DIN v. Yoke! Fight!

[ams511]

When said o-ring blow at depth, its more than inconvenient - check my sig if you think it dont happen..

I read your story but it seems to me that the o-ring blowing could have been due poor equipment maintenance by the Egyptian dive op, not because there is anything wrong with a yoke valve. I could just as easily say do not dive with shady dive ops.

 

[Tigerman]

I read your story but it seems to me that the o-ring blowing could have been due poor equipment maintenance by the Egyptian dive op, not because there is anything wrong with a yoke valve. I could just as easily say do not dive with shady dive ops.

It was not an op owned regulator but my buddys private one and the tank and o-ring looked as fine as any other.

And shady dive op? Yeah, I dont think so considering it was one of the most reputable dive shops in the red sea and not one of those dodgy ehm - not english speaking ones..

 

[AaronRiot]

Whatever you choose I'd not support the guy who's tried to pull one over on ya. Maybe it's time for a new, trustworthy, LDS? Or knowledgeable at the very least.

Personally, I had an owner warn me that the reg I was looking at (that he didn't sell) could possibly kill me. I got it anyway and I'm still breathing (from said reg as a matter of fact).

Don't reward poor behaviour or it will continue.

In other news, my yoke adapter doesn't get in my head's way in the slightest..

 

[Drewpy]

I have a SP Mk 25..originally it was yoke but ended up getting Hp tanks so I switched it out for DIN and got an adapter for travel.
I do like the DIN but have not had any probs with yoke (knock on wood)..the adapter does not get in my way either.

 

[halocline]

It was not an op owned regulator but my buddys private one and the tank and o-ring looked as fine as any other.

But, since the o-ring is on the tank, not the regulator, whatever regulator is involved is irrelevant. People routinely compare rental yoke tanks with privately owned DIN tanks and it's not a fair comparison. That said, it's very unlikely that a tank o-ring will blow at depth if it is working when pressurized at the surface. As the depth increases and the dive progresses, the pressure gradient across that o-ring decreases. What you went through (I didn't follow the link but I assume you describe a blown o-ring at depth) is very rare. There are also rare but possible ways to lose air quickly at depth using DIN tanks. As a result, any safe diving practice includes an alternate air source and/or immediate access to the surface. This goes for recreational diving too; namely the buddy system. If an equipment failure in essentially any kind of diving (with some very extreme exceptions, I suppose) becomes life threatening, it's due to poor diving practices and NOT the equipment failure.

 

[Tigerman]

I never said It was life threatening, that it couldnt happen to DIN or any of the kind, I simply stated that it can and does happen and its more than inconvenient when it does - cause that tank wont have air for very long and the time you have will decrease quickly the deeper you are.

 

[chrpai]

I went DIN with the Hog D1. Sure, I had to dive the adapter for a month or two while I borrowed a friends yoke AL80 but it wasn't that big of a deal. Found some dirt cheap ($10 each) AL80's on Craigslist and put new covertible valves on them. Total price was still half that of a new tank.

I feel like I made the right choice for me. A friend with a yoke reg wanted to borrow a tank last night so I just screwed the plug back in. Took it back out today for a fill.

If I travel, I'll just bring my adapter. I can dive that for a week and not care.

 

[ams511]

I never said It was life threatening, that it couldnt happen to DIN or any of the kind, I simply stated that it can and does happen and its more than inconvenient when it does - cause that tank wont have air for very long and the time you have will decrease quickly the deeper you are.

I did read your link and it could have been life threatening if it happened latter in the dive when the tank pressure was lower. However, I have to agree with Halo that the regulator should not make a difference. The o-ring must have been nicked or damaged either before he put reg on or during putting it on. Yoke valves are very common in scuba (at least in the western hemisphere), if they were inherently unsafe we would be having many more failures than we do.

---------- Post Merged at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:07 PM ----------

Found some dirt cheap ($10 each) AL80's on Craigslist.

I hate you., but seriously you can pick up new valves for $40 and they should cost nothing to install if you are getting a VIP at the same time. The valve needs to be removed to check the inside of the tank so it shouldn't cost anything additional to put the new valve on.

 

[Tigerman]

ams511 where the hell did I ever say that yoke is inherently unsafe??

But sure, Ill keep the fact that o-rings can blow at depth quite from here on, since you insist...
I mean, as it didnt happen in USA it must have been bad maintenance by an op that does all there is in their power to kill all their (mainly) north-european customers.

 

[chrpai]

I hate you., but seriously you can pick up new valves for $40 and they should cost nothing to install if you are getting a VIP at the same time. The valve needs to be removed to check the inside of the tank so it shouldn't cost anything additional to put the new valve on.

The tanks were out of hydro. My cost break down was about $10 for tank, $50 for valve, $18 for hydro, $20 for VIP and $7 for tax = $105. All in all I think this is in the middle of the range for what a used AL80 goes for except mine had a fresh hydro, brand new valves and DIN/yoke instead of only yoke. The dirt cheap tanks just got me in at a price point that I could refurb these tanks back into service and I didn't have to pay a premium for DIN.