ball swivel question

[Hoosier]

Moreover, I forgot to mention about Oxycheq elbow. I was told that it is one of the best elbow in the market, but pricey. If you are really anxious about a failure issue, I think Oxycheq is the best choice. When I was in the market, some members recommended the Oxycheq ones, but I ended up with ScubaPro ones because my regs are SP regs.

 

[Tom Winters]

Tom, the two swivels look significantly different:
MJ Engineering
Tech Blue

Which one do you have?

Mine are M&J but they came from Tech Blue last year. Looking at the M&J site, I saw a rebuild kit with a little tiny set screw in it. Then looking at the swivel, sure enough, there's the set screw on the opposite end of the primary screw. I guess the set screw squishes the main screw in place. Tricky engineering there.
No wonder they cost so much.
I got the swivels, shut-off valves and hoses for free. Looking at the prices of all of this stuff, I doubt that I would have purchased them. I never got around to eBaying them and I got tired of looking at them in the gear locker. My wife and I do like those swivels though.

 

[liberato]

One of the deciding factors about buying my Atomic B2 was the fact that it came with a swivel and it apeared well manufactured and durable. It makes a HUGE difference in decreasing jaw fatigue.

The Atomic swivel makes even the apparently well-made M&J Engineering swivel look primitive. It is in a different league altogether, a true ball-and-socket joint. Atomic says not to use it on other regulators, though. Atomic regs have a removable jam nut which makes the nipple twice as long as normal when removed. I had an extra Atomic swivel I was going to try on a different reg but then thought better of doing that. I figured there is a reason it needs the long nipple otherwise they could sell a lot more of them if it didn't.

The Tech Blue swivel looks like a cheap chrome plated brass casting, definitely not the M&J one anymore. I'll try the M&J one. $42.81 at Amron International. Also available at OxyCheq.

 

[aquaholic901]

The Atomic swivel makes even the apparently well-made M&J Engineering swivel look primitive. It is in a different league altogether, a true ball-and-socket joint. Atomic says not to use it on other regulators, though. Atomic regs have a removable jam nut which makes the nipple twice as long as normal when removed. I had an extra Atomic swivel I was going to try on a different reg but then thought better of doing that. I figured there is a reason it needs the long nipple otherwise they could sell a lot more of them if it didn't.

The Tech Blue swivel looks like a cheap chrome plated brass casting, definitely not the M&J one anymore. I'll try the M&J one. $42.81 at Amron International. Also available at OxyCheq.

I'll second the Atomic swivel. I often do long (1.5-2 hr) dives off Venice beach and have absolutley zero jaw fatigue. Love it!

 

[liberato]

Does anyone know what the aluminum tube thingy is in the Omni Swivel Tool Kit? Would I be able to install the maintenance kit without it? It seems pretty silly to buy another screwdriver and hex keys...

 

[Captain CaveMan]

the AXT50 1st stage has a swivel head on the lp side. it help out realy well.. when i get the reg service every year they will change that o-ring.. and they will makesure it doesnt get pinched in or cut durring the install.

 

[jwvanno]

I would be interested to hear who has actually witnessed a ball swivel failure. We've heard one first hand account and I wonder just how common it really is.

I know this thread is over a month old, but I had to respond to this comment.

I had this same swivel. I liked it a lot while using it for 30 or so dives. It failed last week at 110 feet. I have since removed it. See http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=112552

Kraken made a comment that matched one I made in my Near Misses thread... A tiny dot of Lok-Tite would have saved me and my buddies a serious adrenaline rush.

I really liked the swivel, and missed it on the last dive of the day, but I just don't TRUST it anymore... The ones from Atomic look great and I may go that route, but for now, I'm swivel free...

 

[ShakaZulu]

There was a post recently on this board where one of those failed..........happy diving.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=112552&highlight=swivel

Ok, it's a little different, but same thing.

 

[StSomewhere]

The problem isn't with the concept of the swivel per se, its with that particular design. Look at all the failures, they are all copies or rebranded versions of the same 360° model.

 

[liberato]

...I had this same swivel. I liked it a lot while using it for 30 or so dives. It failed last week at 110 feet.

Actually, it looks like you had the piece of junk Trident/Promate type swivel. I have not seen any reports of failure with the well-made M&K swivel. Look at what is in the the rebuild kit for the M&K. That tells me a lot.

Anyway, the best news is that someone in another thread implied that Atomic is releasing a universal version of their Atomic-regulator-only swivel (with ball and socket design) next month. There will then be no reason to use any other design.

That was quite a dive you had! At least now you have a good story you can tell...