Need advise on swivel connector

[Bom]

I am recreational diver. I saw Atomic regulator has swivel on it and regulator can be moved freely so I would like to add a swivel on my regulator to reduce jaw fatigue. I found 3 types of swivel, Omni swivel and 2 types sold by Piranha; ball type and non ball type swivel adapters. Do all 3 swivel types have same quality? Does Omni swivel be movable same as Atomic's? It seems to me Omni's have slightly different style than others so I am not sure it can perform as same as Atomic's swivel.

thank you for advises,

Regulator Swivel Adapter Ball Type
Regulator Swivel Adapter

 

[Scuba727]

Hi BOM

I too am a new diver and recently bought an Atomic reg with comfort swivel. In my opinion it offers nothing in terms of comfort and not worth the added expense. I do, however, love the regulators performance. I am considering removing the swivel and getting a shorter braided type hose to reduce tugging and jaw fatigue as well.

I think hose type and length is the solution to your problem.

Just my opinion best of luck
Scuba727

 

[diversteve]

You can also buy the Atomic Universal Swivel Hose for non-Atomic regulators. It's different than the one used with their products which I believe have a proprietary fitting. Atomic Universal Comfort Swivel discounts on sale Atomic

I have both a swivel/non-swivel Atomic reg set. I prefer it as there's no pulling at all with it - I can tell the difference when I turn to the right and compress the hose back against the 1st stage on the non-swivel version. I have the factory hoses on both.

 

[gopbroek]

I purchased a used T2 and it came with the Atomic QD swival hose, I am not a real fan of QD's so I swapped to a 26" DGX braided flex line and tried several swivals with it. The swivals actually seemed to reduce flexibility so I increased the hose length to 30" and did away with the swivals, works great. The high flexibility of the braided hose reduces the stress on my reg. When using a non atomic hose I believe it required spacer which Javier at Coz Scuba repair gave me.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I would recommend going with a fixed angle adapter instead here from XS Scuba OR you can also find some ball swivels XS Scuba Hose Adapters . I have not had good experiences with the swivels especially ones with a set screw through the middle which I believe omni has if I am not mistaken, here is the type I have used before shown here http://www.leisurepro.com/p-aqus360/aqua-360-degree-regulator-swivel-aa5 . I have had the screws loosen over time and re-tightening them only seems to work for so long, I even had 2 blow out on me luckily I was only a few meters down each time and had my bail out cylinder, also with this type the small ball wears out quickly and it will start to leak. They do normally include a service kit with the swivel but I always seem to misplace it or loose the the ball; still when ever they were serviced it never seemed to be as good as when I first bought them and constantly has small leaks.

 

[Big Deal]

I second those who say forgo the swivel. I have an Atomics B2 that came with the swivel. After a few years I started to get air leaks from the joint it when I turned my head to the right thereby putting pressure on the swivel. I had it serviced and it still leaked (likely the tech's fault). Nonetheless, recognizing the swivel was a point of failure, I later swapped it out for a heat exchanger (I dive cold water) and a myflex hose. I experienced no less flexibility, indeed I would say flexibility increased and I experienced much less jaw fatigue as the myflex was noticeably lighter.

Of course, like most dive set ups, it really comes down to personal preference. That was just my experience, so take my post only for what it's probably worth (which is what you paid for to get your SB membership -- that's right $0 ).

 

[buddhasummer]

A more suitable hose length and mouth piece will help more than a swivel.

---------- Post added March 10th, 2015 at 08:19 AM ----------

Just to add, I'm not saying this is the case but often jaw fatigue is caused by biting down too hard. This is especially common with new divers. I used to suffer this when I first started diving until I realised I didn't need a pitbull force bite in order to keep the reg in my mouth.

 

[Bom]

I already changed mouthpiece to Aqualung and my gum felt better. I also changed hose to Miflex 26" which also help the fatigue at certain level. If swivel has weakness as mentioned by Denlascuba, I might stop thinking about this. Probably increasing hose length will help as gopbroek did.

thank you very much,

 

[buddhasummer]

A too long hose will push and a too short hose will pull. A braided hose might help as they are more flexible. Another thing to consider is a moulded mouthpiece eg SeaCure. They mould to your teeth, are long bite and sit in your mouth with almost no bite force. Good luck.

---------- Post added March 10th, 2015 at 08:56 PM ----------

Sorry, just noticed you already changed to braided.

 

[Scuba727]

What length of hose would you say is ideal? I find the 32" hose does push.

Thanks

A too long hose will push and a too short hose will pull. A braided hose might help as they are more flexible. Another thing to consider is a moulded mouthpiece eg SeaCure. They mould to your teeth, are long bite and sit in your mouth with almost no bite force. Good luck.

---------- Post added March 10th, 2015 at 08:56 PM ----------

Sorry, just noticed you already changed to braided.