no din in bonaire.......?

[drrich2]

That's why you would put convertible valves on the tanks. DIN customers gained, nothing lost.

Wouldn't solve the problem, I wouldn't think. I've not used these. If you get to a dive size with a pressurized tank and you realize you've got the wrong tank, can you convert it then & there with no tools? Would it be obvious how to people with no training? Working with a 3,000 PSI metal cylinder?

Yoke vs. DIN in Bonaire?

When in Rome, do like the Romans.

Richard.

 

[tursiops]

Richard, you are exposing your lack of knowledge on this. The DIN insert just screws into the DIN valve, just like a regulator would. No problem, no difficulty, takes a few seconds. Secondly, I know at least two shops on Bonaire that have DIN/convertible valves on their tanks. Why shouldn't they? No loss to them, only advantages.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[dfx]

Yoke vs. DIN in Bonaire?

When in Rome, do like the Romans.

The funny thing is that out of all Caribbean places, I would have expected Bonaire to have the most DIN tanks around, being half Dutch and considering how many European visitors they get. Just like they seem to have European power outlets pretty much everywhere.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Wouldn't solve the problem, I wouldn't think. I've not used these. If you get to a dive size with a pressurized tank and you realize you've got the wrong tank, can you convert it then & there with no tools? Would it be obvious how to people with no training? Working with a 3,000 PSI metal cylinder?

Yoke vs. DIN in Bonaire?

When in Rome, do like the Romans.

Richard.

You need an allen key of some kind if you want to make it a DIN tank; you need to not lose the damn insert if you want to make it a yoke tank, but otherwise need no tools. And calling it working on a pressurized tank makes about as much sense as calling installing a yoke or a DIN reg on the valve "working with a 3,000 PSI metal cylinder."

The only reason not to have convertable valves on each and every tank is cost - cost to buy, cost to replace lost inserts. That's it, that's all, because they're hands down the better valve. They also use yoke o-rings that seem to seal better than the ones I see on yoke only valves.

 

[Colliam7]

this is a 2 year old thread, things have changed

Good to hear. Heading to Bonaire in a little over 24 hours. Will post what I find this year at Buddy Dive.

 

[drrich2]

Richard, you are exposing your lack of knowledge on this.

Of course, and I asked questions to fill in the missing info.

The DIN insert just screws into the DIN valve, just like a regulator would. No problem, no difficulty, takes a few seconds. Secondly, I know at least two shops on Bonaire that have DIN/convertible valves on their tanks. Why shouldn't they? No loss to them, only advantages.

Judging from Dr. Lecter's post, the end user would need an allen key and an insert. I figure the large majority of Bonaire vacation rec. divers don't carry the tool around, and wouldn't want to fool with it.

I suspect that the net effect on the overall system, in terms of operator cost, rental tank fleet maintenance simplicity (e.g.: only one valve to buy, no worries about running out of DIN inserts or replacing them) and keeping things simple for the end user (every tank is a yoke, nothing to convert, no Allen key or insert, just grab 'em from the tank station, put in the truck & go, analyze if using nitrox), the nearly all-yoke approach has worked well for the major dive op.s.

I suppose an op. could try maintaining a small number of DIN tanks separately. Evidently there hasn't been sufficient demand?

Richard.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Of course, and I asked questions to fill in the missing info.



Judging from Dr. Lecter's post, the end user would need an allen key and an insert. I figure the large majority of Bonaire vacation rec. divers don't carry the tool around, and wouldn't want to fool with it.

I suspect that the net effect on the overall system, in terms of operator cost, rental tank fleet maintenance simplicity (e.g.: only one valve to buy, no worries about running out of DIN inserts or replacing them) and keeping things simple for the end user (every tank is a yoke, nothing to convert, no Allen key or insert, just grab 'em from the tank station, put in the truck & go, analyze if using nitrox), the nearly all-yoke approach has worked well for the major dive op.s.

I suppose an op. could try maintaining a small number of DIN tanks separately. Evidently there hasn't been sufficient demand?

