Looking for a new regulator

[Aardal]

I been using Apeks TX-50 and I have a set of the newer model ATX-50. Great regs, never had a problem with them.

 

[Michael Schlink]

I have all the reg's that everyone reccomends, I dive Atomic's but that's just me. I wanted the best. Nothing else mattered. As far as service goes UPS will drop your reg's off to anyone in a few days. I send my reg's to Atomic in CA and they have them back to me in less than a week. Their T1's don't require a service for two years. I also Have B's and an M1 theyare great reg's-JMO-Dive Safe-Dive Alot

 

[DA Aquamaster]

for the entry level to intermediate user, who wants a reasonably priced regulator, i'd put
Dacor forth.

they make unspectacular but solid and reasonably priced regs, and they are easy to service. also, very durable and can handle the "wash in bathtub and hang" maintenance style very well.

I serviced five regs today (not counting a pair of Air 2's that needed an annual service). Three were Scubapro regs due for annual service and two were Dacor regs that the owners just wanted checked before a tropical dive trip.

The two SP regs were a Mk 10 G250 and a MK 2 Plus R190 in excellent condition and honestly could have went another year without service. The third SP reg was a Mk 5 Adjustable that needed service but had obviously functioned for several years since the last service (more than 10 years if I had to guess.)

The two Dacor regs that were to be checked, did not check out well and in fact needed a full annual service. They were also obviously the recipients of limited care and maintenence and internally were badly encrusted with salt deposits. I spent over 2 hours on one dissasembling stuck components and cleaning it up. I was not amused. But the whole day did serve as a comparsion between the two brands in terms of ease of service and durability under field conditions.

The difference in parts and service support was also evident. The SP Mk 5 Adjustable reg was late 60's vintage and yet could be serviced with current parts from Scubapro (although a new lever was needed to operate properly with the new and improved poppet assembly.) In contrast, had the 960 been a 900 or any other earlier model, parts would not have been available to service it and it would have been reduced to being a glorified paperweight.

As a diver and customer I like the fact that SP supports its regs for several decades while many other companies support their regs for 5 to 10 years at best. As a tech I really enjoy working on SP regs but cannot say the same for most Dacor regs.

 

[H2Andy]

DA Aquamaster, good info there. thank you for the post

(i happen to be thinking about buying a new reg so that i can have two for
my intro cave class, so very timely info)