Is An Environmentally Sealed First Stage Important?

[2airishuman]

I have a number of first stages that lack environmental seals and I'm trying to decide whether I need to install seal kits to make them safe for the diving I'm doing. The seal kits have an upfront cost and an ongoing maintenance cost, so I don't want to use them without a good reason.

My primary reg is already sealed (HOG D1 cold) and will remain so.

The other regs would be for twins, ponies, a reg set specifically for tropical dives, and maybe stage cylinders at some future point. They are a HOG D1 without the seal kit, and three old Conshelfs. The Conshelfs require service and I'm trying decide how many of them are worth fiddling with, and whether or not to try to source a seal kit for them first.

 

[runsongas]

i wouldn't bother unless if you are planning to dive really cold water less than 45F.

 

[tbone1004]

depends on what you value. I would use the D1 for tropical diving because it will take the abuse a bit more to not being rinsed since very little is actually exposed to salt. It will also have better hose routing for single tank than the conshelfs. I would seal the D1 that you have and use that for your twinset, matching regs are never a bad thing, and having it sealed won't hurt. The sealing kit isn't that expensive and doesn't require servicing to do. Swap the end cap and readjust the IP and you're good to go. I would also buy the yoke kit while you're at it, DRiS will have both, and that way you can just convert one of them to yoke for travel. If you subscribe to GUE style hose routing for the D1's, going from twinsets to singles is as simple as moving the primary to the port next to the inflator hose on the left, so takes one allen key and an adjustable wrench in under 2 minutes.

Conshelf I wouldn't bother with for deco/stage etc etc, though I would rebuild them all. No reason not to and the first stages are small enough that they are nice for stage bottles, though conversion to DIN would obviously be ideal

 

[rhwestfall]

or silty
or salty (having seen what salt can do, and the reality that a rinse tank is likely a brine tank)
or.....

 

[2airishuman]

[...lots of good stuff omitted for brevity...]

Conshelf I wouldn't bother with for deco/stage etc etc, though I would rebuild them all. No reason not to and the first stages are small enough that they are nice for stage bottles, though conversion to DIN would obviously be ideal

I'm watching for Conshelf DIN conversion kits at a price that makes it worth doing.

I am currently of the opinion that the main benefit of DIN valves over yoke is that they serve as a shibboleth. Better than a "C" card.

 

[rhwestfall]

I am currently of the opinion that the main benefit of DIN valves over yoke is that they serve as a shibboleth. Better than a "C" card.

here we go.....

 

[tbone1004]

there are some real world benefits of din, however it is just something I would keep in mind if they come up. Only big thing I would do is get a yoke kit and an enviro seal for the D1, leave everything else as is, and wouldn't worry. Remember that the time the first stages are most prone to freezing is when you are at the surface in near freezing air temps and you breathe off of them or use a power inflator for either drysuit or wing. If they are submerged it is much less likely for them to freeze

 

[Tbar]

...I'm trying to decide whether I need to install seal kits to make them safe for the diving I'm doing.

So what diving are you doing?

 

[2airishuman]

So what diving are you doing?

Warm ocean dives that involve travel to places like Florida, and lake dives around here (Minnesota), including Lake Superior. And some ice dives.

It seems like that might make the answer obvious, but it doesn't. Ice dives here are typically performed with a single tank. Lake Superior is cold at depth but not necessarily at the surface.

 

[2airishuman]

here we go.....View attachment 369778

Ya, I poked the bear, I guess. I like DIN. I wish all my gear were DIN. Maybe I should start a gofundme and everyone who thinks I should switch over my 3 yoke 1st stages and 4 yoke cylinder valves on principle can put in $20.