Long hose & Regs for DIR-F

[miesemer]

3. I am also looking at purchasing my own reg either a Mares MR-22, Apeks ATX 100 or 200, or ScubaPro MK25......if I had to make a decision right now, I'm swaying in the direction of the MR-22...but have heard tons of good things about the Apeks and ScubaPro...what advantages/disadvatages do these regs have?

If price is a deciding factor, don't forget to evaluate the life cycle costs. Yearly service + parts cost may be substantial. It's my understanding that if you purchase ScubaPro through a dealer the yearly service parts are free. I have Apeks regs and the yearly parts cost alone (through the LDS) is nearly $90 for 1st, 2nd and Octo.

 

[Bob3]

Oceanic make some dandy hose protectors, they're way smaller than the "regular" kind. Just enough meat to protect things from a bump & EZ to install, more importantly, EZ to slide back to inspect.

 

[tinman]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
Thanks for all the response...anyone have anything to say about the Mares???

...I dive a MR22 with Abyss 2nd stage on a 7' hose and necklaced octo. Had to get an enviro kit for cold water. Only been able to force a free flow during OOA drills on octo in 29-31 o F water. Never freeflowed while using my Abyss alone. Easy breathing reg. If I had to do it again, I'd probably give Apeks a try, appears to be designed with very cold water in mind.

I am in conversion mode as well. I have no problem with 7' foot on a Mares Vector 1000 BCD. I have taken UP's advice to route under cutting device on left side of BC belt, around neck into mouth. This does seem to be even easier than having it on an open hose clip on the lower right d ring. You may want to wait on your reg. choice till after your course - they may change your mind, based on your diving goals and situation.

IMO 5' hose is good, 7' better. Imagine air sharing in a current, or narrow corridor that requires single file diving (a frequent problem in our area at a particular dive site), or trying to control an ascent with a panicky diver or one with poor BC skills. That extra two feet comes in real handy even in recreational diving in non-overhead environments.

Swapping hoses is a good skill to get comfortable with - watch carefully at your LDS - right tool, right port, right torque.

Having read DIR-F book myself and read over numerous DIR-F Reports on this board (do a search), I can't imagine you will hang on to your integrated octo for long....

 

[Big-t-2538]

I don't have an integrated octo...that's A-B...the man whose thread I stole for a short period....I don't imagine doing any caving or wrecking right away...I do want to go in that direction though...for now I see nothing wrong with a 5-footer...no need for a 7...maybe I'll go with 6...just b/c I like being different..and the damn thing will be neon blue too....

Anyway as for hose protectors...they do hold the hoses rigid out of the 1st stage, but it really helps protect them while in storage/transit/or harsh conditions. Price is a bit of concern, but so long as it isn't outrageous....I'm more than likely going to be ordering on-line, the LDS wants like 750 to 775 for the Apeks regs....even if it costs me 75 to 100 bucks a year in service...that's a small price to pay for my life support...and at that rate...with no interest...I get three years of service for 'free'

 

[ABQdiver]

I have the Apex ATX50 and ATX40 octo. The combo is a very nice breathing reg set, sealed, with good cold water characteristics. However, my gripe is the stupid 1/2" thread they put on the primary LP outlet. Most of the long hoses are available in the "standard" 3/8". That puts the use of an adapter or a special 1/2" hose.
I suppose I will change out mine with an adapter. But then I've heard some scuttlebut that the adapters are bad. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

 

[large_diver]

You might just try your handy-dandy LDS to order the hoses...and I'm sure they'd be happy to swap them out for you.

Changing out hoses yourself is not hard, but make sure you get some advice from your LDS or someone you trust. A couple of suggestions (I am NOT a reg technician):

- Used fixed end wrenches if possible to avoid damaging your reg and hose fittings

- DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN REG HOSES. Tighter is not better when it comes to anything with an o-ring in the middle. I get mine finger tight and then go "just a little beyond" with a wrench. Overtightening can damage the o-ring and result in a leak.

- Mount your reg on a tank when doing this to (with the air off, of course). It makes it easier to manage and keeps any unwanted dirt/dust/etc. our of the reg when you have the hoses off.

- You may want to consider LIGHTLY lubricating the o-rings when changing out hoses.

 

[miesemer]

ABQdiver once bubbled...
I have the Apex ATX50 and ATX40 octo. The combo is a very nice breathing reg set, sealed, with good cold water characteristics. However, my gripe is the stupid 1/2" thread they put on the primary LP outlet. Most of the long hoses are available in the "standard" 3/8". That puts the use of an adapter or a special 1/2" hose.
I suppose I will change out mine with an adapter. But then I've heard some scuttlebut that the adapters are bad. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

I don't have any info on the adapter but I believe the Apeks DS4 (non turret) 1st stage uses 3/8" connections. You can buy the DS4 w/o a 2nd from simply scuba for $137.

 

[Mo2vation]

For those of us who dive open water, protection isn't the issue as much as storage and transport. Hose protectors sort of remind me to roll the hose very losely when packing it back in my reg bag.

K

 

[PnL]

Thanks for the clarifications on hose protectors. We're pretty careful with our regulators but since we don't use hose protectors we'll pack them loosely.

 

[dc4bs]

ABQdiver once bubbled...
I have the Apex ATX50 and ATX40 octo. The combo is a very nice breathing reg set, sealed, with good cold water characteristics. However, my gripe is the stupid 1/2" thread they put on the primary LP outlet. Most of the long hoses are available in the "standard" 3/8". That puts the use of an adapter or a special 1/2" hose.
I suppose I will change out mine with an adapter. But then I've heard some scuttlebut that the adapters are bad. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

I think the larger port is that way to make the airflow to the primary 2nd as unrestricted as possible. It probably doesn't make all that much difference untill you take the reg prety deep though.

I have 2 ATX100s (DIN) for doubles and the 1/2" ports are simply left plugged. I run the long hose from one and the necklaced backup from the other using the smaller ports (the necklaced 2nd is coming from the wrong side of the 1st stage to get to the 1/2 inch port on that post...

I recently got a 3rd ATX100 (yoke) for rec. diving so I won't have to reconfigure stuff all the time anymore. It can also serve as an 'organ donor' for the first two in an emergency...

The new one I'll just leave as the standard setup using the 1/2" port and short hose as the PADI only instructors at the shop want things PADI standardized for classes (I just completed my DMs for PADI and SDI/TDI). When I help with the TDI courses, I'll use my doubles rig then.