Should I convert my reg to DIN?

[Peter_C]

It is a very good thing that most rental tanks in the Caribbean use yoke connections. Screwing your personal regulator into a heavily used DIN connection could be an easy way to ruin the threads in your regulator.

Very valid point! They are hard on those tanks :shocked2:

 

[Hatul]

I have found that yoke connection failures can almost always be traced to operator error. I have also seen operator errors with DIN causing leaks and damaged O-rings.

It is a very good thing that most rental tanks in the Caribbean use yoke connections. Screwing your personal regulator into a heavily used DIN connection could be an easy way to ruin the threads in your regulator.

During heavy use the threads of a DIN tank valve connection will loose some of their chrome and the softer brass will hold corrosion, dirt, and sand which will ruin the threads of the mating regulator. Most of the wear on the tank threads is in the back surface (the loaded surface) of the threads which is not visible from the outside without a very small mirror.

At first when you screw your nice new regulator (into a very used rental tank) you may not even notice excessive friction, but after you pressurize the connection the damage may be more obvious. When you depressurize the regulator and try to unscrew it you may notice a totally different resistance from the threads. The damage is done.

DIN connection work well as long as they are relatively new (anything under ten or even 20 years I consider relatively new) or they are lightly used, but for heavy long term used the yoke connection is far more long lasting. I have yoke connections that are over 50 years old and they will continue to work fine for another 50 years of heavy use.

That's an interesting and different perspective. I guess the thing to do when traveling with a DIN reg is to use a din to yoke adapter.

 

[Puffer Fish]

You new guys can be so preachey...

I happen to agree with you on the use of DIN on poorly maintained, very used tanks. I use din, except when I travel.. and then take a yoke first stage.

However, particularly recently, with the advent of really cheap goods from a large country next to Nepal, blowing an oring is no longer that rare. And much to my surprise, have now seen two tanks go, underwater (which I thought could never happen).

Regarding wear, a few thousand dives don't seem to hurt a din system.

I have used both yoke and DIN fittings for close to 40 years. I was using DIN fittings before they were even call DIN and I don’t know of anyone in the US that was using them back in the 70’s. I was using Poseidon and Drager tanks with Poseidon regulators in Puerto Rico in the early 70's. Most US regulator manufacturers have not even heard of the 5/8 threaded European connection (know known as DIN).

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. After many years of use I actually prefer the yoke for the convenience.

I have found that yoke connection failures can almost always be traced to operator error. I have also seen operator errors with DIN causing leaks and damaged O-rings.

It is a very good thing that most rental tanks in the Caribbean use yoke connections. Screwing your personal regulator into a heavily used DIN connection could be an easy way to ruin the threads in your regulator.

During heavy use the threads of a DIN tank valve connection will loose some of their chrome and the softer brass will hold corrosion, dirt, and sand which will ruin the threads of the mating regulator. Most of the wear on the tank threads is in the back surface (the loaded surface) of the threads which is not visible from the outside without a very small mirror.

At first when you screw your nice new regulator (into a very used rental tank) you may not even notice excessive friction, but after you pressurize the connection the damage may be more obvious. When you depressurize the regulator and try to unscrew it you may notice a totally different resistance from the threads. The damage is done.

DIN connection work well as long as they are relatively new (anything under ten or even 20 years I consider relatively new) or they are lightly used, but for heavy long term used the yoke connection is far more long lasting. I have yoke connections that are over 50 years old and they will continue to work fine for another 50 years of heavy use.

A one year old tank valve in the Caribbean sees more use than most personal tanks will see in there life time. Therefore, it is a very good thing that we will never see a large fleet of rental tanks with DIN valves.

 

[Puffer Fish]

That's an interesting and different perspective. I guess the thing to do when traveling with a DIN reg is to use a din to yoke adapter.

I have a yoke first stage for my Apex....so just put the second stages on it and re-adjust the cracking... and go on vacation. Depending on the first stage, those adapters can stick out a bit.

 

[Luis H]

You also need to keep in mind that it is hard to clean all the salt crystals from threads on your DIN regulator. Most good dust caps that will prevent water from getting into the regulator will also screw over the threads. Even if you soak it for a while, the fresh water will not get as deep into the threads as the salt water got in due the pressure during the dive.

