Help me pick a regulator

[h2ovideo]

I used Scubapro for years, but made the switch to the Atomic B2. LOVE IT! It breaths smooth, high reliability, and the swivel is a MUST.

 

[squidster]

9 posts and not one mention of Apeks regulators....what is happening to this world? The operation and look of regulators prefered by tech divers is similar to the recreational diver counter-part but with some marked preferences. Due to the deep depths involved and the colder water Tech divers prefer to dive with balanced diaphram type-environmentally sealed regulators. These are usually more expensive than conventional piston operated regulators but they are much less likely to free-flow. Having a balanced regulator, allows the diver to breathe more easily at depth with the ambient pressure kept fully balanced throughout. The 1st Stages should be DIN-type. These allow more pressure (300+ bar) and are much more secure than yoke type. Get yourself an Apeks XTX 50 and and enjoy your diving!!!

I think sometimes Regs dont get mentioned because we the user have never experianced that particular reg, i have seen post from time to time about Apex and they were all good.
But i have never used an Apex,like to at some point.

 

[Captain Larry]

-I've had disasterous experience with Atomic M1 regs. I've had 4, all of which had serious problems. They came highly touted. My experience was that they were unreliable. Needless to say I no longer own them. To the dealer's credit they were exchanged for other regs.

What type of disasterous experiences have you had with the M1?

 

[ArcticDiver]

Can you tell me your issues. Mine has been a good reg for tech and cave diving - nothing less than 68 degrees. Just want ti know if I should watch out for something. Thanks

First of all, Atomic M1 regulators were not on the list when I ordered these because I prefer diaphragm regs. I was after either Apeks or Zeagle at the time. But, neither were available and from the people I talked to Atomic was a reputable brand. So I accepted M1 regs as a suitable substitute.

Ordered regs were two M1 DIN regulators with Yoke adaptors. I received them just a few days before leaving on a trip that included diving. I was able to do a very brief test before departing. Results: One reg leaked internally. No amount of fiddling would stop the leak.

The dealer said the problem was probably the O ring and sent some new ones to my destination hotel. I put in the new rings and there were no leaks on that trip. (Note: These were my first DIN regs so I didn't fully understand them and fully relied on the dealer's expertise)

Next dive trip a couple months later again there were leaks. This time I took the leaking reg to a local dealer at the dive destination who took it apart. These two M1s started life as Yoke and were converted to DIN. When the conversion was done the selling dealer's tech left a washer out. He put in the missing washer and the reg didn't leak again.

A little while later the other reg leaked. This time I didn't mess with it. I borrowed a reg to replace it and contacted the selling dealer. The dealer took them back and sent me two new M1s in factory sealed boxes.

Both of the new ones were delivered with missing O rings. I called the factory. They informed me that if the regs did not have O rings they had left the factory untested. The person there told me if I would send them back they would test and return them.

I'd had enough. Any factory that lets critical life safety equipment out the door without testing is too unreliable for me. So I switched brands.

Afterward I've talked to several people who say they have had similar experiences. I suspect that if you have used yours for some time any problems have already been worked out. I also suspect that in many cases the selling dealers have taken care of any delivery issues before the buying diver ever sees the regs.

Just my experience.

 

[Captain Larry]

First of all, Atomic M1 regulators were not on the list when I ordered these because I prefer diaphragm regs. I was after either Apeks or Zeagle at the time. But, neither were available and from the people I talked to Atomic was a reputable brand. So I accepted M1 regs as a suitable substitute.

Ordered regs were two M1 DIN regulators with Yoke adaptors. I received them just a few days before leaving on a trip that included diving. I was able to do a very brief test before departing. Results: One reg leaked internally. No amount of fiddling would stop the leak.

The dealer said the problem was probably the O ring and sent some new ones to my destination hotel. I put in the new rings and there were no leaks on that trip. (Note: These were my first DIN regs so I didn't fully understand them and fully relied on the dealer's expertise)

Next dive trip a couple months later again there were leaks. This time I took the leaking reg to a local dealer at the dive destination who took them apart. These two M1s started life as Yoke and were converted to DIN. When the conversion was done the selling dealer's tech left a washer out. So, as soon as the external O ring had a little compression wear they would leak.

The dealer took them back and sent me two new M1s in factory sealed boxes. Both of the new ones were delivered with missing O rings. I called the factory. They informed me that if the regs did not have O rings they had left the factory untested. The person there told me if I would send them back they would test and return them.

I'd had enough. Any factory that lets critical life safety equipment out the door without testing is too unreliable for me. So I switched brands.

Afterward I've talked to several people who say they have had similar experiences. I suspect that if you have used yours for some time any problems have already been worked out. I also suspect that in many cases the selling dealers have taken care of any delivery issues before the buying diver ever sees the regs.

Just my experience.

