set me straight on regulators please!

[lmorin]

Don't go crazy. I sympathize with your efforts to find information and your feelings of being kinda overwhelmed by it all. I went through the same. But, as other folks have said, the bottom line is quite obvious and real--there are no poor regs. Some do more than others, but they are not necessarily safer. I didn't spend the money to get a reg that works in cold water. I have no intention of diving in cold water, so it's not a necessary feature for me. For the most part, low price does not equal low end when it comes to dive gear. It reflects the number of features in the gear.

 

[fweber]

can anyone tell me how important it is to haveadjustments on the reg itself? keep in mind the type of diving that I do. thanks.

No. No one hear can tell you how important it is to you, to have a venturi assist or cracking resistance adjustment on your reg. That's for you to think about and determine. What everyone hear is trying to get you to do is "think" about the what and why of your equipment. If shallow, warm water, recreational dives are all you will ever attempt. Then all your questions have already beeen answered with, "there aren't any really unsafe regs out there" or "just about any reg do".

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Who needs a stinking regulator - real men dive straight off the tank. No adjustments, no annual service, no freeze ups, no cost.......

(Disclaimer: Just in case you misunderstand my humor -you can do it, but it is very dangerous - see other threads - you have to use the search button though....)

 

[Hank49]

In my experience of having owned 7 different regulators, the only unsafe ones were ones that sat on the shelf for over a year. I never had problems other than a leaking high pressure seat, on regs that I used regularly.
My point being, that if you're only diving once a year, you may as well, as others have said, just rent from a reliable shop.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Per your snappy comeback to those that are telling you to use the search funtion:

anyone who wishes to start a thread may do so within the guidelines of this site. If you don't like it too bad.

Actually, the SB FAQ section says

You can search for posts based on user name, word(s) in the post or just in the subject, by date, and only in particular forums.
In fact, it's even recommended. You'll find that a lot of questions have already been asked before.

As far as adjustments on the reg...to the best of my knowledge, I think that is more for deep diving where the reg breathes a little harder.

As far as air 2-its a combination BC inflator and octo in one.

"The name "AIR" stands for Alternate Inflator Regulator. This concept was invented by SCUBAPRO engineers in 1979 and integrates in a same housing, a regulator second stage and a balanced inflator. The AIR 2 is fixed at the end of the corrugated hose of any BC and is fed by interstage pressure from the first stage with a quick coupling, thus eliminating one hose. Often copied but never equaled, this system can be assembled on any SCUBAPRO BC and eliminates the need for a back up regulator (octopus). This highly advanced self-flushing SCUBAPRO system is compact and streamlined. When needed, the Air 2 allows the diver to breathe normally as from any second stage. While breathing the diver can simultaneously and rapidly inflate the BC with its high flow balanced power inflator and fantastic precision. This progressive inflator is an important feature for safety and controlling the ascent. The BC can also be deflated by partially depressing the rectangular purge button."

http://www.simplyscuba.com/ProductDetails.aspx?StockID=4341

It took me about 2 seconds to find that using google. You must really hate all search features

 

[OceanicRocks]

Per your snappy comeback to those that are telling you to use the search funtion:



Actually, the SB FAQ section says



As far as adjustments on the reg...to the best of my knowledge, I think that is more for deep diving where the reg breathes a little harder.

As far as air 2-its a combination BC inflator and octo in one.

"The name "AIR" stands for Alternate Inflator Regulator. This concept was invented by SCUBAPRO engineers in 1979 and integrates in a same housing, a regulator second stage and a balanced inflator. The AIR 2 is fixed at the end of the corrugated hose of any BC and is fed by interstage pressure from the first stage with a quick coupling, thus eliminating one hose. Often copied but never equaled, this system can be assembled on any SCUBAPRO BC and eliminates the need for a back up regulator (octopus). This highly advanced self-flushing SCUBAPRO system is compact and streamlined. When needed, the Air 2 allows the diver to breathe normally as from any second stage. While breathing the diver can simultaneously and rapidly inflate the BC with its high flow balanced power inflator and fantastic precision. This progressive inflator is an important feature for safety and controlling the ascent. The BC can also be deflated by partially depressing the rectangular purge button."

http://www.simplyscuba.com/ProductDetails.aspx?StockID=4341

It took me about 2 seconds to find that using google. You must really hate all search features

does the air2 have a different connection than a regular bc low pressure inflator? if I was to get a regulator to use on vacation I want to b sure it will hook upto any low pressure setup on a bc air2 or other.

as for your search comment. No I don't hate it and I actually do quite a bit of it... sometimes however you don't know what to searchfor and this is where your link and history of the air2 is priceless. so thanks.

it only takes 2 seconds when you know what you are searching for... I will be the first to admit that I do not. That is how we all learn, by asking.

as for the redcomendation for search on this board. I do agan when I know what to search. some people just know it all and don't like to share and therefore do not offer any advice but rather like to tell you what you should/should'nt do. I ignore them. I thank you.

