Dive Rite XT vs Hog d3 zenith... Cold water.

[Tracy]

Out of that lineup, I would go with the XTs. I have not personally owned a zenith second, I have several hog classic 2nds and the XTs are leaps and bounds better in quality and finish. My hog d1 firsts have been flawless, as have my dive rites. Most of my diving is in 39 degree lake huron water.

 

[cliffoco]

I am also looking for regs because I will need to get it serviced....The gear has not been officially serviced since it was bought and still has all the original orings and parts (which seem to all be in great shape) maybe fresh water is easier on them? I also rinse and dry the reg when I am done with it. To get them serviced I would need to ship to Divers supply.... which is real expensive since I live in Canada. So thats kind of why I feel like I need to go buy some new regs,,, Maybe I am overthinking it and don't bother to replace until I have an issue.... I would hate to have an issue underwater though! If I do a deep dive on this reg I would have a whole other independent pony style set up with another sea elite reg on (I own two sets of the regs)

Should I trust gear that has not been serviced...and is from an unknown brand. Just not sure! I could wait until stuff goes on sale... black friday or boxing day.

 

[Buliwyf]

Nope. I'd just get the Dive Rite XT's as well. The second stage is super easy to rebuild or open up to clean out. Haven't played with their 1st stage yet, and don't plan on it.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Either the D3 or the Dive Rites would be ok. Think about why a dealer would steer you away from something he sells.
If it's that bad why would he sell it?
If he is why is he discouraging you from buying it?
Unless maybe he makes more money on the other one?
I have people diving D3's under the ice and in 36 degree water with no issues.
I personally dive D1's and not the D3 right now for one reason.

I have nine D1's and they just won't die so I can justify replacing them with a D3.

I did replace a couple of my Classic Seconds with Zeniths. That was purely a marketing decision to show them off. The classics are still in use as pool and classroom regs for the service class.

As for the o ring under the DIN retainer getting boogered up- this is normally due to the DIN retainer becoming loose. The largest cause I see for that is that the DIN retainer is not torqued correctly and becomes loose. when it does they just take any old allen wrench and snug it up rather than doing it right.

The next cause is people putting the reg on the tank, pressurizing it, then turning the body to orient the hoses the way they want. Thus turning it into a wrench and loosening the retainer.

The large o ring in the retainer that goes against the valve also will come loose when the reg is unscrewed with air still in the reg. Either in the HP hose, second stages not thoroughly purged, etc. When you loosen it then the air goes under the o ring and lifts it.
My Oceanic and Sherwoods did this from time to time. There are also differences in o rings among mfg's of them and they may be enough to allow one to set more firmly than another.

 

[victorzamora]

I'm a certified reg technician

The largest cause I see for that is that the DIN retainer is not torqued correctly and becomes loose. when it does they just take any old allen wrench and snug it up rather than doing it right.

The next cause is people putting the reg on the tank, pressurizing it, then turning the body to orient the hoses the way they want. Thus turning it into a wrench and loosening the retainer.

This describes me perfectly. However, my Hollis DC1s never did that so I haven't really thought much of it. Like I said, though, 1 minute and $0.10 is no big deal a couple times a year.

 

[rhwestfall]

Wife uses D1/Classic for her "cold water" diving. This includes Tobermory, and the last time we were there, it was 44 at the surface, and downright miserable at depth. They have performed flawlessly for her. My buddy uses D1/Classics regularly, and they have been without issue for a few years now. Another buddy who dives quite frequently uses D1/Classics exclusively, and again finds them very reliable. I have Zeniths as octos on my rigs and they are much to my liking.

HOG has been around long enough to have a proven track record, and is worth consideration.

 

[cerich]

similar pricing also there is an atomic that the guy at the shop recommended and is the same price but I forget the model. The hog is a little cheaper.
The Rep said that the Hogs don't breath as well and freeze up where as the dive rites did not freeze up on the same dive. Anyone else have any input with cold water experience?
I am not talking ice diving just great Lake diving and want to trust my gear at the cold depths of around 100 ft.

bull... HOG regs have been extensively used in cold water diving. Plus, having put the HOG regs and the XT on a antsi the claim the XT breaths better is not what I have seen... the new Deep 6 breaths better than both however. (that said the XT and the HOG are strong performers)

 

[cerich]

So the Dive Rite is 499 (+ tax) (CAD) and the HOG is 405 + Tax (CAD) I didn't want the 100$ to really effect the choice. I am looking for a reg that will be reliable, right now I have a set of sealed cheapy regs from Sea Elite and to be honest I have not gotten a free flow once, they breath easy and have lasted me over 6.5 years (and still work fine) It is just I am getting to the point where I am starting to get a little leery of the equipment at depth where its colder. A lot of the current dives are warm water (st. lawrence river ) and I feel confident with these regs under those conditions.
For me I am buying new ones for reliability in cold water. I would be getting both sealed, I am just wondering if its worth the extra 100 or would it better spent somewhere else. I have heard ONLY good things about HOG until I called the guy who sells them :S

we (Deep 6) are doing a demo day next weekend in Brockville Ontario, drop by if you are in the area and look at our new regs

 

[tbone1004]

I'm a certified reg technician


This describes me perfectly. However, my Hollis DC1s never did that so I haven't really thought much of it. Like I said, though, 1 minute and $0.10 is no big deal a couple times a year.

my poseidons have a separate ring that holds the DIN o-ring in so it can't come out

@cliffoco are you saying you already have regs but you want to buy new ones because they need to be serviced? Saying Divers Supply I assume you are talking about HOG's, so which ones do you have now?

 

[Caveeagle]

I did replace a couple of my Classic Seconds with Zeniths. That was purely a marketing decision to show them off. The classics are still in use as pool and classroom regs for the service class.

I just picked up a Zenith 2nd stage because I could not get a Classic that was reversible (FWIW). I cannot see how the Zenith is any different other than the fancy front cover. What's the difference?

As for the o ring under the DIN retainer getting boogered up- this is normally due to the DIN retainer becoming loose. The largest cause I see for that is that the DIN retainer is not torqued correctly and becomes loose. when it does they just take any old allen wrench and snug it up rather than doing it right.

This has happened to one of my regs at least two times. Torque was not the issue.

The next cause is people putting the reg on the tank, pressurizing it, then turning the body to orient the hoses the way they want. Thus turning it into a wrench and loosening the retainer.

This is much more likely the issue. Both times it was with other divers who were using my regs. So I suspect it was this, or how they were letting the 1st stage turn when screwing in the DIN wheel.

I did notice that one of the Dive Rite service manuals shows using lock-Tite on the threads on the reg side of the assembly. I am reluctant to use Lock-Tight on a reg, but it would be outside of the sealed, pressurized area, so I don't see an issue with breathing gas. ??