Richard.

The inserts come with the valve and are generally left in place until a DIN reg using person removes them (we tend to carry tools for such tasks). That you or anyone else can't figure out how to use one of these isn't an issue; the LDS monkeys can do it for you if for some reason you get a tank that doesn't already have the insert in it.

 

[djtimmy77]

On my trips to Bonaire, I have seen many of the yoke only valves bent/deformed quite a bit from dropping and rough handling. I wouldnt want to go to the convertible valves if I was a dive operator in Bonaire, as you would be replacing valves much more often equating to higher cost for negligible benefit of appeasing a tiny fraction of divers who don't want to use an adapter or switch their reg over.

 

[oceancurrent]

Put your regs in your bag. Then put two pro valves with inserts and an Allen wrench on top. Change valves on rental tanks. Use inserts for fills. Everybody happy.

Sound idea in theory. In practice there are way too many complications with this approach. Not the least that the valve threads between USA and Europe are not interchangeable.

So, some DIN users don't want to use a DIN-to-Yoke convertor? Well, the dive shop probably rents reg.s if it bothers you that bad. Which turns a profit for the shop, rather than adding to their costs. [snip] As others have pointed out, the majority of the customer base hitting Bonaire are bringing yoke regulators [snip] the advantages of DIN are irrelevant to the overwhelming majority of diving done in Bonaire.[snip]

Respectfully disagree, sir. It's called progress. DIN is hands down better coupling system than Yoke and thus the choice of many advanced divers. No more blown O-rings, regulator leaks, clamp entanglement, risk of regulator knockout, etc. I would challenge anyone to name one advantage of Yoke over DIN other than its lingering legacy in the USA. Most Europeans, Japanese, etc use DIN just like 96% of the world use metric. Frankly, the popularity of DIN in the USA is also growing gradually thanks to tech divers, but it will take some time for Yoke to go the way of dinosaurs.

To say that most all divers visiting Bonaire prefer Yoke is just plain incorrect. Most Europeans that visit prefer DIN, but they are forced to use these annoying DIN-to-Yoke adapters that they are handed in Bonaire. You should know that these adapters make a regulator stick out 5cm turning it into a headbanger while effectively eliminating all advantages of DIN at the same time.

On my trips to Bonaire, I have seen many of the yoke only valves bent/deformed quite a bit from dropping and rough handling. I wouldnt want to go to the convertible valves if I was a dive operator in Bonaire, as you would be replacing valves much more often equating to higher cost for negligible benefit of appeasing a tiny fraction of divers who don't want to use an adapter or switch their reg over.

Nope. Hardly any price difference between a new Yoke-only valve and a DIN valve that accepts Yoke plugs. In fact, many new cylinders come with a DIN/Yoke valve even in the USA (particularly steel cylinders). Also, I can't think of any good reason why people would be dropping/bending DIN valves more often than Yoke valves. Then again, 90% of all "bent valves" are really just a bent or broken valve handle, which is easily replaceable without the need to buy a new valve.



The bottom line is, there is at least one fine operator on Bonaire for those who want to use steel cylinders with DIN valves (Tropical Divers) happy to have the business of DIN customers. So there is no need to spend time arguing over it. As long as people are aware that they have the freedom to vote with their wallets, all is good.

And, if you are one of these folks stuck in A-clamp/Yoke land, I would recommend you consider trying DIN when you get a chance. Who knows, you may end up liking it better.

 

[Scared Silly]

That's why you would put convertible valves on the tanks. DIN customers gained, nothing lost. And if you're a German diver visiting this corner of the world for the first time, you probably wouldn't know what yoke was.

Convertible valves in a rental fleet are a PITA and become another maintenance issue. One is better off having yokes and DIN. The damn plugs get mineral build up and are PITA to remove. I have seen plenty where the hex slot has become striped. At that point they become permanently yoke. So nothing gained, but lost money on what becomes more expensive yokes valves.