Oceanic regulators

[Tim Wong]

Dear fellow divers. Would like to get some feedback and comments from existing owners on the below Oceanic regulators. I am looking at upgrading my current Alpha 7 second stage (currently matched with a PX2 first stage). What is it like in terms of performance and the drawbacks of one over another. Would appreciate all comments-negative ones included. All my diving is in tropical waters. Thanks.

Zeta
Omega II
Delta 3

 

[phillybob]

been diving the zeta w/dx4 for a year now. zeta is a very small second. was prone to free flow right out of the box but i took it to the shop and had it tuned down a bit and now it purrs like a kitten.i hear this is common for this reg. takes a little getting used to because of the high volume of gas it delivers,although i haven't noticed any increase in my gas consumption. you only need to "sip",the cracking effort is very light. after it was tuned down i quickly learned to love it! i also use the gamma II for my pony reg.another really good reg for a bargain basement price! good luck! may not make a difference to you ,but i like to try to buy American when i can

 

[rescuediver009]

The zeta breathes so nicely because it is a servo assisted valve, rather than the demand lever of the Alpha. Sound like Gibberish? Basically it creates a vacuum in the second stage that almost breathes for you. So lightly that the slightest bit of resistance from you will stop the flow. But it is like a poseidon of its wetbreathing counterpart, the omega II.
Back to your question, if I understand right you are looking to upgrade your second stage and maintain your first? If so, the zeta is one option. Haven't tried it personally, but I do like the characteristics of a servo assisted valve (I have used the new poseidon). If you are looking for something to spoil yourself, the Delta can create a zero effort of breathing by actually trickling a little on its own. It breathes nicely and would match the PX2 nicely. Other than that none of the others would be great. The gamma just adds a venturi lever (prevents freeflow) and the GT is just lighter in weight. The Omega is ok but i heard it leaks, and that leaves you with the Delta. Unless you were looking at other brands also....

 

[Tim Wong]

Much appreciate all the replies. I noticed that different reg makers use different parameters to test and rate the performance of their regs and this may seem confusing if not misleading. One uses about 3000++ psi for the test while another uses 150++ psi although the simulated depth is at 198 fsw. Would there be a way to convert all the parameters like supply pressure, breath per minute, litre flow per breath, Min/Max intermediate pressure so that they are all at par for a side by side comparison? Also what does a "pressure drop" in the first stage mean? Would a larger or smaller reading be better?

 

[rescuediver009]

Much appreciate all the replies. I noticed that different reg makers use different parameters to test and rate the performance of their regs and this may seem confusing if not misleading. One uses about 3000++ psi for the test while another uses 150++ psi although the simulated depth is at 198 fsw. Would there be a way to convert all the parameters like supply pressure, breath per minute, litre flow per breath, Min/Max intermediate pressure so that they are all at par for a side by side comparison? Also what does a "pressure drop" in the first stage mean? Would a larger or smaller reading be better?

Tim. I think that you are looking a little to far into this. The numbers main purpose if to impress the common eye with a large flow rate. I cannot think of a conversion method that wouldn't take forever and solve very little. Pressure drop refers to how far the intermediate pressure drops during air flow. So the less it drops the better as there is less to recover at the end of the breath. It can change depending on the second stage though and how fast it can give air, along with a number of other factors.