Cold / deep regs and tech computer

[Dirkadiver]

As far as computers go, the VR3 is arguably the best computer out there as far as versatility, # of gases & all around performance. I dive two of them w/ my tech rig as a primary & a backup along with a slate. As far as regulators, I use the Atomic & Dive Rite Hurricane. (Just purchased the DR Hurricane, so my testimony is limited to the few dives I have on it, but so far it seems to be a great, very easy breathing reg.)

www.vr3.co.uk
www.diverite.com

 

[Flightlead]

A lot of diving there Stosh.... average 4-5 dives/day (7 day week).

yeah, no kidding! I just completed 29 dives in 5.5 days on Bonaire and I was wrecked! Came home and slept for two days. Keeping up a schedule of 5-6 dives a day was really tough. that unlimited Nitrox deal is great!

 

[TheStosh]

yeah, no kidding! I just completed 29 dives in 5.5 days on Bonaire and I was wrecked! Came home and slept for two days. Keeping up a schedule of 5-6 dives a day was really tough. that unlimited Nitrox deal is great!

I'm looking forward to unlimited nitrox in Bonaire this December. I have been diving air on all my previous week long trips. You have to really plan your dives and surface intervals to keep your nitrogen loading in check. Previous years I've had to back off the bottom near the end of the dives a little more. This July in Dominica we had it down to a science with my last 2 (of 32) dives being 130'/66min. and 50'/86min. and that left a comfy 24hr before the puddle jumper flight and another 3hr before the high altitude flight. We landed on Saturday and were back in the local quarry Sunday and again on Wednesday. My fingers are still wrinkled as I type this. I swear they would start to grow webbing if it weren't for the gloves. The big irritation is that my fingerprint scanner on my computer at work hardly recognizes any of my fingers since I came back from this last trip. I have to keep manually typing in my 16-character passwords for everything. I guess I need to reprogram it with one set of normal fingers and one set of post dive fingers.

Anyway, so you can see I really enjoy diving and just being underwater, so that is one of my big motivations to stay down longer than traditional no-deco tables allow. It is just a matter of building on more training, practice, and gear. I don't want to have to rebuy gear if it isn't rated for where I'm going. It is really nice to have a resource like scubaboard.com and all of its members and veteran divers to come to for sound advice.

 

[TheStosh]

I have read several other threads suggesting that the Scubapro MK25/S600s and MK25/G250 are popular. However, I have read mixed results about the S600 freeflowing in cold water.
http://www.scubapro.com/support/manuals/EnglishRegulatorSection.pdf

Does anyone know what depth and temperature these can safely handle?

 

[MSilvia]

I'll put in another vote of support for the Apeks TX200 and DS4 first stage. I've had them to 150' in sub 40 water, and have taken them under ice on consecutive days without a freeflow. I know others who have used them successfully on much more challenging dives than I have.

As for a computer for deco diving with mixed gasses, I use these three in combination:
A PC with V-Planner, an OMS bottom timer, and my brain.

I plan the dive with V-planner and my brain, tape my dive plan and early abort/overstay contingency plans onto a wrist slate, and use a bottom timer and my brain to execute the dive according to plan. IMHO, I don't need or want a mix computer that handles anything more complicated than nitrox.

If I don't go into the dive with a deco plan, I'm not doing deco. If I have a plan, I don't need a computer to tell me how to execute the dive.

My advice is to go ahead with the reg purchase by all means, and consider buying two identical first and second stage sets, but don't spend good money on a tech computer when you have no need for it. Unless you already have a nice set of doubles with independant first and second stage regulators, and a deco bottle with independant first and second stage regulator, a tech computer purchase is putting the cart well before the horse. Even if you do have that stuff, most of the tech divers I know don't use computers for deco diving.

Just get another computer like the one you have in the mean time, and let your wife use that. It'll serve you well for all of your future recreational diving, and may even double as a bottom timer for future tech use.

Tech diving is uber-expensive enough without wasting money.

 

[Tavi]

I have read several other threads suggesting that the Scubapro MK25/S600s and MK25/G250 are popular. However, I have read mixed results about the S600 freeflowing in cold water.
http://www.scubapro.com/support/manuals/EnglishRegulatorSection.pdf

Does anyone know what depth and temperature these can safely handle?

I was on a trip in Lake Erie last year. The temp was 50 at about 75'. Most divers were using Apeks regs. The diver with ScubaPro regs had a freeflow at depth. Sorry, I don't know which model it was.

 

[TheStosh]

As for a computer for deco diving with mixed gasses, I use these three in combination:
A PC with V-Planner, an OMS bottom timer, and my brain.

I plan the dive with V-planner and my brain, tape my dive plan and early abort/overstay contingency plans onto a wrist slate, and use a bottom timer and my brain to execute the dive according to plan. IMHO, I don't need or want a mix computer that handles anything more complicated than nitrox.

If I don't go into the dive with a deco plan, I'm not doing deco. If I have a plan, I don't need a computer to tell me how to execute the dive.

My advice is to go ahead with the reg purchase by all means, and consider buying two identical first and second stage sets, but don't spend good money on a tech computer when you have no need for it. Unless you already have a nice set of doubles with independant first and second stage regulators, and a deco bottle with independant first and second stage regulator, a tech computer purchase is putting the cart well before the horse. Even if you do have that stuff, most of the tech divers I know don't use computers for deco diving.

Just get another computer like the one you have in the mean time, and let your wife use that. It'll serve you well for all of your future recreational diving, and may even double as a bottom timer for future tech use.

Tech diving is uber-expensive enough without wasting money.

Yeah, I came to these same conclusions a couple weeks ago. I just got another Oceanic Proplus 2 computer for her. It can function in guage mode to 300' just like mine. I do like diving with a computer for the ability to download it into my laptop database of all my dives. It gives me data like temperatures, depth profile, etc.

The more I have been learning about mixed gas and deco diving, the more printing and cutting tables makes sense.

I'm still trying to decide on which regs, though.

 

[MSilvia]

I'm still trying to decide on which regs, though.

Performance aside, I really like the clean hose routing the Apeks DS4 first stage give you with doubles.

Image courtesy of Soggydiving.com

I really couldn't be happier with my Apeks reg sets. I tried to think of things I would want changed or improved on them, and nothing in my experience leads me to want anything they don't already deliver.

 

[Hoyden]

Sorry wrong thread

 

[TheStosh]

Looks like the Apex XTX200 is openly rated for 200m which is more than I have found in any documentation so far from other manufactures:
http://www.apeks.co.uk/downloads/certificate XTX200 200m.pdf

For cold water, it is environmentally sealed and dry (not oil or grease). They also use heat exchangers in the second stage.
http://www.aqualung.com/technical_library/Apeks Reg Manual v2 Final.pdf

As with other manufatutres, they just say it is rated for cold water defined as less than 50 degrees F, but I have not found any that will say how much colder.

Any other thoughts on this regulator, or which other regs might offer the same dependability for less money?