My Options: ScubaPro vs Atomic

[Fishpie]

Temps in the low 40's before an enviro seal is needed.
It is very expensive to have the Atomic sealed and serviced afterwards.
If you are worried about rinsing and the internal bits of a reg I would suggest a diaphragm 1st stage as the are sealed already by design and generally are considered better cold water regs even without a second enviro diaphragm fitted.
The Atomics are piston regs.
The Scubapro MK 11 and 17 are diaphragm regs.

 

[Wookie]

If you don't HAVE to have enviro sealed regs, I wouldn't. I have 25 or so sets of various Atomic regulators. I don't have any Z2's, but I have Titanium, Brass, and Monel. The titaniums regs are sealed. They are a bummer to seal, and if I were working on someone elses, I'd charge an extra hundred bucks as a grease fee, both for adding and removing and showering afterwards, because it gets everywhere. Additionally, the grease will trap water if you don't get it in exactly right. The salt water sits next to the main spring and rusts it. Yes, I know it's stainless steel, and Atomic will tell you that they've never had one come back rusted. I have 2 of them sitting in a repair box. This is not the fault of the spring, it is the fault of the technician (me). Additionally, it only seems to happen to my wife's regulator. She is insured, but not for that much. Anyway, the Atomic regulators will do a fine job for you, but if sealing isn't a must, I wouldn't.

Now, the down stream design. Atomic will tell you that they have never had a case where water went back up through the second stage hose and into the first stage. I'm here to tell you that it goes all the way into the cylinder if there is no pressure in the cylinder. I have the cylinder to prove it. The water in the rinse bin won't hurt the first stage as long as it's environmentally sealed.

I wouldn't trade my Atomic regulators for all of the ScubaPro regulators in China. I do have a couple of Hogs to test, though. They are really good for a throwaway.

 

[diversteve]

One question regarding rinsing while pressurized. We plan on diving resorts a lot where the crew cleans and stores gear at the end of the day. How do you guys handle the process with the crew to ensure they know they need to pressurize before dunking?

In about the last five years I've only had to tell someone once - several times I've been told that by the DM. Actually it doesn't have to be pressurized, just tighten the dust cap on the 1st stage and rinse it while holding the 2nd's out of the water. The cap is soft rubber so it seals well. Then hold it higher than them while rinsing the 2nds. Most people then hang the regs by the 1st stage to dry so any water in the hose is going to flow back thru the seat saver. The only way it's really an issue is for long term soaking. I don't generally soak my 1st stage very long anyway.

A rinse tank is 99% fresh water. And hopefully reasonably clean/changed. If someone does it, hook it to a tank and blow a little air thru it.

The “Z” designation is represented by the use of Zirconium as plating material for the precision machined Brass valve body. Atomic developed a Zirconium over Chrome over Brass plating process to deliver corrosion-resistance 3-4 times that of conventional chrome plating.

I don't think it's an issue. Or there's my solution - buy a T2...

With the exception of Buddha above, it's been my experience here that most people who bring that up have never dove one...

It is very expensive to have the Atomic sealed and serviced afterwards.

Mine cost me $60 total - every other year. Including sealing. I'm out of warranty now so I may've paid like $18 for parts last time. Before that they were free. But that may've been thru my LDS, not Atomic.

 

[Scared Silly]

One question regarding rinsing while pressurized. We plan on diving resorts a lot where the crew cleans and stores gear at the end of the day. How do you guys handle the process with the crew to ensure they know they need to pressurize before dunking? Or do you manage cleaning the reg yourself?

The crew does not need to deal with my gear plane and simple. I thank them for offering but prefer to do it myself because there is a method to my madness. I have seen some crew have no idea how to set up some gear. As for rinsing, again do it yourself when it comes to your regs/mask/computer.

For Atomics regs which have a seat saver - that is a spring washer that backs the poppet away from the seat - that when submerged unpressurized will let water flow into the second stage and if the first stage is BELOW the second into the first stage. As such, when rinsing unpressurized you need to have the first always above the second stage as the then the water can not displace the air in the stages.

As for a choice, ScubaPro makes some descent gear. But for a multiple of reasons I would not recommend the company. I have had very good luck with Atomics. I have rebuilt and upgraded many of their regs and they are fine pieces of equipment.

 

[Fishpie]

Diversteve, I expect you were talking about me since I'm the only one that has brought up the sealing issue.
I have stuffed more than my fair share of piston regs in the UK before moving to Florida and plenty of oil diaphragms as well.
The Christolube is a bit easier to fill in the Atomics than the Dow Corning 111 I used in Scubapros, but it is also many many times more expensive.

The OP only had one criteria in their original post that the reg be more robust than an AquaLung and was later concerned about colder water, rinsing and sand getting inside the reg.
In my opinion a diaphragm regulator perfectly addresses these concerns.

 

[BVickery]

I dive a Z2x and love it.

 

[diversteve]

Diversteve I expect you were talking about me since I'm the only one that has brought up the sealing issue.

Actually I didn't really notice it was you at first - there's no malice on my part. You were the first to comment so that made you quotable, so since my service experiences are quite different than what you posted I felt that the OP needed to hear the opposing opinion to be able to better make a decision. Just like your opinion should carry equal weight. Based on what I've seen others post for service costs, I'm evidently getting quite a deal. Shame that LDS closed last year.

In my opinion a diaphragm regulator perfectly addresses these concerns.

I agree. If I was diving in silty colder water I'd have one - and possibly might've suggested one. Neither of the two models asked about are one so I limited my response to what I felt he asked for. You interpreted his prior sentence to include other options as well - I didn't. Had I interpreted it similarly, I also might've suggested Aqualung, they're in my top 5 for most things. I just think their marketing approach sucks. I came within minutes of pulling the trigger on a Black Pearl once but I wouldn't have wanted to scuff it by diving it and it was too much money to keep in a case on a shelf.

None of my 4 Atomic covers have ever shown any signs of cracking. And I live in the desert and several are 10+ years old. So again my experience is different than yours. Not wrong and I'm not correcting you, just stating the facts as I've observed them.

 

[Wookie]

I used to replace my atomic purge covers every other year, and they were cracked and busted during the second year. I was an early adopter, I have T1 (since upgraded to T2x) serial number 37. It is my daily diver. About 5 years ago I started getting purge covers that must be made from a different material. I haven't replaced any of the new kind.

Yes, I am an Atomic fanboy.

 

[BVickery]

Yes, I am an Atomic fanboy.

Knew I liked you for some strange reason.

 

[eelnoraa]

I am partial to Atomic as well, for 2nd stage design, compactness of 1st stage, 2 year service interval, no bullsh!t warranty, and you can always call and speak to Darcy for any questions or issues.

I know I may never feel the difference between Mk25/S600 and Atomic, but I wonder if there is any measurable differences in terms of which has better design, which is more robust.