Are valve stem DIN spin outs not standardized?

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pauldw

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This is just a little, not especially important question, prompted by mild curiosity. I have a tank, with a Blue Steel valve, and the spin out thing to get to DIN uses an 8mm Allen wrench. Now I have a second tank, with an XS Scuba valve, and the spin out thing to get to DIN uses a 1/4 inch Allen wrench. Is it usual for there not to be standardization on the inside of a part that has to at least be standardized on the outside so as to fit a yoke if it's in?
 
There are two 'standard' variants of the spin out DIN inserts... Imperial or Metric.
I'd just replace the 1/4" one with an 8mm so you don't have to carry two Allen keys.
 
There are two 'standard' variants of the spin out DIN inserts... Imperial or Metric.
I'd just replace the 1/4" one with an 8mm so you don't have to carry two Allen keys.
Maybe you mean 6mm.
And there are more than those two, as well.
 
Maybe you mean 6mm.
And there are more than those two, as well.
Nope all of mine take an 8mm Allen key... pretty much standard this side of the Pacific.
I've had a couple of older valves with the 1/4" (6.35mm) size insert but I swapped them out with 8mm for consistency across my tanks.
 
I have several with different O-ring sizes on the reg side.
 
I have seen at least 3 different allen key versions, two different DIN o-ring sizes, and 2 different yoke o-rings. They are all interchangeable at the valve obviously but I would recommend trading one with someone that uses the same o-rings and allen key size
 
Nope all of mine take an 8mm Allen key... pretty much standard this side of the Pacific.
I've had a couple of older valves with the 1/4" (6.35mm) size insert but I swapped them out with 8mm for consistency across my tanks.
Ahh, I misunderstood your intent. I thought you were proposing a metric size to fit the 1/4 inch insert.
 
Murphy's Law Corollary: Constants aren't: variables won't. What should have been standardized (a constant) from the beginning has been re-invented a number of times. Some fittings won't allow all the yokes to fit and so on.
 
Can I throw a spanner/wrench (to be continentally correct!):
In the days of yore, when we were old or bold divers (not both?), my first insert was a slot.
Great fun if not pampered. When hex arrived, it ,with its easy out gouges, was expelled to the nether regions of equipment not ever to be thought of again. (Even beyond my Nemrod Snark1 (Black death)).
 
... trading one with someone that uses the same o-rings and allen key size

And if you "leave" your 3+ tanks to be filled that you standardized with 8mm allens,,,,,,rest assured someone will come by and steal your 8mm and replace it with something smaller just because they want their "set" to match. And that's 1 reason I switched from a "yoke" shop to a "cave" shop.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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