conshelf XIV -vs- conshelf XXI

[Gonzo_G22]

i have the opertunity to buy a U.S. Divers Conshelf XXI first and second reg with a usd octo and usd pressure guage,

i Also noticed i could pick up a Conshelf XIV first and second from somewhere else.

and i few other XIV rigs form some different people on craiglist in my area...

not in real big hurry to get one and from what i see it wouldnt be hard to find a used XIV

but my real question is what are the differant advantages and disavantages between the two...
which would be better..? i'm sure they would fall into preferrances but i dont have a preferrance as of yet just want to know what are the differances and limmitations to the regs and so forth can any body help... i know there are lot of divers useing these right..
can ya'l please chim in on this and give me some data on these..
thanks in advance..
-Gonzo...

 

[oldmossback]

the XIV is made of brass in both the 1st and second stages.......a bit harder on the gums, teeth and jaw muscles because of this....the early XIV's have a threaded yoke, I think the later models used a yoke and nut much like the XXI, someone can confirm or correct me on that.....innards are the same, save for the removeable hp seat crown in the XXI......the XXI 2nd stage is plastic........not such a longivity item......tuned properly, they breath the same I think........

I bought a tekna 2100b back in the late 70's because of the heavy brass second stages available then.....the tekna was lite in weight similar to a doublehose mouthpiece but not quite...after diving three or four times in a day in Okinawa using a single hose with brass 2nd stage my teeth, gums and jaws were sore and tired........with a double hose they were not......

If you like light weight things in your mouth, the XXI is probably your best bet......or buy a rebuilt USD RAM or Voit Tresti.

 

[Gonzo_G22]

ok,

soo then here is the first thing that comes to mind...
the XIV is heaver and harder on the suck.. (Jar, mouth, teath) but is made of brass and metal so would be more rugged and longer lasting???

???? would the brass used in the parts make this a better cold water reg or one that would do better for tech diving???????

so for a lighter wieght more confy model of the XIV would be the XXI... ??? but would probably be a better model for recreational dives????

or am i getting things mixxed up???
is there any thing else i should know about the two???

 

[Gonzo_G22]

another question????

how many hp and lp ports do these models have??
i'm just learning about them sooo i'm trying to get a better understanding befor i try and buy one...

 

[Luis H]

In the water I personally never had any problem with the weight of a second stage. A lot more load will occur by having the wrong LP hose length. A good comfortable mouthpiece can also make a big difference to most divers.

In this aspect the regulator weight could be a personal preference, but IMHO marketing has over blown the in the water weight issue in order to sell much cheaper plastic second stages. Keep in mind that the cost of manufacturing a plastic housing is a small fraction of the cost of manufacturing a metal housing.

In the water the air buoyancy counteracts a good portion of the housing weight. It does feel nice having a light regulator, but that perception seems to have as much influence above water as in the water.

My wife switched from Scubapro D400 (super light weight, super high performance second stages) to the Scubapro Balanced adjustable second stages. And she likes them better (les bubbles on the face, etc.). Her regulators still use Titan first stages which are the same as a Conshelf, just repackaged with a little better hose routing.

A metal second stage basically will not freeze or give you dry mouth and it should last a very long time.

I have dove with a few plastic second stages and have never seen any advantage other than when they bang against the tank (on the surface) they make less noise. I use plastic low profile octopus (alternate second stages) just because they don’t make noise when they hit other metal (like my double hose), but other than that I have not personally found any advantage to plastic.

The first stages on all Conshelf are very similar. The major difference is the number of ports and size. In the other thread someone else already answer this.