Independent Regulator Ratings

[tomgrogan]

Has anyone looked at equipment ratings listed at www.cyber-diver.com/gear_buyers_guide.html While they say they do independent testing, etc., they do not provide specific information as to how they arrived at their recommendations/ratings. They list the 10 top regs., BCs & computers. I am curious as to how valid their recommendations are and would appreciate any thoughts regarding them especially re: the regs.

 

[Compressor]

You are right. Who knows.
Interesting site though.

 

[mike_s]

Cyber Diver is part of CDNN (Cyber Diver News Network).

They are known for misleading informaton, especially in dive accidents. Many of their articles are biased to a very large extent. With that in mind, most people here don't have much trust in the information they put out.

In fact, I'm suprised Scubaboard doesn't block the above URL as they block www.********** (that's cdnn dot info in the blocked space). Scubaboard blocks it because of spam and other problems they've had that originated at that domain.

As for their regulator test, they say the put it on a bench machine for tests and then use independent divers, which is similar to what ScubaLab (scuba diving magazine). Of course they've been accused of being biased towards their advertisers (to be fair).

regardless, it appears that some of the regs that are on the top of both of their lists are good regulators. (of course I don't know them all).

 

[Stu S.]

A lot of divers take the Work of Breathing (WOB) number that comes from regulator tests to be the indicator of regulator quality or performance. That number for WOB is for the joules of effort to breathe in and exhale through the reg. One joule is a watt-second; a very small unit of energy. The breathing machines are going to give a result to one-hundredth of a joule.

The difference of the amount of energy in tenths or hundredths of a joule is not significant. And... the regulator you buy might perform this test a little better or worse than the one sampled by magazine testers.

We may take these tests too seriously.

 

[tomgrogan]

Thanks for the answers. I found Cyber-Diver site because I received a DUI Delta Wing BC as a gift & wanted to see how various sites rated it. Interestingly, Cyber Diver rated the BC as No. 3 in the top ten BCs. Yet recently, I saw a Scuba Diving Magazine article that rated it very good for fit & comfort but said test divers found ascent control to be a challenge and gave it a 2 on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the best. I have just made 4 dives with the BC and do find ascent control to be a problem. As Stu S. said, we may take these tests too seriously. However, I am just trying to get the information/opinions available to make an good decision in purchasing a reg.

 

[anzac65]

A lot of divers take the Work of Breathing (WOB) number that comes from regulator tests to be the indicator of regulator quality or performance. That number for WOB is for the joules of effort to breathe in and exhale through the reg. One joule is a watt-second; a very small unit of energy. The breathing machines are going to give a result to one-hundredth of a joule.

The difference of the amount of energy in tenths or hundredths of a joule is not significant. And... the regulator you buy might perform this test a little better or worse than the one sampled by magazine testers.

We may take these tests too seriously.

How is this so ? If the difference between two regs tested was 3/10's of a joule on a figure of say 1 joule, then that is a 30 percent difference in effort. Not significant ?

 

[alo100]

I like reviews which include the standard ANSTI machine bench tests reading seperately, it quantizes the result into numerical data.

I am not saying human test is not good, e.g. the test is not going to tell you if there is any minor leaks in different dive positions. On the other hand, aside from the human test, I think having some machine bench marks do make it more objective, that's all.

The result I got from DIVER magazine was somewhat different, I am just talking about the ANSTI test (WOB readings). Atomic (Z2, but their regulators have similar structure) has the best score, then SP Mk17 (which is different from the Mk25 here), then XTX 200 (most of us know, the wob is different from ATX 200), within their selections.

I am somewhat surprise to see the difference between the two reports...

 

[Stu S.]

How is this so ? If the difference between two regs tested was 3/10's of a joule on a figure of say 1 joule, then that is a 30 percent difference in effort. Not significant ?

An expert explaned it to me, and I'll try to paraphrase:

If you were carrying a package weighing 100 pounds, and an extra 30 pounds were added to it (or subtracted from it), that could be significant, particularly if you had to go up stairs.

If you were carrying a package weighing 1 pound, an extra .3 pounds added or taken away probably would not change your ability to move it around. You might notice a little difference, but it would not affect what you are doing. None of these conditions is much work.

If this doesn't make sense, please disregard it.

Supposedly, it takes about a half joule difference in WOB for a diver to notice any difference. And that notice may not affect his dive.

Great to get a posting from England! My grandfather spoke so fondly about growing up in London. I wish to go someday, just to walk his streets.

Stu.

 

[anzac65]

I hope you make it to London one day Stu; be warned though, the diving isn't quite as good as Florida.

 

[Stu S.]

Do you celebrate Anzac Day? Happy Anzac day if you do.