If you want the chrome of your DIN threaded connection to last a long time, it is important to occasionally use a tooth brush with a bit of fresh water on the threads while carefully covering the regulator inlet with your thumb (or something similar). Be very careful not to let any water into the regulator.

The tank threads can be flushed with fresh water, but I would also use a tooth brush on them every once in a while. Just make certain to blow all the water and moisture out of the valve and threads. Blowing the valve dry is extremely important.

Any dry salt crystals left on the threads will wear the chrome over many cycles of screwing the regulator on and off.

I have a collection of several 30+ year old Poseidon’s Cyklon 300 that are showing a bit wear on the chrome of the DIN threads. I like to think that I take extremely good care of my gear, but it is hard to avoid the constant wear.

Most divers may not need to worry about this kind of wear, but you may notice that I like to keep good gear for a very long time.

YMMV

 

[Luis H]

You new guys can be so preachey...

I happen to agree with you on the use of DIN on poorly maintained, very used tanks. I use din, except when I travel.. and then take a yoke first stage.

However, particularly recently, with the advent of really cheap goods from a large country next to Nepal, blowing an oring is no longer that rare. And much to my surprise, have now seen two tanks go, underwater (which I thought could never happen).

Regarding wear, a few thousand dives don't seem to hurt a din system.

I went to college in Tennessee… I don’t remember diving in any salt water oceans anywhere near Tennessee.

A few thousand dives in fresh water probably put about as much wear on a regulator as ten dives from a windy, sandy, hot beach in Puerto Rico.

Yeah… Yeah… I am sure you have seen salt water a few times…


Note: DIN connections do very well in fresh water. For example, cave divers in Florida would probably never have any wear issues with threads on a DIN connection.

 

[Scared Silly]

To those suggesting adapters or a new valve...can't do either...on the 3500 PSI HP tanks they have narrower necks so just cant pop in a new valve, and 300 bar tanks have 7 threads instead of 5 on 232 bar, so can't pop in a converter...

Sure now you tell us that little bit of info.

In that case, either sell the cylinder or convert your reg.

The Legend DIN converter kit looks to contain more pieces than the average DIN kit...looks like a dive shop will need to do it..or back to yoke, if I need it...

With DIN you typically just need an hex head wrench. With most yoke systems to remove them you want to use a thin walled 1" or 25mm socket. Trying to remove a yoke nut with an adjustable or std wrench will more than likely lead to marring the nut which most forget is soft brass. With either they should be torqued properly.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Luis, Don't do fresh water... my home is in Knoxvilee, I work in Auburn and dive out of Destin, Fl (where family lives). We have lots of sand... sticky sand...worst sand I have ever been in for sticking to everything. Would never put a reg on anywhere near that stuff (but do do shore dives).

And I taught in Panama using a Poseidon for a lot of years, and there are not a lot of places left I have not been diving.

I went to college in Tennessee… I don’t remember diving in any salt water oceans anywhere near Tennessee.

A few thousand dives in fresh water probably put about as much wear on a regulator as ten dives from a windy, sandy, hot beach in Puerto Rico.

Yeah… Yeah… I am sure you have seen salt water a few times…


Note: DIN connections do very well in fresh water. For example, cave divers in Florida would probably never have any wear issues with threads on a DIN connection.

 

[Bob01]

Sure now you tell us that little bit of info.

In that case, either sell the cylinder or convert your reg....

That was the question - should I convert my reg to DIN

Sorry for not being more clear - I made the assumption that everyone knew DIN 300 vs DIN 232 issues in my first post

I'll be converting my reg to din - just trying to find a better priced kit :-D

 

[Bob01]

Doing some looking around online for used steel tanks - It appears tanks that are DIN 300/true HP 3500 consistently sell lower than their convertible/3442 counterparts. Would you also see this as another reason to get ones yoke regulator converted to a din? It could just be that the DIN 300 tanks are just older, and no one really wants a tank that has already been hydro'd 2-4 times already?