I acquired a used ebay G250 Graphite and a Hog Duroc since the last post in this thread. It got to the point were used ebay G250s were more expensive than brand new Hogs. So I took advantage of black friday discount pricing and got a hog. I haven't dove the Hog yet but here are some initial observations.
Diameter, and consequently diaphragm, of the Hog is smaller. Nonetheless the Hog is noticeable heavier. There is a fairly heavy solid brass heat sink and the adjustment knob is much heavier than G250's. The Hog also has an aluminum ring that screws in and holds the front face cover in place. I think these are the main culprits for the extra weight. Also, the graphite composite is comparatively lightweight.
One of the very few things I do not like about the G250 is the very skinny adjustment knob stem. It's just too easy to bend it accidentally and practically impossible to straighten it up again. Yes, the bent knobs do work fine, but they're ugly. The heavier Hog adjustment knob seems impossible to bend.
Out of the box, the Hog's adjustment knob was not turning buttery smooth. The venturi lever was, though. So I took it all apart, but left the orifice inside in its own factory setting so that I could get an idea of how well tuned they come from factory.
There was little lubricant anywhere, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The poppet and the two tiny metric orings were well lubricated with white O2 compatible grease. I liberally applied Christo Lube to the adjustment knob oring and threads and now it does turn buttery smooth.
The lp seat is mushroom style and it is interchangeable with those used on the G250s. In fact, I replaced the factory lp seat with a generic Trident LP seat that I had for my G250s.
I'll wait a for a year or 2 to try the 2.5mmx1mm orings in the poppet. The schematic says these are 2mmx1mm, so we'll see how well it works. Other than that, it uses pretty straightforward and easy to get oring sizes, in what seems to be viton duro 75 or 70.
The reg is easy to work with. Unlike the G250, you do have to take the barrel out if you want to get to the poppet and the lp seat, but it's pretty easy to do so. It's all held together by a nut that screws in the same place where the lp hose screws in. This nut seems to be unnecessarily wide -- it only leaves 4 threads for the lp hose to screw in, whereas the G250s have 6 threads available for the hose.
This is a slight concern for me because I keep all my 2nd stages only hand tightened in case I need to swap the underwater. The two extra turns means there's a lower likelihood for a second stage to fall off by itself. And the wide nut just adds weight to an already heavy reg.
I plan to dive the hog for the first time this weekend with a Mk10. I suspect that all my fussing about the weight will turn out to be a non-issue under diving conditions. I'll keep you posted.
