, it doesn't say something about you as a dive buddy if that's what you're offering to me in the event of an OOA emergency.
Personally, I dive twin ATX50's. I figure a stressed diver in an emergency deserves to be sucking air out of something that isn't likely to break apart if you look at it funny.
That's just my opinion. I don't have any stories of an LPO failing or anything to back it up - it just looks... cheap.
Personally, I dive twin ATX50's. I figure a stressed diver in an emergency deserves to be sucking air out of something that isn't likely to break apart if you look at it funny.
That's just my opinion. I don't have any stories of an LPO failing or anything to back it up - it just looks... cheap.
Cool...I agree with boogie on something. The LPO scares me as well. I have made it a rule never to buy a bubble packaged reg. It really does look like it belongs in the same isle with the pool toys in Wal-mart. A buddy handing me one would be more than enough incentive for me to just mug him for his primary.
Most octos are pre-set at the factory to have cracking efforts .5 to 1.0 inches of water higher than their primary counterparts. The higher cracking effort reduces unintentional freeflows and also provides a large margin of tolerance for first stage IP, so installation is usually just a screw it on and go type of deal.
If compatibility issues are encountered, most first stages operate at an IP between 120 and 145 psi and nearly every octo made can be readily adjusted to operate anywhere in that range so a compatibility problem is nothing a competent tech can't fix in about 5 minutes.
Most octos are pre-set at the factory to have cracking efforts .5 to 1.0 inches of water higher than their primary counterparts. The higher cracking effort reduces unintentional freeflows and also provides a large margin of tolerance for first stage IP, so installation is usually just a screw it on and go type of deal.
If compatibility issues are encountered, most first stages operate at an IP between 120 and 145 psi and nearly every octo made can be readily adjusted to operate anywhere in that range so a compatibility problem is nothing a competent tech can't fix in about 5 minutes.
yknot
Guest
Two questions- what does overbalancing the first stage have to do with second stage performance? What exactly is a pneumatically balanced second stage? In regards to the Aqualung stuff, I recently picked up a Titan for my kids to use. The deal included a XLC octo. Other than the exhaust tee (and color), I couldn't find any difference between the primary 2nd and the octo. I only bring this up because the XLC octos are a bit cheaper than the LPO (I agree with Boogie- the hockey puck octos just look substandard to me).
Me too, I will agree with Boogie, for the few dollars that you save, why on earth would anyone buy a really crappy second stage which is what every octo I have ever tried is.
For something like $25-50 more you can get the same model as your primary. If you want it can even be yellow but I don;t recomend that either.
Think about it.
Gary
For something like $25-50 more you can get the same model as your primary. If you want it can even be yellow but I don;t recomend that either.
Think about it.
Gary
Snowball
Registered
Boogie, I agree. I have no idea why so many divers use sub-standard octo, especially when a panicking diving is more likely to grab the primary off their buddy's mouth than search for the octo. And if something went wrong with my primary (even something as simple as the mouthpiece breaking off) I wouldn't want to be switching to something inferior at depth.
Seriously, these are life support equipment. Surely you won't want to be wondering if you should have spent that $25-50 when things happens at depth.
- Dan
Seriously, these are life support equipment. Surely you won't want to be wondering if you should have spent that $25-50 when things happens at depth.
- Dan
Similar threads
