First regulator - leaning towards Scubapro or Atomic

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So just dunking the Atomic's in water you don't have to worry about any issues? Like you could just grab the middle of the hose so that the first and second stages are hanging, dunk it in the water, and there is nothing to worry about?
You've got it. Even easier is hang tjhe hose over the faucet and let both stages soak. I agree with the "lawyer", I'm likely to leave my regs briefly in the rinse tank during the week after a dive only as long as it takes me to clean/hang my other gear to dry then I soak them good once when I get home. It must work since I get comments on how clean my regs are from service techs. I only dive in salt water.
 
I’ve got majority Scubapro products. If I could repurchase everything I would buy Atomic at-least at the level that has titanium second stage barrel. Having seen these services after years of abuse and neglect and not showing corrosion, it would be an easy choice for me.

I also hate all the specialized tools for Scubapro and the lack of parts kits for home service.
 
So just dunking the Atomic's in water you don't have to worry about any issues? Like you could just grab the middle of the hose so that the first and second stages are hanging, dunk it in the water, and there is nothing to worry about?

There are lot of youtube video teaching you how to take care of your reg, but when you purchase your reg, you can look up the reg user manual.

[ i dunk the whole reg in the water bath ]
[Accroding to Apex manual ] the best way to wash a reg is to wash it when it is attached and pressurized with the tank itself to prevent water/ moisture from getting in ] but no tank is not a big deal.

1. tighten the cap on the the first stage shut - do not over tighten it.

2. Never purge the 2nd stage or octo's when they are in the bath- this will prevent moisture from getting into your first stage.

3. If there is ventri knob on the second stage and or on the octo - close them (turn the knob toward the second stage and or octo.

4. to loosen the salt mineral on the reg, move the hose protectors and clean where the protectors used to sit on. To clean the minerals in between the ventri knob and the reg, turn the ventri knob just a little back and forth(<90 degree) about 2 to 3 time.

5. warm FRESH water <40 degree celcius is the best but cold water will do just fine.

6. let it sit in the water bath for atleast 1 hr(according to Apex manual) but 30 mins will do just fine.

7. let it dry on the rack - do not create unnecessary pressure on the reg and now turn the ventri knob ooutward away from the second stage as to prevent the deterioration of the spring inside in.
 
I’ve got majority Scubapro products. If I could repurchase everything I would buy Atomic at-least at the level that has titanium second stage barrel. Having seen these services after years of abuse and neglect and not showing corrosion, it would be an easy choice for me.

I also hate all the specialized tools for Scubapro and the lack of parts kits for home service.
I would salvage the titanium on the reg and mold it into a dive knife itself.:bounce:
 
If you plan to self-service, Deep6 is probably your best option currently - they even include a service kit with your purchase. They make it pretty easy, the service manual is on their website. I believe they also offer a service class at times.

Yes, we do provide free kits with all new orders, and offer a service course. Though I have seen others comment that you have to be into self service to pick us, which really isn't the case. We will service the regs for you (first service provided for free anyway), or sell parts and provide the manual to a local shop at request.

I would say we offer all the typical options available, plus a few extra like supporting self service, giving us an edge.

To the OP, either way I am sure you will be happy with whichever choice you make. Wish you the best in your search.
 
I have put a lot of dives on my ScubaPro reg and it’s held up like a champ. I rinse and soak in fresh water religiously (not flooding first stage). MK25/G250V. Bought used from Beaver Divers. Probably will outlast me. Rugged and a bit heavy. Lot of California shore dives and never a problem.
Just serviced and no issues.

Only temperate and warm diving. Max depth 120ft.

PS: My son loves his Apeks. There are several brands that have very solid reputations and you probably would be good to go with any. Service and parts will eventually be a concern for some obscure brands so check on that.
 
Oh agreed or sure. The D3 definitely isn't the only 1st stage out there and it's certainly not new tech. But I can with 100% certainty that the Atomic Z2 the OP s considering does not have that feature.

More important question is if 1st stage turret is even doing anything at all in single tank. From my observations, it doesn't. It is held in place by LPI
 
I'm newly certified as of this past March and have done 2 dives since then after my OW/AOW dives. It was on a vacation to the Keys and I did 2 1 tank dives one morning.

I've decided I want to get my own gear at this point. I'm also primarily going to be just doing vacation diving down in warm waters. I live in MD and there is a chance that I would do some quarry diving around here locally, kind of just to practice and get in the water, but I won't be doing it until the water warms up a bit to something I can dive in with my 3mm wetsuit, if that is really even possible. I honestly haven't looked into it yet.

I'm planning on doing like 10-20 dives a year, just depending on the schedule that year, and as mentioned, will be down in warm water for the most part in salt water.

I've done tons of research and I'm kind of leaning towards either SP or Atomic for the regulators.

Specifically, I'm looking at either SP MK17 or MK25 with an S560, S600, or G260.

For Atomic, I'm looking pretty much at the Z2.

The 2 recent regs I used for my OW/AOW and then fund dives after were rentals. I don't remember what I had on my fun dive down in the keys, but after looking at the pictures I have from my certification dives, I am almost certain that I was using a lower end Aqualung Calypso regulator based off of the looks, so I'm curious as to how it compares.

I found a local shop that is going to let me test out all of the SP regulators this upcoming weekend. I also found a different shop that has the Atomic Z2 to test out, although they seem to charge their normal rental/pool/air fees to try out regs that you may purchase, which would end up costing like $50 just to test it out, so I'm not sure if I will do that or not.

One of my concerns about the Atomic Z2 is what I've heard about maintaining/cleaning them. It sounds like the true way to clean them after dives in salt water is to have it hooked up to a tank while you soak them. Based on my diving experience so far, that seems like it would be kind of hard to do logistically while on a boat coming back from a dive site, or after you get to the shore. Then I wouldn't be able to clean them off when back at the hotel. An option is to get a tank to have at home for cleaning purposes only, but that would add to the cost as well as just be more of a hassle than not having to do that.

The Atomic stuff is definitely cheaper than the SP stuff though as well, so there is that too. But the way I see it is that this is my lifeline though, so paying for quality parts is not too much of an issue if it's a few hundred extra.

The LDS that sells the SP stuff is closer for sure, so servicing it there would be a bit easier.

I've also been wondering about purchasing some used SP stuff on these forums because I could save a few hundred bucks. But, then I'd also feel a bit weird if I go try out these SP regulators, like them and then purchase them used for $300 cheaper on here, and then take them to that shop to service them down the road. it's kind of an ethical issue but I'm not sure how these kinds of scenarios are handled in the SCUBA world.

So I'm basically just looking for some input from experienced people as to what they think would be the best route for me to go in this scenario. It would also be cool to hear from people who are less experienced and have gone through this process to and hear how it went for them. I am definitely very curious to hear from Atomic owners as to how the whole cleaning process is, and if it is a hassle since it's kind of special in the way they have to be maintained.
Im an LA county instructor. In 1971 I bought my first new regulator. Scubapro mk 5.
It's brass with Chrome plating. All the Mk 5s that are diving today do the same task that the Atomic first stages do. Lower high tank pressure down to low pressure of 120 psi. You never want to let water drain down into the first stage. Hang the first stage high and blow a mouth full of fresh water in through the mouth piece. Then let it drip dry. If you have a cylinder blast the purge valve. With water running through the mouth piece. Hang it up to dry. Rinse off the first stage externally to wash any sea water out of the ports.
 

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