Doubles Manifold Question

[cozumelkeith]

Hey All,

Putting together my first doubles rig. Just need the bands and manifold at this point. Wondering if anyone could speak to the differences between some of the more popular manifolds (I've been looking at Thermo, XS, Dive Rite), and whether in practice these are of any real significance/

Thanks so much for your help.

-Keith

 

[Scared Silly]

Currently the Thermo and XS Scuba are one in the same. Similarly Dive-Rite and Sea-Elite are the same. I have manifolds from both and would recommend either as their quality is very good. The difference in price is about $100, $240 (Thermo) vs $150 (Sea-Elite).

Halcyon makes a manifold that has slightly different valve that folks like but is $$$. There are others such as Blue Steel which are descent as well.

Finally, there are OMS manifolds which are captured o-rings as opposed to a barrel o-rings. Some do not like such manifolds.

 

[tomfcrist]

I use sea elite, they are great manifolds. And they are way cheaper than paying for something that says Halycon or oms.

 

[NAM001]

I have never cared for oms valves cause of the oring land design. I use diverite manifolds for no preticular reason, and i love the way that thero valves open and shut. the others seem to go from high flow to shut in perhaps 1/2 turn. the thermo opens very slowly. takes multiple turns to get full flow. works great for cracking a valve to sample contents.

 

[Colliam7]

Wondering if anyone could speak to the differences between some of the more popular manifolds . . . and whether in practice these are of any real significance

In actual use there are no significant differences in performance. What you use is a matter of personal preference. I have several sets of both, and prefer Thermo. The machining of the Dive Rite valves and manifold leaves more sharp / angular edges, and I find carrying cylinders with the DR valves to be more uncomfortable for my hands. Also, at least in my experience, it seems to take more turns to fully open a DR valve than a Thermo valve. But, as noted, these differences have nothing to do with actual performance.

A side note - my dive buddy (who also works as a scuba service technician) loves his OMS manifolds, and prefers them to all others. As I said - personal preference plays a big role in selection.

 

[Akimbo]

I am a fan of the Vindicator/Safety handwheels that come one the XS Scuba valves. The visual indicators are great but the main reason is the handles are larger and easer to grab. You can get the handles as a retrofit but that's extra cost.

Vindicator Valve Handle

 

[cozumelkeith]

Yeah I was wondering about the pros/cons of valves that close with fewer rotations. I guess it's easier to shut them down/do valve drills but they'd also be easier to roll off (eventually want to progress to cave). That said maybe in a way that's a good thing since you'd potentially know you've rolled it off sooner. May be splitting hairs here. Am I correct in assuming the general consensus is 200 bar over 300 bar? (i.e. no difference in security of connection with more possibility of damaging threads with the 300 bar)

 

[Scared Silly]

200 bar (5 thread) seemed to be preferred because of the inserts so they can be filled with a yoke fitting. Unfortunately that also means they can be used with a yoke reg - which means your friends might want to borrow them .

300 bar (7 thread) means a few more turns. I store my cylinders with SS din plugs so no worries about damage or accidental loss of gas. And I have a DIN-Yoke adapter for filling.

 

[NAM001]

The 200 and 300 bar valve is in one respect the same valve. One is not stronger than the other. They are different in that like an oxygen tank vs acetalin tank you can not put a 200 bar male in a 300 bar female fitting. This was done to insure that the high psi tanks such as 4k and 4500 psi tanks can not be fitted with a regulator that can not function with a working presure above say 3500. If youlook at many of hte old regulators frm the 60's they were yolk and comparably very thin in construction and they went on 2000 psi tanks. The yolks got thicker when we went to 3k tanks. you will notice you do not get a regulator that has a 4000 psi yolk on it. Hence the design difference in the 300 vs 200 bar tank valves. This is not to say that regs of today can handle the hp tanks. When you exceed X psi the only reg fitting it will tank is a din. That is for stregnth that the traditional yolk can not provide. The 200 bar female allowed the higher psi regs to be used in the lower psi tanks by only needing 5 threads and not 7 to get a sealed seat on the valve. Obviously using a 5 thread male in a 7 thread female woill not provide a good seal and the psi vents off till sealed or the tank goes empty. As mentioned earlier the valves are the same (max psi application) so the burst disks are the limiting factor theat is different in adddition to the thread count. and seat design.

Yeah I was wondering about the pros/cons of valves that close with fewer rotations. I guess it's easier to shut them down/do valve drills but they'd also be easier to roll off (eventually want to progress to cave). That said maybe in a way that's a good thing since you'd potentially know you've rolled it off sooner. May be splitting hairs here. Am I correct in assuming the general consensus is 200 bar over 300 bar? (i.e. no difference in security of connection with more possibility of damaging threads with the 300 bar)

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Halcyon makes a manifold that has slightly different valve that folks like but is $$$. There are others such as Blue Steel which are descent as well.

Sadly, H no longer makes valves or manifolds.