 

[OceanicRocks]

Who needs a stinking regulator - real men dive straight off the tank. No adjustments, no annual service, no freeze ups, no cost.......

you can do it, but it is very dangerous

that explains why your threads read the way they do. I wonder if breathing right from the bottle makes you a grumpy old man

 

[John_B]

Coral. Right now stay away from stuff that is gimmicky or isn't modular. At your price range, you don't need a titanium anything, and even if price was no object you still don't need a titanium anything. Steel and brass hold up just fine. Also stay away from the Air2 stuff unless you are going to always have the BC it goes with. You are not going to want to have one of those things (Air2) with a rental BC. Even if you own a BC it means you have to travel with it.

The TUSA package on Scubatoys is quite a deal at $315 with your SB member discount. I'm not a fan of consoles (and you'd still need some sort of timing device) but this wouldn't be a bad way to start. If you only had an SPG for tank pressure (instead of the console), you could rent some sort of wrist mounted dive computer or bottom timer for the time being and maybe save a buck or two for now. If you did get the console, some of the puck-shaped computers will fit in the spot where the depth gauge is, be sure to ask when you call (and you have to call Scubatoys for the discount). Again, the more you components you add to a single system the less flexible you'll find it becomes.

Other good options from an LDS you like and trust. Scubapro MK2 plus or MK11 first stage, with maybe R295 or R395 second stages/octo. Or Aqualung Titan or TitanLX, with the Titan octo, but avoid the ABS octo or Egress octo (gimmicky) and get an octo that looks like a regulator. Either way they are going to have a hard time meeting the price for the Tusa console package from Scubatoys.

I mean this in a good way, don't take offense or anything, but while you could also go with LeisurePro.com (NYC) or DiveInn.com (Spain), it seems like you might need a little more personal service than they might be able to provide.

Good luck.

John

Edit: BTW, my single tank regulator has a first stage, two identical second stages and a brass/glass SPG. That's it! It can and does go anywhere with me, regardless of what BC, BP/W, bottom timer/computer, etc. I happen to be using. Modular is good, esp. when traveling.

 

[scubatoys]

Just to help explain an adjustable reg... Here you go. In the second stage, air is trying to get to the reg through the hose. It is held back with a little piece of rubber called a seat that hits a sharpened pipe called a poppet. The reason the air doesn't just push the seat away from the poppet is that there is a spring set up for enough tension to hold back the 145 psi of air coming down the hose. Now when you inhale, a lever pulls the poppet away and air goes into the reg, and in you!

But if this setting is a bit too lose, then the reg can free flow a bit. It can also cause a free flow if you are swimming into a current as the water pressure is pushing on the purge valve, which in turn pushes on that same lever and makes the reg leak a bit.

With a non-adjustable reg, if you have a free flow, you open up the hose end and using an allen wrench, you change the setting of the poppet, which will move it tighter into the seat. (This will explain it and has some pictures: http://forum.scubatoys.com/showthread.php?t=1183)

If you have an adjustable reg, as you turn the adjustment, it adds a little bit of spring tension to stop the free flow. If it seems hard to inhale, you just turn it out a bit. That's it!

 

[Leisure Pro Brett]

Coralcrazed, I’m not going to jump I here and give you any flak, but I do think that I have thrown together a Reg set that should meet your needs and even came in under your budget. The Oceanic Alpha 8 SP5 regulator is a good performer that is at an awesome price, and an Oceanic Slimline Octo just to keep things uniform. For your SPG I chose a nice low profile Mares unit per your request and even put in the LP inflator hose for you that will connect to most rental BC’s you encounter. There were lots of choices, but this struck me as the best balance of price / performance / your requirements. Hope this helps.