Atomic Vs Oceanic

[Thalassamania]

Atomic makes the best flow thru piston regulator in the world, but I'd much rather dive a diaphragm rig.

 

[martzak]

Thalassamania, spoken like a true 'high pressure philosopher'.
I never understood the obsession with piston regs some divers have, even when diving in really cold waters. I don't know maybe i'm out of line here, but if one has to fill the ambient chamber on a piston reg with Christolube in order to environmentally seal the reg, maybe it's time to try a diaphragm reg.

 

[Thalassamania]

The flow thru piston is a brilliant design, one of the truly great modern concepts. It's got like one moving part, and the only things that wear are the o-rings on the piston and the HP seat. OK, the knife edge sometimes needs a little attention and over the long haul the springs can fatigue, but compared to a flow thru piston the diaphragm regulators that I love are ... well ... sort of Rube Goldberg machines. So why do I love them? I just like keeping salt water out of the innards of my regulator. I like having salt water two steps away, with no performance decrement, when I use an enviro-kit. I like using good rum as the antifreeze, so I can drink it in the spring ... Christolube is a bit hard to get down, even if it is food grade.

 

[DwayneJ]

I never understood the obsession with piston regs some divers have.

I never even knew to consider piston vs diaphragm when I first started diving and since I subsequently purchased Atomic, it works so well, there is no reason to consider any other reg. My buddy and I had three aborted dives due to problems with his Aqualung first stage - he abandoned it and purchased Atomic.

 

[martzak]

DwayneJ,
Try your atomic on a few dives in Lake Michigan in February @ 130ft, without packing it with Christolube, then let me know how it's working out for ya. Glad you like your Atomic, I like my Oceanic CDX5, whoop-tee-doo.

 

[Laustimus]

DwayneJ,
Try your atomic on a few dives in Lake Michigan in February @ 130ft, without packing it with Christolube, then let me know how it's working out for ya. Glad you like your Atomic, I like my Oceanic CDX5, whoop-tee-doo.

Quite the adult like comment.

 

[fnfalman]

DwayneJ,
Try your atomic on a few dives in Lake Michigan in February @ 130ft, without packing it with Christolube, then let me know how it's working out for ya. Glad you like your Atomic, I like my Oceanic CDX5, whoop-tee-doo.

Why would a person want to use an improperly prepped regulator for the environment that it is going to be used in and then complain?

 

[Downing]

Sigh. Why do these threads always have to devolve into "What I use and what I do and when I do it is smart but what you use and what you do and when you do it is stupid!!!"?

If we all dove with the same gear in the same spot and at the same time, not only would it be really crowded but no one could tell us apart, which would really suck if one of us got a phone call because we'd all have to get out.

 

[martzak]

Why would a person want to use an improperly prepped regulator for the environment that it is going to be used in and then complain?

You wouldn't. I was just trying to make a point that by design some regs (namely, diaphragm) are simply better suited for dirty, very cold water conditions...that's all. I'm not knocking Atomic or any other piston reg for that matter. I used to own one. It worked great. However, I eventually realized that a diaphragm reg is just a better choice for my type of diving and service schedule. End of story.

 

[DwayneJ]

DwayneJ,
Try your atomic on a few dives in Lake Michigan in February @ 130ft, without packing it with Christolube, then let me know how it's working out for ya. Glad you like your Atomic, I like my Oceanic CDX5, whoop-tee-doo.

You missed my point - I would suggest most new divers (including myself) would not consider the benefits of piston vs diaphragm especially when their location does not call for any environmental consideration. Personally, I considered other attributes but not piston/diaphragm.

I have a friend who just got certified - He wants a cheap secondhand regulator - He has absolutely no care for the make, model, or mechanical capabilities.