Does name matter when purchasing valves or are they all the same?

[a4lod]

I plan on purchasing some new tank valves. Does valve brand (OMS, Dive Rite, Scubapro) matter? I have also been told about Thermo valves. I have never heard of this company, but I have been told that they make great valves and even produce valves for other dive companies (Dive Rite & OMS). Is this true? Please respond. Thank you.

 

[Mverick]

If buying valves for doubles go with Sea Elite, Halcyon or Dive Rite. Better design than the others. Oh, they are all the same valve. Just marketed by all three.

 

[The Chairman]

why the new tank valves? Or are your old ones just that worn out?

 

[devjr]

Actually, as simple as the valve may be there are some differences.

I can't go into all the stuff, mostly because I don't know it all(surprise). The Sherwood is the industy's easiest turning valve and it uses all teflon washers internally, no O rings. It has a huge internal bore and outlet in case you breath like an elephant in heat. It uses a clever offset design which gives a bit more setback to the first stage and more neckroom. It's O2 safe.

The Japanese Thermo valve is strong as a bank vault and uses conventional design including an O ring to seal the shaft. It features fairly large air passages. You should replace the O ring with Viton for O2 use, in case they haven't already done this.

Techies have their preferences for double manifolds and I'll turn the floor over to them.

 

[Lost Yooper]

I use a Sea Elite manifold (300DIN) for doubles which is fine. I have all Thermo valves on my deco bottles which work, but the Sherwoods are better.

Don't get the OMS valves that use the face seal iso bar -- not as secure as the barrel style by Sea Elite and others.

Don't get the Genesis valve that tilts up.

If you're looking for a valve for back gas (single tank), get a Sea Elite, Scuba Pro, or Dive Rite. These are modular which mean you can add a part to make it an H-valve, or you add an isolation bar for doubles -- you'll need a left hand and a right hand valve for this. For anything else, I would opt for the Sherwood 300DIN valve.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[a4lod]

Sorry, I should have explained myself better. I have two complete regs and I plan on purchasing two complete H-valves to use them on. I know a pony is probably the better route, but I would prefer to simply use the H-Valve. That said the valves I have now (Genesis & Sherwood) are fine, but they cannot be adapted to use a H-Valve. I was going to purchase Dive Rite valves, but a local dive store told me about the Thermo valves claiming they are a bit cheaper than other dive companies (Dive Rite, OMS, Scubapro) and are of the same quality. I was told that Thermo even makes valves for the companies that I have already listed in the above. Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Well, I just happen to own a Genesis H-valve (which is less than good due to it's tilted up port). Unless your valve is somehow different, all you need is the other outlet. It wouldn't surprise me if the Dive Rite, Sea Elite, or Scuba Pro dual outlet will fit into the Genesis (I don't know). Is the burst disk on your Genesis on the back of the valve or on the side of it?

I'm pretty sure Thermo doesn't even offer an H-valve, I've never seen one (not sure about Sherwood, I don't think so). Regular thermo K-valve's are not modular. If your Genesis valve can't be made into a dual outlet, then this is what I would do:

Buy two Sea Elite H-valves from Diver's Supply. They aren't listed on their site, so you'll have to call them http://www.divers-supply.com/home.html. I would also ask them if you can get a left handed H-valve and a right handed H-valve. If so, then all you'd need for doubles is the center isolation part (and a set of bands) if you ever get that far. The Sea Elite is the same basic valve as the Dive Rite and Scuba Pro, but costs less.

BTW, IMO the H-valve is a better route than a pony. I use a 300DIN H-valve on my single tank so I can use the same regs I use on my doubles (ie, don't have to keep a special single tank reg setup). It also provides you the option of isolating a free flow in cold water (open water) or reg malfunction. I see it as a matter of convenience more so than redundancy. If I need real redundancy (ceiling dives...deco, wrecks, etc), I'll normally take my doubles.

Mike

PS. If you have any aspirations in going to tech someday, this would be a great time to change to DIN. Order the valves DIN and buy the conversions for your regs at the same time. This can save you some money down the road.

 

[jetblast00]

Ponies are not better. For diving singles, H-valves are the way to go, good choice.
For an H-valve, I would go with DIN connections, the first stages will just fit better on the whole h-valve system. Yes, yoke H-valves exist and work, but I think that the DINs are cleaner and easier. Not to mention you would have more scalibility in the future... use the same regs on doubles, HP tanks, etc... don't buy gear you will have to abandon or sell in the future if you make another purchase. As for the type of valve to get, sorry, I'm no expert in valves, afraid I can't help you

 

[The Chairman]

And now that we know WHY you want to change valves, what tanks are you changing them on??? If we are talking 3000 or less psi tanks, then I would reccomend that you get the "convertible" valves from OMS or DiveRite so you sould use either DIN or Yoke as you see fit. If they are 3300 or higher tanks, then only DIN will work, and I would check out whatever is cheaper. I have a number of the Din/Yoke OMS valves on my AL80s to facilitate between me using the tank (I dive DIN) and a buddy using the tank (most of them are yoke-sters).

 

[Compressor]

I agree with the posts above. The knowledge base in this discussion group is incredible. DIN Valves are in my opinion the way to go as they are safer to use. Ofcourse it necessitates having DIN regs but then so what; you live only once.