I've been an Atomic dealer for 3 years and I have yet to have anybody return one of them for defective issues.
It sounds like part of your issue is with your dive shop who didn't properly modify the reg. You can't blame the product for that.
As for the regs that supposedly left the factory untested, I can't speak for the manufacturer but I can say that I have never had a reg that came out of the box and wasn't ready for use. We test them and have never had any problem.
I've been to the Atomic factory in California and have seen them assemble the regs by hand. They are very meticulous and professional. You can definitely see the quality difference between an Atomic reg and the taiwanese made junk that other manufacturer buy and then slap their name onto. Atomic's the only reg that I trust for our rental fleet. Our rentals have never required any non-scheduled maintenance for defects or problems.
Hopefully your current set of regs perform reliably.
Dive Safe

 

[ArcticDiver]

I've been an Atomic dealer for 3 years and I have yet to have anybody return one of them for defective issues.
It sounds like part of your issue is with your dive shop who didn't properly modify the reg. You can't blame the product for that.
As for the regs that supposedly left the factory untested, I can't speak for the manufacturer but I can say that I have never had a reg that came out of the box and wasn't ready for use. We test them and have never had any problem.
I've been to the Atomic factory in California and have seen them assemble the regs by hand. They are very meticulous and professional. You can definitely see the quality difference between an Atomic reg and the taiwanese made junk that other manufacturer buy and then slap their name onto. Atomic's the only reg that I trust for our rental fleet. Our rentals have never required any non-scheduled maintenance for defects or problems.
Hopefully your current set of regs perform reliably.
Dive Safe

Hmmm...guess you're perspective as a person who makes a living off these things is a bit different than mine as a user. Guess your comments about "...taiwanese made junk..." bear on that.

No doubt problems with the first set are directly at the dealer's door. But, the second set was a straight out factory quality control failure. That may have been the only failure that week. But, for me, that is what I have to go on to judge and to make decisions.

You do bring up a valid point though. When dealing with life safety equipment trust is a very important part of determining how satisfied a person is.

 

[AtomicChad]

As the Atomic Representative for the Southeast US ( have been since the company started), Atomic Aqautics is the only manufacturer that test every regulator before it goes out the door. A complete function test and ANSTI Breathing Machine Loop are computer recorded. I find it hard to believe that someone at Atomic told you that the reg went out untested. So lets say they did. Can you tell me who it is? If you do want to post, then call me directly or email me privately.

I also find it alomost 100% impossiable that the factory (Atomic Aqautics) sent out a regulator missing o-rings. Our QA process is the best in the world.

So my offer to you is help us understand what happened as opposed to try to negatively influence divers on the interent. You have the right to speak your mind and the truth, but your situation is unheard of in my years with the company and we sell 100's of M1s in teh southeast US every year!

As I have represented many company's in my 20 years of Scuba Diving Manufactureres representating, Atomic is one of the few that will bend over backward to make the customer and the dealer happy.

I will also state in my 20 years I have seen more than my share of dive stores that do not know what they are doing when it comes to working on, converting, and or serviceing regulators. As it is not a difficult task, many repair techs think that just becuase they worked on one type they can work on anything. If the repair tech does not have the proper tools and or working schematics adn has not gone through a proper repair and service class held by the manufacturer then there is no guarantee that the regulator has been serviced to manufactureres specifications.

I hope this helps and feel free to contact me at barbak40@bigplanet.com or (407) 245-7792

Chad Barbay

 

[ArcticDiver]

I understand your urge to jump to the defense of your company. I'm not going to get into an online arguement over a matter that has been resolved.

Bye

 

[AtomicZ]

Atomic Aquatics M1 or Z2 depending on how much you decide to spend. These regs CANNOT be beaten for the price. If you decide to go that route, PM me and I can tell you where to find a good deal on them from an authorized dealer. You can then either get an Atomic octo or another good choice would be the Salvo SRX second stage.

 

[Captain Larry]

I'd had enough. Any factory that lets critical life safety equipment out the door without testing is too unreliable for me. So I switched brands.

You make a comment like this that is derogatory and unqualified and then you refuse to give details to the manufacturer's representative because you consider the matter "resolved" is very unfair and unprofessional.
There are a lot of divers who use Scubaboard as a source for reference information and feedback to base their future purchases. You can understand why the manufacturer would want to make sure that negative feedback about their product is addressed and rectified.
Nobody really knows you or your background or agenda. To just state that you don't want to comment on a post that you made which is critical of a product, regardless of manufacturer, and then blow off the manufacturer's representative and everybody whose experience is the complete opposite of yours raises suspicion on the validity of your post.
Not trying to flame you or anything. Just asking that you consider the repercussions of your postings and make an effort to insure that in fairness to any manufacturer that you do your part to promote good communication between everybody on this site. After all that is why we all come here, to share information and experiences and to learn and to educate ourselves and others.

Larry