Dive Rite Regs for HOGs

[James R]

HOG 2nd stages
I have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical of the HOG 2nd stages, but after a good bit of bench testing this past weekend I am pretty impressed. I didn't expect the results that I will share below. They are nice regs, and at the price they are sold for you can't go wrong.

Connected to a DiveRite 1208 fist stage, IP at 140, the HOG set to crack at 1" was pretty impressive. I could not get my Dive Rite under 1.1-1.2 without a tiny leak. The difference in cracking effort is pretty hard to tell apart between the two at 1.0 vs 1.1 or 1.2, but the ease of taking a normal breath was where the HOG was much better than the Dive Rite.

We both thought the Scubapro S600 was a little bit better than the HOG, but the difference between them was a lot smaller than the difference between the Hog and the DiveRite. I think if the Hog had a micro-adjuster like the S600 we could tune them to be pretty much identical in performance. I think in the water the two would be really hard to tell apart. Also, we both think the optional soft cover works better than the standard hard cover with smaller purge button.

I have borrowed that HOG we were testing with and it's going to be on my long hose as my primary 2nd stage with one of my DiveRite on my bungee necklace. Going to go diving with them on Sunday, which is were how they work matters most!

HOG 1st stages
Not a lot to say here, except that we were surprised that there was absolutely no lube on any of the threads at all -- bone dry everywhere - and the o-rings didn't feel like they were conditioned with lubricant either. I can't say if they came this way or if they have been serviced by someone and that person put them together with no lubrication. Aside from that, they worked well as we expected.

 

[elan]

James, did you play with any other seconds ? ATX/XTX G250 etc...

 

[James R]

Didn't have anything else readily available besides stuff that is nearly identical (eg Scubapro S555) or much different (eg R295, R395).

 

[cbrich]

Besides the good points that James has mentioned. There was another thing we frowned upon-ed besides the no lube, in either the D1 or BP1 first stages, was the finish of these first stages. The chrome (or whatever you want to call it) finish scratches very easily with a brass spoon pick, unlike the SP chrome which is more durable. Maybe a different finish is in order, I really like the black finish of the DR, and HOG did offer a black finish.

We had 2 HOG second stages for testing, one of them was brand, and the other has about 3-6 months of diving on them. James tested out the brand new one with the soft purge cover, while I got to test out the older with the hard cover. The older has yet to be rebuilt or tuned, per the owner. This particular second cracked at 2.2" :shocked2:, very surprised because James was able to get the new one cracking at 1.0". I tried to tune this second stage, but with just a 1/8 of turn on the orifice cause the second stage to leak, no matter how much I turned the orifice it just leaked. So time to disassemble and see what was going on with this second stage. The first thing that caught my eye was a fine yellowish color particulate on the seat, I assumed it was brass from the first stage, but wiped off very easily. Just like James pointed out the no lube on the first stage, this second stage also was bone dry. But really not much to lube on these second stages; orifice thread & o-ring, balance chamber o-rings, and adjustment knob threads & o-rings. After some light lube, and re-assembly, I was able to get this second stage to crack at 1.1" without any leaks, at 1.0" it hissed just a little bit. I did not replace the seat, so this could have been the problem.

The regs we tested: (I listed these in order on how we believed they performed)

Scubapro A700
Scubapro S600
HOG
Drive Rite RG3000

I have thought about taking CERICH advice about replacing the second stages on my DR regs, but I am going to replace the first and second stages. Might as well keep the same manufacturer.

 

[chrpai]

I wonder how a similar evaluation of the Edge Epic reg would be. They have a Pro program for Edge but not for Hog.

Too bad you can't get a nice key man deal on the SP regs. I'd certainly dive an S600 if someone handed me one.

 

[Superlyte27]

Just my two cents here, but if you already have Dive Rite regs, take them to an authorized dive rite retailer and parts are free. There's no mickey mouse receipts to keep track of.

John at Dive Rite told me when I send him the old parts, he sends me the new parts free of charge. Now that's a lifetime replacement warranty on parts.

 

[James R]

If I could get Keyman on SP regs I wouldn't currently have any Dive Rite regs, that's for sure. I really do like the DR 1208-5 first stage a lot...it's the 2nds that I don't like at all.

I am looking forward to diving the HOG D1 2nd stage I borrowed Sunday. This reminds me that I don't really like the mouthpiece they come with, but that's an easy swap and not expensive. It's also just my personal preference.

 

[chrpai]

My mouthpiece is already showing wear but I don't know what I'd like better.

I could do a shore dive with you sometime this week if you want to knock the test dive out before your boat diving this weekend.

 

[cbrich]

Just my two cents here, but if you already have Dive Rite regs, take them to an authorized dive rite retailer and parts are free. There's no mickey mouse receipts to keep track of.

John at Dive Rite told me when I send him the old parts, he sends me the new parts free of charge. Now that's a lifetime replacement warranty on parts.

Interesting, my DR regs are coming up on their service. I'll check with my LDS, since they are an Authorized DR retailer.

 

[James R]

I use these on my recreational reg and my primary (long hose) backgas regs - Seacure

I'm not diving until Sunday, and that's only if my head cold clears out. Clay (cbrich) has the other HOG regs David loaned us, maybe he'd be able to go dive with you this week.