Reg questions

[jtpwils]

It's another typical reg thread but hopefully a bit different because I do ask a couple questions that I haven't seen before.

I’ll start with a bit about my plans. First I’m a new diver. I live in NJ and plan to do local and Caribbean diving. I only plan on diving locally from maybe June to late September. I have no plans to do local winter diving. So I’m not sure if that means I’m doing “Cold” water diving or not. Still, I figured that I’m better off with cold then without so I’m considering that as a yes.

I don’t plan on muck diving but I don’t want my reg to stop working if I end up in silted water so I’ll count working in dirty water as a yes. I take it that diaphragm is better suited to dirt than piston so I’ve limited my choices to that style.

I want DIN but it seems that few come with direct DIN connections so I’m not really including that as a reason to cross one off the list.

Wetsuit for now but want the extra port for a dry suit – I’ll need that on the NJ coast.

So – with the above in mind I’ve narrowed my selection down to these:

Brand Description MSRP Leisure Pro
Hollis DC2 212 $ 639.00 $ 607.00
Mares Abyss 22 $ 600.00 $ 480.00
Oceanic EOS FDX10 DVT $ 670.00 $ 540.00
Oceanic Delta 4 FDX10 $ 570.00 $ 440.00
ScubaPro MK17 G250V $ 600.00 $ 360.00

When talking with my LDS they said they’d let me try a few different ones and select what I want and tune it for me. And that I can’t just buy a reg and use it straight out of the box. I figured that was BS but found on the SP website that the regs don’t come pre-tuned.
So here's my questions:
1.) I’ve read a lot of folks talk about how buying the reg through LDS is better for servicing and others say it's easy doing it through a DDS. Can I just buy one from LP, assemble the stages/octo and send it to a DDS for tuning?

2.) Since these are all "high quality" easy breathing regs, and I can get different mouthpieces what are the chances of buying one of the above regs and deciding I don’t like it?

3.) What are the main differences between servicing in the brands I’ve listed above? I know that SP has free parts for life, but not labor. How about the others?

4.) Some come with swivels on the 2nd stage. I know that’s against DIR, I’m not afraid to be a stroke but what’s the reason for that….a decrease in reliability due to another leak point? It seems like that might make it more comfortable.

5.) Some of the 1st stages have different port threads. Will that be a problem in getting hoses or specific items like wireless transmitters, etc. – is that something I need to concern myself with?

6.)Overall, is there something I should have considered and did not?

Thanks for reading through another typical newbie reg post.
Jim

 

[martzak]

Anwers:

1). If you buy your regs set from LP, they'll assemble and tunes it for you for free, if you ask nicely (especially if you plan on dropping that much dough on a reg set).
2). There are so many different mouth pieces out there, surely you'll find something that suits you.
3).All of the brands you listed have a world-wide distribution network. Service should not be a problem in most places in the world. In my opinion, parts for life is a scam to get you to dish out money every year to 'fix' a reg that, in most cases, ain't broken...and very likely could be after service. Check you reg periodically and service only as needed:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/260452-regulator-checklist-inspection.html
4). You can add your own swivel to almost any 2nd stage.
5). Don't know, but it could be.

 

[paddler3d]

Just to throw it in the mix...I'd also suggest the Apeks brand as well, XTX50 or XTX100 or XTX200.

Any reg I've purchased, I've used right out of the box. Yes I got some of them from LP.

Most 1st stages come with two sizes of threaded ports. There is one size for HP and one size for LP. It is a practicality thing. My Apeks did come with the 3rd size, which is a typical. The idea was your primary was on a 1/2" hose so that you had all the air you could want. I couldn't get a 5' hose is 1/2" so I got an adaptor and use a regular hose. Can't tell a difference. I wouldn't concern yourself about port size as I would concern your self about port quantity.

If you're going to be diving single tanks, your 1st will need 1 LP port for BCD, 1 LP port of primary 2nd, 1 LP port for secondary 2nd, and 1 LP port for drysuit (which you'll want at some point in time).

The swivel makes the regulator more comfortable. Good hose routing can help mitigate this though.

Most of your high end regs come with pretty good mount pieces. If you don't like the one it comes with, you can replace it with another.

You've read the arguments about servicing/buying from your LDS/online. Someone can chime in there, but the parts aren't that expensive. So the SP parts for life thing is something like $10 a year. Food for thought.