dir regs

[SparticleBrane]

As I understand it, the 50, 100, and 200 second stages are the same. I could be wrong, however.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Hi all,

This debate crops up regularly at our shop, with the Scubapro camp v's the Apeks crowd. It often gets heated! Heres my twopenneth for anyone whose interested

I rent and service both piston and diaphragm regulators. Piston regs without a shadow of a doubt suffer more from salt water corrosion than diaphragm designs. They will in my opinion require servicing more frequently in order to remove deposits, corrosion, degraded o-rings/washers/shims etc. Some diaphragm regs however, do not perform as well as piston types after being flooded. (Dust cap left off during rinsing or a deliberate hot swap underwater) Not such a big deal for fresh water divers.

The Scubapro's have a more flexible hose routing option with the LP port on the top of the turret, and some of the Apeks regs will drive you crazy with the 1/2" primary port if you are running doubles.

Also - no slurping with newer Apeks regs and the overbalanced 2nd stages are awesome, breathe fantastically and are a dream to service.

I would put the MK25 and the DS4 as a "draw", they are so close in performance, but I dont think anything beats the ATX100 / XTX100 for tech diving.

Cheers

Chris

Nicely put Chris.

 

[Vie]

As I understand it, the 50, 100, and 200 second stages are the same. I could be wrong, however.

They are identical apart from cosmetic differences - the 50 also has a different finish on the metal parts.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

not really, but most of the servicable parts in the old and new Apeks regs are the same, so you have to wonder if you need an upgrade.

They only need servicing every other year, which is also a bonus.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Well I just ordered 2 XTX50s with DS4s, so I hope I enjoy them.
__________________
He he! Good choice! You will love them I'm sure. Let us all know what you think.

 

[RTodd]

This is a good summary. I have about a dozen DS4/TX50s and a dozen SP Mk25/G250s. SP typically breathes slightly better and hose routing is better but it is more prone to freeflow, is more difficult to detune to an IP of 120, and generally requires an overhaul after 6-18 months. (The ones that only go 6 being a real PIA.)

SP, being piston, also has the advantage of dealing with flooding better - a nice trait for stage regs. (It is fun to hand SP regs to a tech with an SPG 3/4 full of water and watch their reaction when you tell them this one is one of the ones that is still working.)

The big plus of APEX regs is that they can generally go years between servicings, breathe fine (just about anything works well with helium and above 100' the two are really close). If you are properly diligent and service regs every year (I don't) the Apex will be very reliable. The SPs less so.

Hi all,

This debate crops up regularly at our shop, with the Scubapro camp v's the Apeks crowd. It often gets heated! Heres my twopenneth for anyone whose interested

I rent and service both piston and diaphragm regulators. Piston regs without a shadow of a doubt suffer more from salt water corrosion than diaphragm designs. They will in my opinion require servicing more frequently in order to remove deposits, corrosion, degraded o-rings/washers/shims etc. Some diaphragm regs however, do not perform as well as piston types after being flooded. (Dust cap left off during rinsing or a deliberate hot swap underwater) Not such a big deal for fresh water divers.

The Scubapro's have a more flexible hose routing option with the LP port on the top of the turret, and some of the Apeks regs will drive you crazy with the 1/2" primary port if you are running doubles.

Also - no slurping with newer Apeks regs and the overbalanced 2nd stages are awesome, breathe fantastically and are a dream to service.

I would put the MK25 and the DS4 as a "draw", they are so close in performance, but I dont think anything beats the ATX100 / XTX100 for tech diving.

Cheers

Chris

 

[Vie]

As I understand it, the 50, 100, and 200 second stages are the same. I could be wrong, however.

They are identical apart from cosmetic differences - the 50 also has a different finish on the metal parts.

not really, but most of the servicable parts in the old and new Apeks regs are the same, so you have to wonder if you need an upgrade.

Well. I didn't say anything about upgrades but the fact remains that the Apeks 50, 100, and 200 second stages are identical apart from cosmetic differences - this is of course within the series, i.e. the TX50 and TX100 are basically the same (there was no TX200), the ATX50, ATX100, ATX200 are basically the same, the XTX50, XTX100 and XTX200 are basically the same and so on. The 50s (be it the TX50, ATX50 or the XTX50) have a different (shinier) finish on the visible metal parts from the 100/200s

They only need servicing every other year, which is also a bonus.

Apeks regs may only need servicing every other year but one would still have to change the filter on the first stage and fully service the second stage annually in order to not void the warranty/first owner lifetime guarantee....

 

[Arcaporale]

i'm semi-dir and i have two atx 200s and love them, but hose routing is a little bit of a hassle. i use mk/25's and 17's w/ g250's for stage bottles.

 

[ams511]

I have a strange collection if Apeks regs: 2 Beuchat VX-10's (Apeks TX-50's with DST's), 1 Zeagle 50D (Apeks TX-50 with DS4), and I just bought a Apeks ATX-100 on Fleabay. That is why I was wondering if they can me upgraded.

 

[Arcaporale]

I think there might be a difference with the atx 50 100 200 2nd stages regarding removable crowns depending on when they were made, not sure on the specifics. But I was told not to get the 200 because the crown wasn't removable. I got it anyways, actually two of them and they are great. Any input on this Chris from Silent World?