Explain DIN and Yoke conversion (not adaptors)

[tbone1004]

Peter they do make 200bar din regs in the US. A lot of inflation regs are 200bar to keep the length down. I haven't seen any commercial breathing regs in 200bar though
Argon Inflation Regulator - Dive Right in Scuba

TLDR of the link above. You have 3 options that all start with the tank

300 bar din-DIN only regulator-requires a block to fill with a yoke compressor whip, unfortunately they aren't rated for water use, so you can only use 300 bar din regulators

yoke-yoke only, but you can use a spin on yoke adapter for the first stage to make a DIN regulator work on a yoke valve

200 bar din-can accept a DIN regulator straight up, either 200 bar in the case of the inflation reg, or 300 bar as is the case with most regulators. Can also accept a screw in plug that allows the valve to become a yoke fitting. Convenient for fill stations, though if you own the tanks, I recommend your regs be DIN because the 200bar din valves require more maintenance. The plugs can seize in the valve if you don't remove them, so it is recommended to remove the plugs after every use and rinse the plug and valve thoroughly. Common problem in rental tanks in the caribbean that never get this treatment, so I bring a yoke adapter anyway.

 

[seeker242]

How does DIN and Yoke conversion work in terms of tank valve AND regulator?

Can a yoke regulator be fully converted with a kit to a DIN regulator? And vice versa (no adaptor)

What about tanks, does it go both ways with a converter?

What's the cost and time commitment on doing any of these? Any downsides?

I'm going to be converting my Atomic Yoke to DIN. The shop said it would take a day or so and cost $100. The only downside I can see would be encountering rental tanks somewhere that are older and yoke only. But even then you would just need to screw on adapter, which is like $80.

 

[RainPilot]

Agreed with tbone on the corrosion issue on rentals, adapter is cheap. another tip is to carry an allen key in the two insert sizes in your kit, many the time I've been on a boat and they didn't have the right key with and I had to dig mine out. A nice long one for additional torque is great if you can get them

 

[Peter69_56]

Peter they do make 200bar din regs in the US. A lot of inflation regs are 200bar to keep the length down. I haven't seen any commercial breathing regs in 200bar though
Argon Inflation Regulator - Dive Right in Scuba

TLDR of the link above. You have 3 options that all start with the tank

300 bar din-DIN only regulator-requires a block to fill with a yoke compressor whip, unfortunately they aren't rated for water use, so you can only use 300 bar din regulators

yoke-yoke only, but you can use a spin on yoke adapter for the first stage to make a DIN regulator work on a yoke valve

200 bar din-can accept a DIN regulator straight up, either 200 bar in the case of the inflation reg, or 300 bar as is the case with most regulators. Can also accept a screw in plug that allows the valve to become a yoke fitting. Convenient for fill stations, though if you own the tanks, I recommend your regs be DIN because the 200bar din valves require more maintenance. The plugs can seize in the valve if you don't remove them, so it is recommended to remove the plugs after every use and rinse the plug and valve thoroughly. Common problem in rental tanks in the caribbean that never get this treatment, so I bring a yoke adapter anyway.

When you say 200 BAR to keep the length down? do you mean body and DIN fitting both 200 BAR, or like mine, body 300 BAR but fitted with Yoke fitting? All the regs I have are stamped 300 BAR on the body, but the yoke had 232 on the Yoke fitting.

 

[tbone1004]

the actual din screw is a 200 bar din, not 300 bar, so it won't seat in a 300 bar din valve. All threads engaged on a 200bar though. It cuts not a whole lot but probably 8mm or so off of the width of the valve.

so to answer the OP, you now know about the three different kinds or regulators, and the three different kinds of valves *well 2.5 really...* and their overlap. In terms of the actual regulator, the spinny bit of the yoke unscrews from the body of the regulator, and can be swapped with the screw for a DIN regulator. If the tech is good and the shop likes you, it should take about 3 minutes, and be free of charge. It's literally one "bolt" out, and one "bolt" in.

 

[Peter69_56]

Ok but I am still unsure of your comment that USA has 200 BAR regs. Are the reg bodies 200 BAR, regardless of the yoke/DIN fitting? or
Are the regulator bodies 300 BAR (which seems like all new ones are here) and just the Yoke/DIN fitting 200 Bar or DIN fitting 300 BAR?

I am aware of the difference between the 200 BAR thread (5 threads) and 300 BAR thread (7 threads)

 

[Lorenzoid]

After being inconvenienced a few times, I reluctantly converted my HOG DIN regs to yoke and have never looked back. As you may know, it is possible to convert them back to yoke in just 10 minutes or so, with a little know-how and the proper tools (e.g., torque wrench). If you plan to mostly dive with your own tanks, as you seem to be leaning towards, then none of this is an issue for you; get DIN. I don't own tanks because I don't dive locally; rather, I rent them where I travel. DIN rental tanks and rental tanks with the donut yoke plug are more common than they used to be, but I would not count on them becoming ubiquitous because of the drawbacks for dive operators that others here have pointed out: corrosion of the threads, and the abuse that rental tanks inevitably suffer, which can warp or otherwise damage the DIN valve threads. If I were a dive operator, I would much rather rent traditional yoke-only tanks. Everywhere in the world, with the possible exception of some places in Europe that see only European divers, yoke reigns supreme. In summary, if you're going to be diving locally with your own tanks, buy DIN regs and DIN-valved tanks. If you're going to be traveling the world for most of your diving, buy yoke regs or buy DIN regs and convert them to yoke. If you're going to split your diving pretty evenly between local and travel, then consider getting DIN regs and managing with the klugey spin-on yoke adapter for your regs. I tried the spin-on yoke adapter and found I don't care for it, but that's a different topic from what you asked.

 

[filmguy123]

it's probably overkill, but I do see the value in discounted doubles and SM packages even though I am going to be doing almost all single tank diving, at least for quite a while.

But with two first stages, it would give me a backup part. I could get one in DIN, one in Yoke, and then have a conversion kit and also an adapter on hand for maximum flexibility. Overkill? Absolutely. But, it really does seem if you have a little extra cash, the deals you can find or negotiate for buying a doubles or SM kit really do just make sense to get that extra first stage. Most single tank kits come with a 1st and 2nd, and then I still want to have an identical octo 2nd stage anyway, so you often end up getting a pretty sweet deal on Doubles/SM kit.. or so it seems.